History of the G.E. BQ23-7 Locomotives
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Similar to my recent EMC AB6 video, here's another one about an obscure American diesel locomotive. Today's subject is the General Electric BQ23-7, of which 10 examples were built in 1978 and 1979, exclusively for the Seaboard Coast Line (later inherited by CSX).
The BQ23-7s were directly based on the standard G.E. B23-7, albeit with a large cab to accomodate a five-man train crew. This was intended to be an alternative to the caboose.
(Image Credits):
Myself
Alan Gaines
Andrew Lisowski (Flickr)
Bernie Feltman
Bernie Moening
Brian Friederich
Brian Gessel
Cass Telles (Flickr)
Chris Hash
David Stewart
Don Kalkman (Flickr)
DX 5517 (Flickr)
Edward Kerns the 2nd
Emd (Flickr)
Eric Rickert
Harold Hodnett
G. Gerard
Gary Cullen
Greg Ropp
Jack Kuiphoff
Jack Smith
James Jackson
James Noble
Jay Ramsey
Jim Vivian
Ken Robie
Lee Yoder
Mark Wurst (Flickr)
Marty Bernard
Matt Helton
Max Linder
Paul Fortini (Flickr)
Paul Maciulewicz
Paul Wilshaw
Ralph Thompson
Randy Chasserau
Richard Goddard
Rick Morgan
Robert Farkas
Robert Truett
Ronald Docimo
Sam Beck (Flickr)
Slydeshow (Flickr)
Stan Jackowski (Flickr)
Tod Dillon (Flickr)
Warren Whitby
William Davis
Sadly, csx didn't save not one of these unique diesels!they could have at least saved one of these! I have one on my model railroad, and I'm trying to collect at least 9 of these rare classic looking diesels.yes ,many people said that they were ugly, but I found something unique about them. They may not have won any beauty contests, but they had one major thing going for them, they were hard working units,and they would give you their all when pulling heavy freight trains! Another great thing about them, they sounded great! I wish that I could find more of them in ho scale.can anybody help me?
We could rebuild one if we really wanted to, since it's just a B23-7 with a funny cab. It's like the class 13 in a way.
I don't know why CSX didn't just convert them to standard cab units. It wouldn't have been hard.
It's a shame all the BQ23-7s are now scrapped and lost forever.
As someone who thought they looked off I wasn't fazed by that
I personally dislike GE and its locomotives, but it would've been nice to save one of these unique units.
Great short docu; and how cool learning about this obscure locomotive from a railfan so far away! I like NZ railroading too:
I didn't get nothing out of this video. These locomotives were hated by every crew men that operated them. They were despised, but I liked them. They had a distinctive look and sound. I used to chase them from brundidge, AL, all the way to Montgomery, AL. They were hard working locomotives and they earned their keep. It was very sad to see them being allowed to waste away. And csx should have at least saved one of these unique locomotives. But no,the crews complained about them so much that the railroad decided to get rid of them . In spite of all this, these locomotives lived up to their reputation as hard working locomotives they're gone, but not forgotten! I am currently building enough CABS to make at least seven of them for my ho scale railroad.
The only benefits of the BQ23-7's was the EMD styled blomberg trucks and the unique cabs.The same things applied to the B23-S7's or B23-7R's.These units had better riding and comfort than the standard B23-7's and other -7's.Still,that hardly is anything to justify them.These units had numerous errors,one of them involving dynamic braking resulting in overheating or melting grids.Union Pacific almost decided to remove the grids from their GE -7's just because of that.One of the other problems was no wheel slippage prevention at the time.This is why the EMD units were the ones still hauling all the grunt work.Aside from the BQ23-7's & B23-S7's,many crews disliked the units mainly because the cabs were cramped and narrow including the seats and doors.Many EMD and even ALCO units had much better comforts.The same problems were still present during the years of the Universal Series in terms of operation and performance.The only good of the -7 series was fast tractive effort correlated to acceleration.The gearing ratios were almost enough in comparison to the Fairbanks Morse Trainmasters.Still,there was far more EMD and ALCO fleets on any railroad compared to GE units.GE finally made an impression once the -8 series were released introducing microprocessors,wheel slippage prevention,stronger dynamic braking,better traction motors,quieter cabs,and smoother truck riding qualities.
