Thursday, June 26, 2014

Lima-Hamilton Diesel Locomotives

Preface:  There seems to be decent amount of writing on the net about Lima-Hamilton diesel locomotives, and my belief is that if all one does is repeat what is on the net, one is adding nothing to the net.  Therefore, instead of trying to retell the story of Lima-Hamilton I'm instead going to tell you about the company's products as seen through some specific sets of original documents and materials.  ALL materials you will see on this page are in my collection as well as others I'm referencing but not showing.

1000 HP Switcher - Trade Papers


The trade magazine MODERN RAILROADS introduced the Lima-Hamilton 1000 HP diesel switcher in its August 1949 issue, showing the original demonstrator unit (seen above, Lima-Hamilton No. 1000) and mentioning the fact that by that time four railroads had ordered a total of 31 units from Lima-Hamilton; 10 were for the Erie, 6 were for New York Central, and 4 for the Nickel Plate being called out specifically.

The locomotive at the time was called out both in this trade paper and others for several specific and peculiar features.

Pressure charged and intercooled engine.   This was the first diesel engine to be built for use in U.S. locomotives to incorporate intercooling.  The feature was thought both novel and very modern at the time, and much was made of the fact that it materially lowered operating temperatures.  As a matter of fact, the Hamilton T89SA diesel engine had been announced to the railroad world as far back as October 1948 (in Railway Age) as a "1200 HP at sea level" engine.  Even in Lima-Hamilton materials, at the time the locomotives were being marketed as 1000 HP units, the capability of the engine to develop higher power was noted frequently - and as we know, the engine was soon uprated.

Throttle operation.  While all Lima-Hamilton diesels used the Westinghouse XM-781 electric eight notch throttle, they had interposed in the control circuit a peculiar device which apparently controlled the rate at which the engine's speed could increase.  To quote the material in Modern Railroads:  "Control for this diesel switcher is somewhat different from that used in other locomotives.  A remote, electro-pneumatic, single station control used with a Woodward PG governor and governor operator affects both engine speed and the field of the exciter for the main generator.  A face plate type resistor, having 162 points, is actuated by a vane motor controlled by the governor.  This gives load control and load limit with each of the eight notches of the controller.  The governor is set to give low horsepower in the low notches to facilitate switching passenger equipment, and to give a rapid increase in horsepower in the high notches for heavy freight switching.  When starting a heavy freight load, for example, the controller can be pulled around to the eighth notch, with engine coming up to full speed and full power in 20 seconds."   This all vaguely implies minimum field starting; we'll learn more about this arrangement later.

The propulsion equipment (main generator, traction motors) were conventional Westinghouse equipment, with motors permanently in series-parallel and two steps of field shunt -- just like that found on contemporary Baldwin and Fairbanks-Morse switchers in operation.

Lima-Hamilton 1000 HP Diesel-Electric Locomotive Sales Brochure


 
A sales brochure produced by Lima-Hamilton very early (it has no date; is probably late 1949) shows the locomotive layout, and gives some details on the construction of the diesel engine itself.  The diesel engine's actual construction is rarely discussed these days.  Click any photo to enlarge.
 






 
An interesting feature of this engine is the fact that it uses a dry sump lubricating system - not rocket science, but unusual in U.S. diesel locomotives.
 
1000 HP Switcher Ads - Trade Magazine
 
Two advertisements from Railway Mechanical and Electrical Engineer.  The first is from August 1950 and shows TP&W 300, which is actually the former Lima-Hamilton demonstrator seen earlier.  The second ad is from October 1950 and shows a 1000 HP unit built for NYC&St.L.  Note that the rear cab windows on TP&W 300 appear to have been lowered, entirely; probably to reduce sun glare.  This is the same reason many roads plated over or painted over the small windows over the engine hoods on EMD switchers, and ALCO-GE 660/1000 HP switchers and 1500/1600 HP road switchers.
 

 

 
 
Lima-Hamilton Specification Cards
 
Specification cards are something that some collectors just pile up; I don't, but I have over the years acquired three of them from Lima-Hamilton, all covering switch engines.  I'll show front (picture view) and back (specifications) below; keep in mind that the three cards are stacked up in each scan, oldest on top. 
 
The first card shows the original 1000 HP Lima-Hamilton demonstrator.  The second card shows a 1000 HP unit built for the Erie; this unit is equipped with multiple unit controls on both ends, and the M.U. plug sockets can clearly be seen on the end rails.  The third card shows the first 1200 HP demonstrator unit - and it's labeled on the rear "built for Lima-Hamilton Corporation" just as the card for the first demonstrator was.
 


