Bachmann Spectrum E-33

[Len]

I knew the NH was doomed when I saw the "flatbottoms" lose their Hunter green and gold. They came out of the shop in a weird white and orange scheme instead. I was a lot younger then, but I actually cried when I heard they were being scrapped.

Len

[jbrock27]

...a weird white and orange scheme instead. I was a lot younger then, but I actually cried when I heard they were being scrapped.  Len

"Weird"?  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I don't think I have ever cried over anything train related.

[Len]

Yup. Weird, as in looked like an escapee from a circus train:



Len

[jbrock27]

Maybe you think blue being my favorite color is weird, maybe, if your favorite color happened to be purple, I would say that was weird ...

[Len]

Maybe it's because for the most part I grew up with the pre-McGinnis New Haven.

Len

[electrical whiz kid]

Len;
I'm with you.  I remember once me and a friend were hanging around at Quincy Station, and this  named train (probably the Merchant or the Whitehead) pulled in, headed up by a pair of PA-1s, the stainless passenger cars with the hunter green logo on the corners; and the conductor was off-loading-of all things-a bunch of chick boxes, loaded with baby chicks-with the usual care and professionalism that only Buck Dumaine would have wanted!  It was in the springtime, around Easter; and for some reason, it stuck with me to this day.  Name trains did not usually have Quincy as a stop.  Speaking of colour schemes; Don Ball, in his book; "America's Colorful Railroads", there was a photo of a Florida-Greenville-Boston symbol freight headed up by  two DL-109s...In ALUMINUM PAINT and White herald; I couldn't believe my eyes!  I NOW have models of that pair on my shelf!!  The white heralds and pinstripes were a BEE-ZZZZZZCH to do!!!
I know I have mentioned it before, but also saw a photo of a 109 done up in McGuiness colors of Chinese Vermillion, White, and black.  From the photo, I would have to say [that the] poor ALCO certainly deserved better!

Rich C.

[grandpuff]

Rich C.

I run DCC so it is an easy task to set them up in consist any way I want to run them.

Grandpuff

[electrical whiz kid]

Gramp;
My point is that if you MU them back to back, if you swap leads on one unit, you can get them to function in unison with just one address, and no monkeying around-not in the case of like-matched units anyway.

RIch  C.

[jward]

len,

while I can sympathise whit you not liking the new paint scheme on the electrics, repaints should be viewed as a positive sign.

as a general rule, repaints are a sign the railroad is willing to invest money in repairs on these locomotives. it is rare, though it has happened, for a railroad to repaint a locomotive they are planning on getting rid of in the near future.

[Len]

Jeff,

Normally I would agree with that assessment regarding repaints. With McGinnis it was 90% ego, putting his "mark" on the railroad, and 10% trying to present a "modern" image. At least according to the PR releases at the time.

The reality with the New Haven at the time was the money would have been better spent on long over due maintenance projects.

Len

[electrical whiz kid]

I'd like to add that the biggest mistake McGuiness ever made was scrapping those big electrics, the EP-2,3,4, and the EF3.  If properly maintained, those motors would have been sucking juice off of the catenary today.
RIch C

[grandpuff]

A new message to Chessyger about Bachmann E-33 Virginian. I just picked up another Virginian E-33 so that I can run the pair back to back as the prototype often did.

I just noticed that the second loco was numbered #135 not #140 as my first one. The box numbers are the same 82402 for both numbers. the same situation as the New Haven. There may other road numbers out there for the other road names as well so your list may not be complete yet.

Grandpuff (Duke)

[electrical whiz kid]

Grampy;
I cannot speak with qualification on the Virginian, but the New Haven, when running tandem "bricks", had a buss between the units.  Unless I missed something, for some reason, running one pan up for both units was advantageous.  It does, to me-as an electrician-seem odd that you would run only one pan up to the wire, picking up 11KV  for both.  That kind of current would seem to be hell on the shoe.

RIch C

[Rick Abramson]

Couple of items.
The EP-3's were never Hunter Green and Gold. In the Hunter Green scheme they had pearl-gray striping and lettering. They had DuLux Gold striping when they were in #13 Pullman Green and Imitation Gold when repainted in #401 Exterior Green.

The NH never had an E33 or a "Brick."
On the VGN and N&W they were class EL-C, NH class EF-4, PC and CR E33.
On the NH they were referred to as "Virginians."
This "Brick" thing comes from H. Reid's book on the VGN where he said "The EL-C's possessed the beauty of misshapen bricks."

Rich: The reason the NH would run with one pan raised for the 2 units was to save wear. Since the NH was bankrupt, even a pantograph was too expensive an item. The rectifiers for example were $3K each in 1964! Sometimes, not often they would run 3 EF-4s to make up for missing rectifier tubes.
The 301 and 303 were fitted with experimental Faively pans which were eventually damaged and never replaced with a conventional pan. As was stated earlier, when running single pan only, the 11000V bus was used. Never saw photos of this situation on either the VGN or N&W.

[electrical whiz kid]

Rick;
Back when I was driving tractor-trailer, I peddled New Haven and Bridgeport.  I was able to watch EF-4s in action along the Viaduct; sometimes getting to see  the "float trains" being hauled to Cedar Hill; the whole thing was impressive as hell to see.  I wasn't around here earlier enough to see any motors other than the Jets, and the EF-4s in action.  Speaking as an electrician, there must have been a great sight!
BTW; you still running on the Housatonic?

Rich C.