Sorry that you weren't listening. I for one got quite a bit from the video.
Love these motors
Despite them being obscure, I think they have a decently long service life. YN2 looks good on these
That's something I forgot to mention, and it's certainly impressive that they lasted at least 20 years.
I like these videos because this is an engine that most American rail fans know about but don’t really go into detail about. It’s cool to relearn about these weird engines!
These are one odd ball looking Diesel Electric Locomotives. The front is similar to a E-60. Like the GG-1 the E-60 was a double ended locomotive. There was a A end and a B end. I operated E-60 Locomotives for Amtrak and NJTRO. When the E-60 first went in service on the North East Corridor on Amtrak. Their maximum authorized speed was 110mph. Unfortunately the E-60s were plagued with Lateral Motion. That restricted their maximum authorized speed at 80 mph. The E-60 was a fairly reliable electric locomotive.
The lateral motion on the E-60s was so bad. That I would sometimes think that either the flanges on the wheels or the rail would break or spread. After shock absorbers were added to the trucks. The Lateral motion was almost completely diminished. The shock absorbers would regularly wear out in 6 months or so. I also operated the Famous GG-1 locomotives. They were a blast to operate. With a total of 20 wheels on the GG-1. They were extremely smooth running. I operated GG-1s from 1974 until they were retired in 1983. The longest train I ever pulled with 2 GG-1s geared for freight. Was TV-24 and the train consisted of 125 TTX cars. The 2 GG-1s had no problem getting the train up to 60 mph. I also operated the GG-1s when the new Amfleet Coaches were put in service. A GG-1 a Mail car converted for head end power and 3 to 5 Amfleet Coaches. The GG-1 were restricted to 100 mph. The GG-1 went 120 mph no problem. The speed indicator only went to 100 mph. I would use my watch and every 10 catenary poles on average was 1 mile. I only exceeded the 100 mph. If the Metroliner was running late. Back then if the Metroliner arrived at its final destination over 5 minutes late. The Passengers rode for free. At 120 mph the GG-1 was extremely smooth running on tracks,ties and road bed that were deteriorating. I could many times see the rail lifting up off the Tie plates. I was never afraid,because no one ever lost their life operating a GG-1. Of course any speed restrictions I didn’t exceed the maximum authorized speed. After the AEM-7s were put in service. They were a pleasure to operate.
I'm aware that some railfans here nicknamed the BQ23-7s "AEGIS Cruisers" because their cabs resembled the forward superstructure of the then-relatively-new Ticonderoga-class cruisers, which were themselves very boxy with a slight slant around where the bridge windows are.
These used to run thru the town where I grew up, after Chessie and SBD merged. This was years before I was born but hey... Great video! Thanks!
Very well made video! Great comparisons to other engines. As unpopular as these engines are among crew members, I would have liked to see at least one of these oddities in preservation. I also can't help but ponder the photo at 4:13 with an Amtrak Superliner behind the engine. I can only assume the coach is in the consist to be delivered for repairs.
I just thought that picture was too bizarre of a scene to not include in the video. And thank you for having a gander, despite me not expecting it.
Next time I cover an obscure locomotive (whenever that may be), I'll probably talk about the Union Pacific C855 or English Electric DP2.
Worked on the "normal" ones at the Collinwood Yards in Cleveland, Ohio before Confail closed it.
Seaboard was not “taken over” by CSX, it merged with the Chessie System to create CSX. CSX stands for Chessie Seaboard X. The C means nothing, and was just added in for legal reasons i guess
Chessie System Conglomerate!!!!!!!!!! CSX!!!!
YOU'RE WRONG! THE C STOOD FOR CHESSIE SYSTEM! THE S, STOOD FOR SEABOARD AND THE X, STOOD FOR CORPORATION. THUS YOU HAVE CSX! WHICH IS ALTOGETHER, CHESSIE SEABOARD CORPORATION WHICH EXPLAINS THE X.
Long Live the Cube
Props to CSX for scrapping all these eyesores
they look like ugly trash trucks
but with 5 people in the cab, I guarantee there were a lot of tall tales told and stupid jokes shared
Woooooooooo,Woooooooooo
First
These damn cursed things were uglier than sin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No the chargers are ugly