SD70ACe-P4 Testing

SD70ACe-P4 Testing

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During the week of October 21-25, 2013, BNSF was out doing a bit of testing on EMD's latest creation - the SD70ACe-P4. Designed with only four traction motors instead of six, the unit is designed to have the running characteristics and (near) price point of a DC locomotive with the advantages of AC traction. It's a direct competitive response to GE's ES44C4 model, which offers basically the same features and of which BNSF already owns several hundred. EMDX 1211 and 1212 are the first factory-built units of this new model.

The SD70ACe-P4 - as best I can tell - is visually identical to a production SD70ACe. The only way to tell them apart is the lack of a traction motor on the two axles nearest the fuel tank, giving them a B1-1B configuration. It's not something you can see that well, but it is evident in some of the pictures below. (The GEs are A1A-A1A, meaning the center axles of each truck are unpowered. They also have a very obvious spotting feature - a pair of cylinders on each side of each truck, tied to a lever arm above the middle axle.)

BNSF Engineering apparently decided get out there and put the new units through their paces, and also compare them with some of their already purchased GE cousins. The test train consisted of two BNSF engineering cars (Kootenai River and Canyon Diablo), two SD70ACe-P4s (EMDX 1211 and 1212), two ES44C4s (BNSF 6598 and 6599), and two other units - an ES44DC (BNSF 7824) and a C44-9W (BNSF 4038) when I was there on Tuesday. (That afternoon, they cut off the C44-9W and ran it back into La Junta, so the rest of the week was likely done without it.)

Two weeks ago, the new units were tested against their GE cousins on the grades of Raton. Presumably those tests were looking at adhesion, wheel slip, pulling power, and other things critical on mountain grades.

This week seemed to be about operation at speed and acceleration under load. The testing was performed on the straight sections of the Raton Sub just outside of La Junta. Operations were based out of Timpas, one siding southwest of La Junta, CO, and test trains regularly got around 70+ mph before they throttled things back.

Thanks to a heads up, I blew off work on Tuesday and headed out to have a look. It turned out to be a gorgeous fall day in Colorado, so I'm glad I did. Enjoy!

Date: 10 Oct 2013

Size: 26 items

[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] This is really why we're all out here today - it's one of EMD's new SD70ACe-P4 locomotives. These locomotives have only four powered axles, with the two axles nearest the fuel tank being idlers (no motors). My understanding is that these units also have ... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] The SD70ACe-P4 is EMD's answer to General Electric's ES44C4 (seen here). The ES44C4 has the center axle on each truck unpowered, and was designed to give the price and performance of a DC unit with all the advantages of an AC drive unit. Today's test tr ... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] The ES44C4 can be easily distinguished from its six motor sibling, the ES44AC, by the two cylinders and lever arm around the center axle on each truck. These - in theory - will take some of the weight off the center axle during hard pulls, adding weight ... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes
[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] SD70ACe-P4 engines have no such handy spotting feature as the axle-lifting assembly on the GE ES44C4. There's no external difference I can find. The only clue is the lack of a traction motor on the inward axle of each truck. While hard to see at speed, ... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x638] [983x784] This is the builder's plate from EMDX 1211. Note that it just says "SD70ACe" as a model - no stinkin' -P4 on the model designator yet. Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] One thing about it, it's just plain barren along the Raton Sub. Seeing only two trains per day (Amtrak's east and westbound Southwest Chief) also gives plenty of time for running tests. Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes
[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] Every test run began about the same - set up the dynamics on some units, put the others in power, and run up the hill. ... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] Once everything was set up, they'd highball out of East Timpas up the grade towards La Junta. It's really a very boring line - dead straight and not much in the way of scenic interest besides a couple trestles and signals. Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] The other SD70ACe-P4 - EMD 1211 Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes
[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] One of the BNSF engineering test cars along for the trip - BNSF 82, Kootenai River Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] And the other test car - BNSF 83, Canyon Diablo Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] With either the GEs or EMDs lugging their guts out against the load of the dynamics, away we go. I spoke with one of the crew, and he was in general quite pleased with how the new EMDs were performing. Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes
[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] Look, it's the other trestle on the route! (Actually there were about four wooden trestles over the short length of the test runs.) Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] One of the oldest power sources on the Great Plains meets the newest as 1212 passes this old windmill. Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] Just another shot of the train making one of its uphill test runs, trying to attain the 70+mph speeds the test team wants to see. As you'll note, the snow is already on the mountains in the background. Fall's here. Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes
[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] Once the test power had achieved the proper conditions for the run, the crew would bring things to a stop and head back to Timpas to set things up again. The entire length of the test run was under 10 miles. One of those returning test runs heads back d ... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] Back at Timpas, the engineering team calls it a day, happy with the data they've collected. The crew will cut out the C44-9W and send it back to La Junta that night. Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] ATSF 1024, a 1901 Baldwin, was donated to the city of La Junta, CO, after its retirement in the early 1950s. For years, the engine sat back to the south of US 50 where it crossed under the Raton Subdivision. In April, the town moved it to a much more pr ... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes
[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] It's been freshly repainted and will have lights on it at night, prominently representing the town's Santa Fe history. Also, note those two signal bases down towards the front... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] 1024 is a native of these parts. Originally built as a Vauclain compound with a large firebox, it was designed to tackle the grades of Raton and Glorieta. Though converted to a simple expansion engine in the 1910s, it's still a remarkably unique engine. ... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] Two more pieces of Santa Fe history will soon be joining 1024 - a pair of semaphores. The Raton Sub has the distinction of being the last remaining cluster of block signal semaphores in the United States, drawing a number of railfans over the years to ph ... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes
[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] Another view of the two signal masts and heads lying on the ground, freshly painted. The blades are (wisely) nowhere to be found. Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[533x800] [1067x1600] [2000x3000] What would a drive along the Raton Sub be without stopping to photograph Colorado's last wig-wag at Delhi? Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] As a through route, the Raton Sub may be living on borrowed time. The only traffic it sees these days is two daily Amtraks and the occasional military train in or out of Pinon Canon. I figured on a beautiful day like Tuesday, why not drive the rest of t ... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes
[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] Fall's definitely upon us at Hoehnes. Looking east, we see the dual greens of Santa Fe's APB signaling on this line. Once good for 90+ mph, the line also has automatic train stop (ATS) systems installed, alluding to its former glory. Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes	[800x533] [1600x1067] [3000x2000] Seriously 90 seconds too late for daylight. If Amtrak was on time, this would have been one of my favorite shots of 2013, but no... Date: 10 Oct 2013 Owner: ND Holmes

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