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ple, it has been possible to eliminate all light engine mileage and still permit each locomotive to return to the Elkton Shops once each day for inspection and servicing. Other important advan- tages found to accrue through diesel oporation are (1) no fireman is needed, (2) no hostlers are needed, (3) shop personnel may be reduced in number, (4) no fuel is consumed during idle or lay-over periods, (5) monthly inspections may be handled at night during lay-over periods between assignments, (6) Section Foremen report greatly reduced track maintenance, and (7) fire hazard to trestles, and property adjoining right-of-way is eliminated. Obviously, there are many more salient points which may be noted but it is felt that the major items are enumerated above. The new locomotives have been well received by both the operating and maintenance personnel of the railroad. None of the enginemen had ever previously operated any type of power other than steam; after a brief introduction to the diesels they proceeded with their assignments with only general supervision by the manufacturer's diesel instructor, for a ten-day period. The two diesel maintainers received about three weeks' training at the Baldwin plant and are competently main- taining the locomotives. It is inevitable that the question will be raised as to why Baldwin locomotives were selected for |
purchase by the Chesapeake Western Railway. Without detracting from other manufacturers' lo- comotives, it was felt that the Baldwin locomotive would be the best for this particular application because it possessed the following advantageous features: (1) cast-steel locomotive frame, (2) a maximum available horsepower of 750, (3) the Westinghouse "1-3-2-4" traction motor hook-up, (4) pneumatic throttle and anti-slip controls, (5) the truck construction, and other details of design. Perhaps it is symbolic that the big blue and gray Chesapeake Western diesels go thundering along through a section of the Old Dominion where, in years past, men in Confederate gray and men in Federal blue shed their blood; where the railroad parallels the scenic "Blue and Gray Trail" stretching between the Atlantic and the Great Lakes. We cannot help but believe that "Marse Robert"-General Lee, the railroad man, would be pleased to see the new, modern power on his old railroad. _______ *(The author, Charles Grattan Price, Jr., formerly Mechanical Engineer for the Chesapeake Western Rail- way,is an independent railway consultant, and has made diesel surveys for several other railraods. During the War, as a Captain in the Transportation Corps' Military Railway Service, he served as Superintendent of the Holabrid Railway Shops in Baltimore, and as Master Mechanic of the 709th Railway Grand Division in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany.) |
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Baldwin 660-hp, Series 606-NA, diesel engine which powers the switchers on the Chesapeake Western Railway. |