 


 
Of course, the similarity of the 1000 HP and 1200 HP locomotives is obvious (modelers will note however the unique window arrangements on Lima-Hamilton 1000, as well as the different radiator intake louver design) and we know that some units were uprated in power output, from 1000 HP to 1200 HP.   The 1200 HP unit first appeared about one year after the first 1000 HP unit was built.  We'll see a bit more about the uprating hinted at later.
 
 
Lima-Hamilton Operating Manuals
 
Not a lot has been done to catechize these manuals; they're not exceedingly rare, but they're unusual enough that most folks don't have a pile of them.  I have four, and I can tell you the details for identifying and categorizing them for your future research.  Let's look at the front covers of two manuals first.
 



First of all, Lima-Hamilton manuals don't have part numbers or training series numbers or any such.  On the front, they'll tell you what they're for generally -- both of these say, near the top, "1200 HP Diesel Electric Switching Locomotive."  The key here is on the bottom left corner.  If you look closely, the left hand manual says "Form 1200 STD" while the right manual says "Form 1200 B&O T.R.R.A. -ST. L."   The STD on the left hand manual means "standard," and this is the manual issued for locomotives in basic condition with no options.  The manual on the right is railroad specific for units provided to both Baltimore & Ohio, and Terminal Rail Road Association of St. Louis.  Let's look at the front page photos from each.





What jumps out right away is the fact that the unit pictured in the second manual appears to be a B&O unit painted but not yet lettered, and that the locomotive has multiple unit connector plugs flanking an M.U. access gangway on the end platform; the standard unit just has a straight hand rail and no M.U. plugs.

Sure enough, when we leaf through the manuals we find that while the B&O / TRRA manual is of a slightly later style (these include fold out diagrams instead of one page diagrams) the content is essentially identical until we get to the back, and find that the B&O / TRRA manual has a single page added at the back to cover multiple unit operation that isn't found in the "STD" manual.

So the key to identifying a manual you're looking at is first, the title, and then second the code in the lower left hand corner.  I've also seen these labeled "Form 1200 N.Y. N.H. & H." - obviously for the New Haven, as just one other example.  Now let's look at two other manual covers.


 

The manual on the left covers the New York Central's 1200 HP road switchers.  The manual on the right is the standard manual for Lima-Hamilton transfer locomotives, without dynamic brake or multiple unit control; dual controls were standard on these.  These manuals are less common than those seen earlier; the one on the left is actually pretty hard to find.   These manuals also offer us a couple of very interesting details.

1200 HP Road Switchers


 
Present day historians might assume that the Lima-Hamilton 1200 HP road switcher was very much the 1200 HP switcher machinery on a lengthened frame, with road trucks and steam generator equipment.  That's right - and in that way, these are a lot like contemporary Baldwin 1000 and 1200 HP road switchers - but these Limas have one very important difference.  Unusually for Westinghouse equipped locomotives, these NYC 1200 HP road switchers have a full transition control for power distribution to the traction motors, even though they have Model 362 switcher traction motors.
 
Westinghouse locomotives normally don't change their connections to the traction motors to allow higher and higher speed - typically they just shunt their traction motor fields, early on in two steps and later on in four.  The traction motors are wired permanently in series-parallel.  On these Lima-Hamilton road switcher units however a full transition control is used, with the locomotives starting in series-parallel and then shifting to parallel for high speeds; field shunting is also employed.  This requires the addition of a significant amount of heavy switchgear and smaller control and timing relays never normally found in Westinghouse equipped units -- and that equipment is clearly obvious and clearly labeled in the electrical cabinet diagrams, and of course operation of the units making automatic transition is covered in the operating instructions.  These units do not have selector levers, and the engineman cannot forestall or control transition.  The units were also built with MU connections on the rear end only, as can be seen in the picture.
 
(There's little doubt that the transition control on these units was put in because they were originally intended to operate as passenger units on the Boston & Albany, in pairs.  This would have required good acceleration and high speed capability.  We all know how that worked out - it didn't, and the units ended up on freight in Ohio.)
 
Other than this feature the locomotives have no really surprising features.  Below is a photo of the overall diagram; I didn't wish to flatten and scan the manual due to its condition, so this photo will suffice.  Note that there's a large water cooler on the rear cab wall along with the cab heater, and two cab seats on the left side.



