The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-11-10

No. 20. ~ Thursday of thiS wees
sssfhouna ~ rrsin 80. historical
y marks the end Il further siee
trificstion IN n. whole Milwaukee
railway
Tire heys Of the press didn't no
tee II Al first. but this new desc
giant has not one but tao heating
boilers in The inner ends ef m
two middle cab sections And ~
don't steam heat box car. viii
two large heating boilers
Diesel-Drswn olsnpisn
Milwaukee officials grinned |,
bit. but would neither deny or con.
firm the idea that this giant woulc
also be used TO haul the olympiar
from othello 10 Avery. Ida. VI
Spokane. as well as for fast
freight service on the short lint
10 Plummer.
And that isn't all. II will TAKE
two more Of these giants to com.
plete the classification of the main
line between Avery and othello
and these will probably be ordered
this winter. to serve as running
mates for this new one.
The remarkable ability of a
mainline freight diesel to work
up TO y hours per day. without
stopping. makes II possible 10
made one round trip with 3 freifh,
train from othello to Avery. and
haul 30 per cent more tonnage,
each "a hours.
Two of these $500. 900 machines
will haul two trsnseontinental
freights zach way. each day.
Three will handle the passenger
service as well as freight.
So there you have II. The main
line diesel freight locomotive on
the Milwaukee thus bridges for
the first time In world history
two ends Of an electrified railroad,
and 1t means abandonment of all
steam operation and the final an
swer to further identification on
the Milwaukee.
q. ". TO Dieselise, Too
And II also. by reason of me-
h /, ale. ana .oan1,.4.. - a rLs fhs
end of all further railway eleetri-
in the Pacific Northwest.
There il slim chance the G. N.
will extend its trolley lines from
TO Quincy, but 1t Is
because they, too, are co.
ing TO turn to diesels.
All of this goes back to the
simple fact that a diesel locomo-
tive IL simply an electric loeomo-
tive that carries its own power
generating plant-in this case
driven by 4 fast, lightweight diesel
engine, aelf-contained. like your
family car, as to fuel. oil. starting,
radiator. braking system
and water supply.
1t costs about 100000 per mile
to electrify a railroad, and only
about $500 per mile to dieselize.
on a setup such as the Milwaukee
has, so $500 900 for one giant
diesel locomotive il cheap at half
the price and. besides, General
Motors sells them on \ nifty time
plan purchasing system at only 10
per cent down and so much per
month, like buying vacuum
cleaner,
Trial Trip Described
The Olympian met the new
diesel at Plummer. Thick fog
spokane's much tootled
airport, and the white blanket ex-
tended clear to Plummer. The sta
ton was jammed with people. A
band had just finished playing
TO welcome the new train fresh In
from the west, over the freight
line.
Everybody aboard. away we
went. with 4.670 trailing tons. IS
cars and 4 limping business car
with a coupler yanked out the
night before. sadly dangling be-
hind the oaboose q mile
back. So. the inexperienced press.
replete with overeoats. gloves,
much luggage and muffiers, pro-
ceeded TO roast TO death and
squirm In the shiny white snam-
eled engine rooms and two end
cabs, A. the foot warmers made II
comfy for the lightly dreased train
crew and the white clad General
test crew.
Dynamic Brakiag Explained
For IL miles toward st. Maries.
Idaho, the line drops at one per
cent grade. A flip Of the button
anu I@liE lntti LIT AAbAhc 80 -
on the regeneratise electric brake,
and the whole train slid down at
q miles per hour with not =
single air brake application. The
waste electricity L. absorbed In
heaters or grids. mounted in the
roof - General Motors call. this
dynamic braking. q fancy title for
wasting electricity on a downhill
run. But IT works exactly like the
electric locomotives regensrstive
brakes coming down the Cascades,
a cheering crowd greeted IA at
81. Maries. and off up the canyon
Of the shadowy 81. Joe River. 10
. nice spot for taking photographs
Of mile long string Of loaded
freight cars
Running Time Halved