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| Whither 'DeWitt' Geeps? https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18531 |
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| Author: | hi-plains [ Tue Sep 13, 2005 11:56 am ] |
| Post subject: | Whither 'DeWitt' Geeps? |
Where & how many of these repowered Alco RS2/3 units [some 50-odd locomotives outshopped by DeWiit/Altoona] survive? |
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| Author: | EDM [ Tue Sep 13, 2005 5:04 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whither 'DeWitt' Geeps? |
Amtrak also did a few of these at New Haven; I have been trying to track down the 106, once owned by TDIX and apparently last used on a tourist line in Owasso, MI.I do know that former CNJ 1548 is now in Canada, and another ex-CNJ unit, converted, is in Northampton, PA. A third unit is on the Cape May Seashore Line. Also, Maryland and Delaware has two or three RS-3Ms. I also think one (ex-Amtrak 104) is on Cape Cod.This is off the top of my head, I would be curious to see if anyone had a good list. |
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| Author: | Ken Jones [ Tue Sep 13, 2005 5:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whither 'DeWitt' Geeps? |
CNJ 1548 currently resides at the Canada Starch (CASCO) Plant in Cardinal Ontario, near Brockville. There was a picture ina magazine a month or 2 ago of this unit (i believe it was in Branchline-published by the Bytown Railway Society in Ottawa). Looked to be in pretty good shape too. |
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| Author: | ATK [ Tue Sep 13, 2005 9:53 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whither 'DeWitt' Geeps? |
Lehigh Valley hammerhead 211 is at the Rochester & Genessee Valley Museum. CDOT 605 is at the Danbury Museum, I believe an ex-Lackawanna unit. The Housatonic RR owns one, I believe its currently on loan to the Berkshire Scenic RR. Not sure of its heritage. That's all that I can think of.I had never looked under the hood of a Dewitt Geep until I saw the 211 in Rochester a few weeks ago. I was very surprised to find a B block under the hood. While in my opinion, putting an EMD engine into an Alco locomotive is a crime against humanity in the first place, for God's sake, if your going to install an EMD engine, at least make it a good one! Why did they re-engine those things with B blocks??? |
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| Author: | G. W. Laepple [ Tue Sep 13, 2005 10:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whither 'DeWitt' Geeps? |
I believe the original DeWitt Geeps received prime movers from a group of retired E-8s, which probably explains the B-block engines. After all, each E-8 could repower two RS-3s. |
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| Author: | Howard P. [ Tue Sep 13, 2005 11:09 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whither 'DeWitt' Geeps? |
By that point, they were probably BC blocks, with some of the worst B block troubles eliminated.Amtrak did two at New Haven; a third was in-process (body was prepared for the EMD rad fans, nose was chopped, etc.) when the RS-3s were replaced by CF-7s in 1985. The engine-less hulk was cut up in March 1986 with the remaining 244-powered RS-3s at New Haven. The AMTK versions had low noses and the big coffin on top of the long hood-- rather ungainly-looking units (in my opinion). |
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| Author: | John Redden [ Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:15 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whither 'DeWitt' Geeps? |
As I understand it, the LV211 was one of the last "DeWitt" Geeps done at Juniata (1979). I think that they started with a high number, around 9990, and worked down. This one was the 9920 after the rebuild. It does, however have a 12-567B.It was, in my opinion, a well-done rebuild. All new wiring and relays, a "new" control stand (appears to be from a 2nd generation EMD), and a relatively clean hood arrangement. About the only thing that they might have done better would have been to upgrade to 26 brakes (it has schedule 24).In contrast, according to a guy from the DeWitt shop, the original DeWitt Geeps were done on a shoestring budget - they were instructed to re-use as many of the original components as possible. |
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| Author: | Richard Glueck [ Wed Sep 14, 2005 11:01 am ] |
| Post subject: | The Repowering craze of the early 60's. |
The first edition of Kalmbach's "Diesel Spotters Guide" had a very comprehensive section on rebuilds and repowered units. My favorites had to be the MKT FA's, rebuilt with new roofs to accommodate the PM's. I'm wonder how many repowered units of Baldwin, Alco, and FM heritage still exist? Most are long gone as trade-ins on newer power. They provided a variety of power with many of the headaches of the original equipent. I guess repowering was a stop-gap measure for railroads while second generation power was being developed. |
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| Author: | rev66vette [ Wed Sep 14, 2005 11:52 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whither 'DeWitt' Geeps? |
They might have been considered " well-done" rebuilds, but I can tell you that most of the crews that worked with them didn't think so. |
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| Author: | hi-plains [ Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Whither 'DeWitt' Geeps? |
Roughly a handful are accounted for, from current replies. But given 55 units total, do any survive with NS/CSA/et al? |
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| Author: | G. W. Laepple [ Fri Sep 16, 2005 8:22 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Repowering craze of the early 60's. |
I think that depended on how thorough the modifications were. Just dropping an EMD engine into an FA carbody without a lot of engineering may not have been very effective. Some of the rebuilds were experiements that were never repeated. On the other hand, a throughly-planned and well-executed modificiation could result in a useful locomotive.For some period during the mid-1960s, EMD actually offered a program of remanufacturing Baldwin and Alco locomotives at LaGrange. The Reading, for example, sent a number of VO-1000 Baldwin switchers to EMD. They returned to Pennsylvania as 1200-hp switchers and provided excellent service for many years. EMD also rebuilt some pre-war EMD switchers for the Reading and others. |
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| Author: | Richard Glueck [ Fri Sep 16, 2005 11:02 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Repowering craze of the early 60's. |
Ultimately, the repowering program must have proven to be effective, but not the best way to bring in profits for EMD. They eventually negotiated a contract with Pielet Bros. of McCook, Ill., to cut up everything traded in, regardless of historic value or museum preservation requests. Consequently, as soon as a railroad placed an order using older locomotives as component resources, the locos were doomed, pushing some designs into extinction. Repowering was a stop-gap measure in motive power evolution, but getting rid of reusable locomotives was General Motor's ultimate goal. |
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