The 2500 HP transfer units' manual reveals nothing particularly surprising except that I might mention, in comparison to the transition of the 1200 HP road switcher that the 2500 HP transfer unit has all of three traction motors per power unit wired permanently in parallel, and incorporates two steps of field shunt.

Lima-Hamilton Modifications

I have in my collection a very tattered three page copied document, whose exact origin is unknown, that covers modifications to Lima-Hamilton diesel locomotives.  I'll give the title of each section and try to tell you what each seems to be describing.

A.  Elimination or Modification of Sequence Converter.

In the electrical cabinet photos of Lima-Hamiltons you see labeled a device called a "sequence converter," described as "a relay panel used to provide the proper synchronization between the throttle lever and the engine governor."  No Baldwins have this - I have to assume that this is specific to the specialized control system on Lima-Hamiltons mentioned much earlier in this post.  Apparently it could be removed or modified, as covered in this brief instruction.  Unfortunately the wiring diagrams that should have accompanied this bulletin aren't with it, or we might know exactly how this worked.  It does appear though that the removal of the Sequence Converter just left you with a conventional eight notch throttle and Woodward PG governor, perhaps operated by internal solenoids as on zillions of EMD locomotives.

Some mention of "dual engine" units is included; obviously, transfer units.

B. Change in Engine Speed Setting with Sequence Converter Removed from Speed Control.

Further evidence that the Sequence Converter was used to take throttle signal, and somehow produce a modified response from the PG governor as compared to what you'd get with just the throttle acting on the solenoids inside (that manipulate the speed control shaft.) 

This instruction does make it clear that the locomotives' governors are set up as Minimum Field Start - the load regulator at minimum field with the throttle in Idle. 

C. Changes Required in Voltage Regulator Circuit of Locomotives equipped with YG-42-A or YG-42-B auxiliary generator when changing idling speed from 350 to 425 RPM.

This detail covers a resetting of electrical components, no doubt to compensate for the higher idling speed.  Why there's a change to a higher idling speed is puzzling, unless the engines were not staying running... or else if they had their camshafts changed during uprating.  That may well be, because the last page does cover what appears to be uprating.

Instructions for setting engine speeds on Lima-Hamilton switch locomotives that have been modified at the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Plant, Hamilton, Ohio.

This instruction is a bit vague, but it's perfectly clear in one sense - the engines have been reset so that their maximum (notch 8) RPM is no longer 950 RPM, but 1000 RPM.  It's basically the brief part of the typical governor setting instruction but modified with the new, higher RPM's at each notch.  This then must cover those 1000 HP switchers that were sent back to Lima-Hamilton for uprating to 1200 HP, as the title surely seems to imply.  Being sent back to the factory implies more than just a simple modification to settings was done to whatever units this covers. 

The only idenfication on this increasingly tattered three page affair is at the bottom of the third page, and is as follows:

Office of
Supt. of Equipment,
September 11, 1952  W-4
File 416.05

----------

I hope you've enjoyed this look at Lima-Hamilton diesels from some unusual sources, and I'll check back occasionally for comments and questions. 

-Will Davis

Saturday, January 18, 2014

General Electric's 1977 Series Locomotives

 
What railfans today commonly describe as the "Dash 7" or "-7" line of General Electric diesel locomotives was announced late in 1976 and was described at that time by GE variously as the "1977 Series Locomotives" or else as the "New Series Locomotives."  This new line of domestic diesel-electric road locomotives was advertised in GE sales brochure GEA-10016, published 11/76 (1000 copies); the illustration above is from this brochure, and its cover is reproduced below.
 

 
The line originally included eleven models, which can be seen on the cover of the sales brochure above; this is not uncommon knowledge.  What is uncommon knowledge is what the New Series actually introduced to the GE line, and what it did not; further unstated anywhere is the origin of the design evolution.
 
"A New Industry Standard."
 
