RE: (erielack) U34CH sound (was: EL Motive power arrangements)

[Charles_Walsh_@_Berlex.com]

Don't get me wrong...when I wasn't trying to sleep or watch TV--our house
was adjacent to the tracks--they were a joy to behold, with a deep gutteral
roar that was unmistakable.  Living in South Orange, on foggy or snowy
nights, when sound would travel greater distances than usual, I could hear
the eastbound locals starting up Mountain Station, then Highland Avenue,
then Orange, then Brick Church, then East Orange.  I'd lose them after that
since they went down in the cut towards Newark, but that was still at least
3-4 miles as the crow flies, and they were still loud and clear even at
that distance.  The same went for westbounds...and I swear that on rare
occasions that I could hear them leaving Short Hills on their way to Summit
when the conditions were right.


                                                                                                                                       
                      "Tupaczewski,                                                                                                    
                      Paul R (Paul)"                                                                                                   
                      <paultup_@_lucent. To:     "'Charles_Walsh@berlex.com'" <Charles_Walsh@berlex.com>                                 
                      com>             cc:     erielack_@_lists.railfan.net                                                              
                                       Subject:                                                                                        
                      08/01/2005 02:27         RE: (erielack) U34CH sound (was: EL Motive power arrangements)                          
                      PM                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                       



Chuck Walsh wrote:

> I don't know if this is true, but I've heard that they were
> amongst the loudest locomotives ever produced.  That I can
> confirm from
> first hand experience.  I can just imagine what a TRIO of
> those units must
> have sounded like tackling a heavy grade...

Not sure if that's true, but it would not surprise me. If you've never
heard a U34CH accelerating, you haven't lived!

The U34CH's were unique in that the units (when operating in the usual
"passenger" mode) were always in Run 8. It was particularly unsettling when
they came into a station stop, roaring away. When stopped, the units were
LOUD. VERY LOUD. You could hear the radiator furiously sucking in air to
keep the prime mover cool. When accelerating, the prime mover's speed
didn't change, but the load increased on the generator, forcing the engine
to work even harder to maintain the constant RPM. This resulted in a loud
(read: LOUD) "chug-chug-chug" sound accompanying the accleration to speed.
If you've heard modern GE's at work, you've experienced a far milder
version of the sound.

I grew up in Boonton, a block away from Wootton Street (about a mile away
from the station stop). Even though it was a mile away, you could easily
hear the giant U-boats storming out of town from my house on summer
evenings. I miss that sound! :(

             - Paul






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