Re: SP&S 700 and SP 4449 Derail during Holiday Express
Author: Vern Moore
Date: 12-20-2020 - 11:53
An Observer Wrote:
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> Why 1953? Because it took them that long to figure
> out that the cost of decent water plus all the
> other costs made diesels less expensive to run.
> That and diesels were becoming more reliable as
> well.
Key words: DECENT WATER.
Western and southern lines dieselized because of the costs of providing demineralized water for their steam locomotives. In the south, steam holdout Norfolk & Western dieselized certain districts a decade or more before the rest of the road because of high mineral content water that played havoc with locomotive boilers. Southern had districts plagued by high mineral content in AL, GA and FL that converted earlier that the rest of the road as well.
In the desert west Santa Fe, SP and UP had "bad water districts" where water had to be hauled in for lineside watering facilities. Dieselizing eliminated the water related costs for those desert districts and pointed to the possible cost reductions systemwide by converting from steam to diesel.