Great Northern boxcab (3 phase)

The GN boxcab locomotives were the first electric locomotives purchased by the Great Northern Railway (GN) for use through the Cascade Tunnel. Four locomotives were supplied by the American Locomotive Company; they used electrical equipment from General Electric and weighed 115 short tons (104 t) each.[2][3]

Great Northern Boxcab (3-Phase)
Three Great Northern boxcabs
Type and origin
Power typeElectric
BuilderGE and ALCO
Serial number
  • Alco: 45289, 45286–45288
  • GE: 2895, 2892–2894
Build dateFebruary–March 1909
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • AARB-B
 • UICBo′Bo′
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Wheel diameter60 in (1.5 m)[1]
Length44 ft 2 in (13.46 m)
Width10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
Loco weight230,000 lb (100,000 kg; 100 t)
Electric system/s6.6 kV, 25 Hz AC (3-Phase)
Current pickup(s)Pantograph
Traction motors4 × GE-1506
Gear ratio19/81
Performance figures
Maximum speed15 mph (24 km/h)
Power output1,500 hp (1,100 kW)
Tractive effort:
​
 • Starting57,500 lbf (256 kN) at 25% adhesion[1]
 • 1 hour38,000 lbf (170 kN)[1]
 • Continuous34,800 lbf (155 kN)[1]
Factor of adh.25%
Career
OperatorsGreat Northern Railway
Number in class4
Numbers5000–5003
Delivered1909
RetiredMay 1927
DispositionAll scrapped

They were three-phase electric locomotives producing 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) each. The specification called for 1000hp, but the actual output was substantially greater, as described by the consultant engineer Cary T. Hutchinson.[4] They had a B-B wheel arrangement. They were built in February and March 1909, and delivered in Pullman Green. The GN numbered them 5000–5003 and they were used until May 1927.[5]

Initially three locomotives were coupled together and hauled trains at a constant speed of 15.7 mph (25.3 km/h),[6] but when larger trains required four locomotives the motors were concatenated (cascade control), so that the speed was halved to 7.8 mph (12.6 km/h) to avoid overloading the power supply.[4]

None survived into preservation.

References
  1. Manson, Arthur J. (1923). Railroad Electrification and the Electric Locomotive. New York, NY: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-587167932-6. Refer to Table F, p.318-319, Line 8
  2. "Electric Locomotives for the Great Northern". The Railroad Gazette. 46 (1): 120-122. 1909.
  3. Haut, F.J.G. (1969). The History of the Electric Locomotive. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. ISBN 004-385042-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  4. Hutchinson, Cary T. (1909). "The electric system of the Great Northern railway company at Cascade tunnel". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 28 (11): 1409–1447.
  5. "GN Alco-GE 3-phase 5000s". The Great Northern Empire. 2005. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  6. American Railway Association (1922), p. 901.
  • Keyes, Norman C., Jr.; Middleton, Kenneth R. (Autumn 1980). "The Great Northern Railway Company: All-Time Locomotive Roster, 1861–1970". Railroad History. Boston, Mass.: Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. 143: 117. ISSN 0090-7847. JSTOR 43523930.
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