Regarding the Bipolars, the following is quoted from the book" The Milwaukee Electrics", by Noel Holley :
" These locomotives were called Bipolar, because each traction motor had only two poles. These field poles were mounted directly on the locomotive chassis beside each axle. They were gearless, because instead of using high-speed motors turning gears on the axles, they had low-speed motors with the armatures mounted directly on the axles. These features made for a unique and silent locomotive.
" The Bipolars were designed to pull any normal Milwaukee Road passenger train singly, and thus were built without multiple-unit controls. Multiple-unit controls were not added until the Bipolars received a major rebuilding in 1953."
Comments from Milwaukee operating personnel indicate that they were well-liked on the Coast Division lines, and less so when transferred to the Rocky Mountain division. Also mentioned was the sheer power of these locomotives.
Regarding the Quills, the following is also quoted:
" The ( Westinghouse Quills) were loved by many Rocky Mountain Division enginemen for their smooth ride, speed, and power. They were also hated by many maintenance men and company officials for their poor design, persistent problems, and high maintenance costs."
An illustration on page 131 shows the rather complicated quill-drive system. The "quill" itself was a tube that surrounded the drive axle and had a gear with 7 prongs on each end. These prongs made contact, through springs, with the drive wheel spokes. The gear, which was parallel to and just inside the drive wheel on each side, was driven by gears from 2 traction motors mounted above each axle.
" Most problems were the result of frames and running gear, which were neither strong enough, nor flexible enough, for use on the Milwaukee. Axles broke, wheel spokes cracked and broke, frames broke, quill springs broke, and locomotive suspension springs deformed. In addition, wheel flange wear was excessive."
The lack of flex in the frames was so bad that one unit was cut in half and converted to an articulated for a short time.
Also note that all Milwaukee Road passenger electrics used an onboard oil-fired boiler and water tanks to provide steam for the cars.
BTW, I highly recommend the afore - mentioned book for those wanting to learn about heavy electric railroading, as practiced by The Milwaukee Road.