John, right now, my territory is -- on vacation, so I anticipate that I won't be active on SI for about 6 weeks.
Working, my seniority district is between Yuma and El Paso.
Yes, I've operated the new AC4400 locomotives. Their tractive effort makes them like almost scary. They just don't slip at all. I get the impression that, if too much throttle was advanced too quickly, they'd try to rip the rails out. Have been given brief classes on them. They are supposed to be a lot more cost efficient than the DC engines.
I operate pool freight and the AC locomotives that I've seen seem to be used mostly in local freight work. In fact, the time I've operated them were when I'd been shoved off my regular run to fill in vacancy on local work.
The only negative things I can say about them are that in the daytime, with bright sunlight outside, the CRT display monitors that are used in place of gauges aren't easy to read like the standard gauges. I prefer standard gauges, for quick readability.
I prefer the previous control stands to the new "desktop" controls, also. The older control stand is a lot more ergonometric (user friendly) and easier to reach, without having to look at it, for all the controls. Whoever designed the desktop controls doesn't run a locomotive for a living, it seems. They are also extremely awkward to use, in back-and-forth switching operations, as far as ease-of-operation and being able to lean out the window.
As I said, I'm starting my vacation, so if you respond to this, don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for quite a while.
Always nice to talk with someone in the same age group; no generation gaps to leap...-g-
John |
