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When they used them, did UP M.U. the turbine engines with other power? With other turbines? Were they the point unit, or back in the lashup? Were the turbines even capable of MU? I'm wondering because I've seen DD40's and U50's MU'd, but I've never seen a Big Blow, or a photo of one, operating any way but by itself. In my mind's eye, I see a DD40 tucked in behind the X-18 with a lo-o-ong Manifest behind it on Raton or Cajon for MSTS, but prob'ly wouldn't do it if it wasn't prototype.
JOhn Oldrailfan Railfan means anything on rails! Trains Trolleys Rollercoasters - you name it.
Yes they were capable of being MU'd.I have a pic of one MU'd with 6 locos from other builders pulling a long freight.Even have a pic of one of the big blows MU'd with a c855.So yes it was possible and seemed to happen on a regular basis but the turbines were always in the lead from the pics I've seen.
I heard this story a long time ago, I don't know if it's true, but it sounds reasonable.In the later years of the turbines, they were MU'ed with a GP-9. The idea was that they could be shut down (to idle) when moving them around the yards, using the GP-9. Normally, they were screamers, even just moving around by themselves. http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/photos/gasturbines/tur131.shtml edit: typo
IIRC UP would add one of their GP9Bs to the lash-up and used that for breakdown protection and to add a little oomph. The Big Blows themselves had a Cooper-Bessemer Dinky Aux Diesel on board for Hostling Moves and to provide excitation for the Dynamic Brakes....Chuck Schneider (Virtual) CEO North American (Virtual) Locomotive Works
The story I heard, was that UP would often lash a gp 9A or B behind the things to move them around the yards. These things ATE fuel, so having a secondary engine to tug them around was pretty much a necessity. Plus, should the engine get shut down, then there was a way for the train to be moved. Once shut down, it took an hour for them to cool down enough they could be restarted without problems.
I've seen a video called "Turbines of the Wasatch" and it shows them MU'ed to GP9s, GP20s, SD40s and SD45s. There is even a scene of a turbine leading a Big Boy. Obviously it wasn't MU'ed but it would be prototypical to run them together.David.