General Electric states in the introduction to this brochure that the New Series Locomotive was "the result of an intensive three year design and manufacturing program to further improve the quality of General Electric Locomotives."  This process was of course continuous with GE locomotives already; over the years GE had included product improvements and refinements (as well as power uprates) into locomotives actually built in series production for railroad service, but at the same price as conventional units in the order (for example, GE included two 3300 HP U33B locomotives in the midst of a New York Central production run of 3000 HP U30B units as "pre-production field test units") for the purpose of field testing improvements.  This process had begun with the U25B and continued through the early 1970's; for example, the steel crown piston was introduced first in 1970 on high horsepower models and eventually was applied to all models at all ratings.  (In fact, the original cast iron piston was allowed to go out of production so that, by the time of a 1983 GE publication in the collection, the iron piston had been unavailable brand new "for several years.")  What was different, apparently, with this New Series Locomotive line was the concentration of overall effort from the front of the locomotive to the back in a short period of time.
 
The brochure tells us of two new periods of improvement. Phase One saw GE perform what is described as "an in-depth study" with its customers which resulted in the development of "over 60 product improvements" that were incorporated into the locomotives in 1975 "on a scheduled basis," which simply implies that improvements were phased in as they were ready.  Phase Two consisted of all of the alterations found in the New Series Locomotive lineup; it was considered also to be complete as of the 11/76 publication date of the sales brochure.
 
"Phase One"
 
General Electric issued Specification 3860 in 1975, entitled "1975 Product Improvements."  Brief details of this specification are included in GEA-10016 as is an illustration of the specification itself, seen below.
 




The list of improvements is wide ranging.  58 are listed in GEA-10016 from Specification 3860; these are listed below.  These are not explained but rather are simply listed; most are obvious, but for those which are not I will include a brief description from other official GE publications.

1.  New Platform Sump-Drain System
2.  Newly Designed Braking Switch
3.  Easy Fuel Pump Motor Brush Access
4.  New Self-Cleaning Primary Dirty Air Outlets
5.  High Reliability Governor Plug
6.  Longer Life Cab Gauges
7,  Blue Control Card Labeled When Adjustment Required at Time of Installation
8.  Built-in Engine Barring Over Device
9.  Adequate Drains for Exterior Lights
10.  New Engine Cab Door Latches Provide "Positive" Locking
11.  New Hatch Latch Eliminates Damage to Fuel Lines
12.  Lower Lube-Oil Fill Mark
13.  Cylinder Hold-down Bolt Inserts  (WD note:  This means that inserts were shrunk fit into the engine frame, into which the cylinder hold down bolts threaded; previously, the hold downs were studs threaded directly into the frame itself.)
14.  Dynamic Braking Grid Slag Catcher (WD note:  This catches melted dynamic brake grid material, should this occur due to fault.)
15.  Engine Overspeed Link Redesigned
16.  Cleaner Air Supply to Increase Air Compressor Filter Life
17.  Improved Oil Filtration
18.  New Turbocharger External Air Seal Arrangement
19.  New Fuel Filter Drain Valve
20.  Improved Gardner-Denver Compressors
21.  "B" Platforms Strengthened
22.  Engine Systems Monitor (ESM)
23.  Improved Accessibility to Engine Governor
24.  Settings Now Included on Electrical Schematics to Assist Maintenance Personnel
25.  New Voltage Regulator
26.  Improved Power Rectifier Panel
27.  New Control Compartment Drains
28.  Improved Fasteners for Engine Air Filter Doors
29.  Improved Accessibility to Electric Heat Blower Motor
30.  Test Points Built-In and Data Provided for Maintenance
31.  Removable Cab Heater Headers to Facilitate Core Cleaning
32.  Alternator/Generator Improvements
33.  High Reliability, "Static" Time Delay Relay
34.  Improved Power Cable Labels for Quick Identification
35.  New Governor Cables
36.  New AAR Controller Slide Out Feature
37.  New Labels to Facilitate Reverser and Braking Switch Maintenance
38.  Addition of Cooling System Test Points
39.  Toilet Water Tank Assembly Simplified
40.  Re-Orient Air Valves for Operation Safety
41.  Instruction Plate Added to Facilitate Engine Air Filter Maintenance
42.  Teflon Tape Used at Pipe Connections
43.  Small Resistors Labeled to Aid Troubleshooting
44.  Bolting Ears Added to Engine Air Discharge Elbows for Maximum Performance
45.  New Fluid Amplifier Gasket Material Reduces Leaks (WD note: the fluid amplifier assembly directs water to and from the radiator cores.)
46.  Inspection of Engine Bonded Rubber Drive Simplified
47.  New Fuel Booster Pump Seal for Ease of Assembly
48.  New Water Pump Seal for Longer Life
49.  Two Seals on Lube-Oil Filter for Longer Engine Life
50.  Engine Master Rod Cap Assembly Simplified
51.  Captive, Fast-Action Fasteners Added to Control Stand Access Doors
52.  Fuel Filter Tank Threaded Center Tube Eliminates Rough Weld
53.  Longer Life Cylinder Head Cross Head Guide O-Rings
54.  New Engine Governor Water Diaphragm Material for Longer Life
55.  Lubrication of Engine Cross Rocker Bushings Improved
56.  New Valve Spring Seat Design Extends Cylinder Head Life (WD note: This was referred to in engine manuals as the 'spectacle style' seat.)
57.  15 degree Intake Valves for Reduced Valve Recession (WD note: Started mid-1974.)
58.  New Gasket Material for Longer Life Water Jumper

