Which Locomotive is Better?

Question:   What is so special about an ES44AC? Is it better than an SD80MAC?

 

Answer:   From a trainmaster’s (or locomotive assignment manager’s) perspective, one is no better than the other as long as it is fueled, serviced (sand, oil, inspected, toilet cleaned, etc.), pointed in the right direction, and ready to go.  One six-axle engine is as good as the next.  The locomotive assignment manager is only concerned with matching the correct amount of horsepower (really tractive force at the wheel-rail interface, taking into account better or worse adhesion characteristics) with the train assignment.  (A 420,000-pound 4400HP locomotive with advanced adhesion control will slip less and can therefore pull more than a 420,000-pound 4400HP locomotive with a lower coefficient of adhesion.)

Train crews certainly may have personal preferences about the way some locomotive types are set up or handle on the road.

From the railroad’s perspective, the newer generation locomotives (such as the GE Evolution Series ES44AC and ES44DC and the EMD SD70Ace and SD70M2) are better from fuel efficiency (therefore operating cost) standpoint as well as from an emissions (air pollution) standpoint.

So, while railfans may argue about which locomotives are better looking, there is not really a significant difference between the latest GE and EMD locomotives from an operational perspective.  This is confirmed by the fact that all of the North American Class I railroads have both new EMD and GE units in their fleets and/or on order.