I have always been intrigued with the UP for their use of units like this and DD35's... they must have been a real sight in their day! Harold
Alan, These were very strange sounding units. They had 2 different sounds- a jet aircraft at low revolutions and a jet at full throttle-nothing in between. Most of us have heard diesel electrics notch up under load and we can feel the power that is being generated as the engines dig in and start their train in motion. On the other hand, a turbine starting its pull or running down the line at 60 MPH sound the same. You just do not get the excitement you experience with the diesels. I once had the chance to get aboard a 3 unit turbine on the wye in Grand Island , Nebraska. The hostler was preparing to shut down the turbine that scretching away in the 5 AM morning air. I believe it was in the A end of the turbine unit and there were 2 cylinders side by side standing a couple of feet tall. On these cylinders were many electrical contacts and as the cylinders would rotate different procedures were occuring in the process of bringing the wide open jet to a complete shutdown. It took 45 minutes as I remember. Took about 3 hours to get that scream out of my ears. John Nutt
Wow! That is the first first-hand account that I have heard of these beasts I still say you are a lucky man Good to see you here again, John
I lived in Wyoming in the 1960s, and we'd take weekly trips from our home in Saratoga to Rawlins, paralleling the main line on I-80 from Walcott west. We also lived in Rawlins for a few months before leaving Wyoming (waaahhh!!!), and I could see the main line west of town. The Big Blows were running drag freights, sometimes with GP9s in the power consists, and even from where we lived (3/4 mile away) they sounded like jets. Radio station KRAL-AM in Rawlins aired the crew names and freight/passenger schedules every hour. Not only was this helpful to the UP train service employees and families, it was great for railfans. I don't know of any other radio stations in the US that air crew call times and arriving trains.
