Were the railroads slow to accept diesels in the old days?

Question

In some ways I'm surprised that the steam era lasted as long as it did. Why were the first diesels confined to the yards? The diesels are so easier maintenance wise.....

Answer 1

The diesels took over very quickly once they reached a point where they had 1500 horsepower.  In those days, reasonable size steam engines had 4000 hp.  The biggest U.S. locomotives had around 6000.  This was the reason for the branch/yard limitations early on.  Not enough power.

They reached a point where the advantages caught up with the disadvantage in prime mover horsepower.  It took them a while to get to that point.  Hope that makes sense.

When you run a large industry, you have to replace things as they wear out, because of the capital cost involved.  It takes time to change your infrastructure, for many reasons, including planning to move the freight while the infrastructure is changing.  Considering that, the changeover was very fast.  In many cases the service lives of the steam locomotives were drastically shortened.

Answer 2

Diesel electric locomotives evolved over time.  the first built were yard engines because that is the only service they were capable of doing.

Once the larger locomotives came along, they began slowly supplanting the steam fleets of all the major railroads.  This is why only the largest of the steam engines survived until their ultimate demise, hauling tonnage trains to the last.

The men, on the other hand, at least where I have railroaded, were very uncomfortable with them, at first.  This was primarily due to the fact that the new freight road engines incorporated a new and different brake schedule that the seasoned engineers didn't like.  This became the 24-L brake schedule.  But, with the advent of dynamic brake, the diesels gained favor quickly, even with the primitive "field loop", "taper" type dynamic brakes that were employed at the time.

The rest, as they say, is history...

Answer 3

I think the railroads jumped on them quite fast, as soon as the technology evolved to where they could replace the steam.

Early deisels were pretty tiny compared to what they were replacing.

You gotta remember the last generation of steam was very advanced, tremendously powerful and fast.

Also, deisels came into being about the time of the depression, railroads didnt have the money to just go out and jump on the deisel wagon over night.

It wasnt really until WWII and after that RR revenue allowed the total switch.

And of course infrastructure, shops had to be built, machinists hired and trained, fuel facilities built.

Huge commitment, when you really consider everyting involved it was a lightening fast develompment.

Answer 4

Machinery will only be accepted as the availability of the fuels needed to run them becomes more accessible.  Coal was a lot more prevalent, and it took diesel more time to become refined and available.  Coal was more available, easier to obtain, and so it took a while for diesel to catch on.

And in my opinion, there is nothing quite like the sight of an old coal burner chugging down the track.  They were more than a train, they were works of art.

Answer 5

Alco83 & HogsHead gave great answers...

ANOTHER thing that delayed their entry into regular service was the GAS/OIL restrictions during World War II. Petroleum products were going primarily to the Ships, Tanks, Trucks, and Aircraft... coal was here in the USA and available to keep the steam trains running.

I wouldn't be surprised if also there was some RR Workers Union putting some leverage... since you'd be losing the job of fireman :-?

Great Question.

Answer 6

Lance,

Good question and you're right, railroads were not impressed with diesels as main line, heavy-haul, locomotives until the very late 1930s when the EA and FT were unveiled by EMD.  From the 1920s until that time they were mostly relegated to yard and branch line/light duty work with manufacturers like Alco and GE selling a few hundred models like the S-1, S-2, and 44-tonner.

After it became clear with the EA and FT's unveiling that they were far superior to steam technology, in terms of cost savings and efficiency (i.e., maintenance), did railroads truly embrace diesels as an all-purpose, all around, locomotive to serve all of their needs.  The savings were so great they were even willing to sacrifice horsepower, which at the time steam locomotives had much more of per locomotive.  

I will confess, though, nothing quite compares to seeing a steam locomotive at work, especially one on the main line, at-speed!

Answer 7

Well since most railroads left from 1 small town to another and there werent anypit stops people realised to take the diesel slow since the towns werent that far apart.If i dint answer your questuion you should look railroads in ARIZONA HISTORY..since there were a lot of railroads there

Answer 8

no oil...

Answer 9

The steam engines had a lot of people to run and care for them.... diesel put a lot of those people out of work. Steam engines were a lot to make and maintaining them was costly. They had to stop frequently for water and coal or wood. Diesel won out after a while....the glory days are still enjoyed on rail fan trips...steam excursions still take fans for rides on special occasions.

Answer 10

The main reason was that the Second World War created severe limitations on the manufacture of new products that used large quantities of steel.

This resulted in a delay of several years in the delivery of locomotives that were introduced in the late 1930s but could not be mass produced until the late 1940s and the 1950s.

Answer 11

You must be a virgin.