It should be noted that these improvements are not the XR-series changes, nor are they associated only with New Series Locomotives.  These were applied during the two years prior to the announcement of the New Series and were incorporated in U-series locomotives.

"Phase Two" or the New Series Locomotive / 1977 Series Locomotive

The second round of improvements included five major areas of alteration to design and fifteen further changes to the locomotives.  Some of the 15 further changes had previously been either field tested or offered as extra-cost options (for example, electric cab heat) but now these 15 were incorporated in all locomotives "at no extra charge."

The five major areas of improvement were the following:

1.  The air compressor was moved off of the pedestal supporting the radiator fan gear box, and into a new small compartment of its own separate from the radiator cab.

2.  The arrangement and orientation of the lube oil filter, lube oil cooler and engine water tank was altered and improved.

3.  Only on 4-axle units, the equipment blower was moved into the radiator compartment.  (All U-series locomotives of models U25B and U25C, as well as U28B and U28C locomotives built through about 1/66 had their equipment blowers in the radiator compartment although these older units had a very different arrangement.)

4.  High and low voltage components were separated into two different control compartments - one above the frame, behind the cab and one below.

5.  GE included its interpretation of the AAR Clean Locomotive Cab layout which itself incorporated 18 "significant modifications" to the locomotive cab

I will show a couple of illustrations that point up some of these alterations physically in the New Series Locomotives.



Above, we see the rear or "No. 2 end" of the New Series Locomotive.  A B-B or four axle unit is depicted at top, while a C-C or six axle unit is depicted below.  Immediately obvious is the fact that the air compressor is now in its own compartment, which "isolates the unit from road dust, eliminates oil and oil vapor from the radiator compartment, lessens the chance of winter freeze-up" and also ensures the air compressor a supply of "warm, clean air."  In addition to this change the water tank is redesigned, and no longer supports the oil cooler; the oil filter is reoriented to ensure drainage; the oil filters now have ten instead of eight to stretch changeout time, as well as other changes and improvements.  Note that the equipment blower is behind the radiator fan gear box on the B-B units; this was necessary to allow room for the entirely new layout behind the operators' cab, which we'll see next.  The six axle units had more than enough room to allow the changes without moving the blower.



Above is the New Series Locomotive cab arrangement, incorporating AAR Clean Cab concepts.  The AAR locomotive controller (GE model KC-108) had been in use on GE U-series locomotives since 1972 and of course was incorporated in this design, but access to it and maintenance of it were improved.  The number keys on the illustration are for the following features:

1.  Protective covers over windshield wiper motors
2.  Soft rubber grips on windshield wiper motor handles
3.  Outside access to road number lights and headlights
4.  Flexible hinge guards on locomotive cab doors
5.  Main cab door closure bars
6.  Padding on the upper inside frame of cab doors
7.  Padded engineer's sun visors
8.  Rounded sliding cab window latches
9.  Soft-resilient rubber covered horn handles
10.  Side cab windows of Lexan
11.  Exposed main cab edges have been rounded
12.  Toilet compartment doorways of minimum dimension
13.  Floor drains, one way ventilators and waist-high washable walls have been installed in the toilet compartment
14.  Standard dimensions for water cooler alcoves
15.  Standard location of conductor's emergency brake valve
16.  Radio control head has been recessed in the control console
17.  Benelex Scuffcote floor covering
18.  Wiper valves and light switches have been recessed in the main cab ceiling

In addition to the totally new arrangement (which moves the toilet to a new compartment behind the cab, and incidentally also incorporates electric cab heat as standard equipment on all locomotives - although side strip heaters were not standard) described here, low voltage and low heat electrical components were moved to a compartment above the running board and behind the cab.   This compartment was cooled by locomotive equipment air, but had its own secondary air filters as well.  This move offered greatly improved access and longer component life since all components in both lower and upper compartments were less crowded, as well as "adequate space for customer options."

