Just curious. I don't think I have ever heard a real E7, the only E8's that I might have heard were so long ago that I don't remember. The only type I have heard in modern times are the UP E9's, and they just sound like diesels to me. Thus does anyone know if the sound, produced by the Precision Craft model E7 (assuming it does sound like an E7), would be reasonably appropriate to use in an E8 or E9? Or is an E7 so destinctive that it would not be a good idea?
Not having a e7 to compare the sound of the E9 to , would seriously hamper my ability to tell them apart. Don't sweat it
Larry, if you want to be painfully accurate, the E7 had two 1000HP diesel engines. The two engines ran independantly of each other, each powering the two traction motors on one of the two power trucks. The two engines were never synchronized, and might even have had different loads due to slippage, so could easily been running at different RPMs. I have a video of the B&M Mountaineer climbing through Crawford Notch, NH at about 15 mph with only five coaches. The resulting sound was very interesting. The two engines were close enough to being in synch that you couldn't distinguish one from the other, but just far enough out of synch that it was a major discord and headache to listen to. To simulate the sound of an E7 under load would be a very challanging task, perhaps a computer programmer's worst nightmare.
In regards to E-units in UP's excursion fleet, they were rebuilt and repowered with single 16-cylinder, non-turbo 645s. they're basically the equivalent to GP38-2s now, which is the reason they sounded like any other diesel to your ear. Like Hytec pointed out, as-built Es had a pair of prime movers.