Earlier I mentioned that there were five major changes to the New Series Locomotive and fifteen additional equipment modifications.  The additional 15 changes were as follows:

1.  Copper power cables, replacing aluminum
2.  Alternator idler gear bearing redesigned with ball bearings instead of needle bearings due to previous design not providing the expected service life
3.  Grooveless lower main crankshaft bearings in all engines
4.  Water header of 12 cylinder engines raised up to height of that of the 16 cylinder engines to improve access to exhaust manifold
5.  Steel alternator slip rings for GTA-11 alternator (on extended field test since 1970)
6.  Electric Cab heat
7.  Babbitted crankshaft thrust bearing surfaces (similar to main bearings) for longer life
8.  New engine compression release valve design
9.  Improved overspeed governor
10.  Radiator clean-out panels (these are the small rectangular bolted panels under the radiator "wings" and above the radiator intakes on New Series units)
11.  Power Diode Retention Hardware - ensures diodes remain firmly attached to heat sink, ensuring heat transfer and extending life.  Previous design "had tendency to relax in service."
12.  Lexan side windows in cab - impact resistant windows for crew protection.
13.  Improved lube oil relief valve seat - now stainless steel to improve life, due to resisting wear
14.  Winter-Summer Engine Air.  This design feature incorporates a damper, manually positioned, that allows warm engine compartment air to mix into the engine intake air in winter "to provide more reliable winter operation."  This door would be repositioned in summer.  Interestingly, this device is mentioned nowhere in a slightly later Operating Manual for New Series Locomotives, GEJ-5729C, dated 5/79.  It may have been deleted.
15.  Oil and Water Piping Thermometer Wells to allow quick verification of temperatures.

External features and final comments.

Most railfan websites have concerned themselves primarily with external features visible on this line of locomotives which distinguish them from earlier U-series locomotives - namely, the widening of the engine cab (or hood) toward the rear and the provision of identical radiator compartments on all units regardless of horsepower rating.



Above is the side view of the B23-7 locomotive from GE Specification 3530D, dated 2/77.  (The hood lines, and ground, should be level, but I'm unable to use a scanner on this somewhat delicate document and was forced to simply photograph it - thus, it wasn't perfectly flat.)  Notable are the wide radiator compartment at the top, or "wings," which on the U-series had appeared only on U33, U34 and U36 models.  Also apparent are the new arrangement of radiator compartment intakes as compared with late U-series units and the small rectangular radiator clean out access covers.  This specification for the B23-7 and GE Specification 3390G for the C30-7, dated 2/77 (and thus both very early for this line) both clearly indicate that dynamic braking was included as standard equipment on the units, with extended range dynamic braking being an option.  This is not listed as a change to the product line per se in any of the New Series Locomotive sales material, but seems significant to note from a sales standpoint.



Above is a side view of the B23-7 from GE Specification 3530E, which interestingly has no publication date anywhere but is the next after that depicted above.  (Again, same disclaimer about lines should be straight!)  This locomotive has been modified to incorporate an exhaust silencer stack and to remove the oval side cab windows - changes across the entire New Series in 1980.  Dynamic braking is still standard.  A number of other features have changed, particularly the traction motor gear ratios, but the locomotive is largely the same product.

-Finis-

•Railfans should be aware that massive changes to very complicated manufactured products such as diesel-electric locomotives are not undertaken lightly, and that in many cases what has been printed in railfan press over the years is not completely indicative of the actual progression of developmental advances in these machines.  Until now, most railfans would have been led to believe that the major changes in the "Dash 7" GE locomotives (a name that you will notice GE did not, and does not use referring to its own products in these publications) centered on the oil filter / oil cooler and some miscellaneous reliability / maintenance improvements.  My purpose in writing this article (and in reviving the long-dormant blog on which it's posted) is both to correct the written "history" of this line, and to try to get railfans to think more mechanically and be more curious about reality and history as it really did occur.

Sources: 

"1977 Series Locomotive - A New Industry Standard."  GEA-10016, 11/76

B23 Locomotive Specification 3530D  2/77

B23 Locomotive Specification 3530E  no date

C30 Locomotive Specification 3390G  2/77

Operating Manual - New Series Diesel-Electric Locomotive GEJ-5729C 5/79

GE Locomotive Training Manual, undated.