E-44 electrics

[Mouse]

Still hoping for that long overdue announcement the Bachmann is releasing the E-44. Having several E-33's and all are great units, I believe with a minimal amount of work, it can be done. I have two brass E-44's that have had the motors and trucks replaced with Bachmann E-33 parts. Added lights and a decoder and they perform incredible.
Bachmann has always been a great producer of electric locomotives and believe that an E-44 would sell extremely well considering the impressive work they've done in the past. And that no one else has made any except for those older and rare brass models. Please consider it Mr. Bachmann and staff.

[Mouse]

Update on a brass E-44 on that action site painted for the PRR. It sold for $683.87! Is there a market for E-44? I think so!

[RobBob]

Question for you.  What is the difference between th E33and the E44?  I too have 1 B-man E33 and agree that it's a great running loco that will pull a brick down the track.  Also has a great 'electrical' whine without a sound system.  I'd like to have more. 

Thank you

[BillD53A]

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc4464ags.jpg

is an E44 and

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc4601.jpg

is an E33.

E44s came from PRR and E33s came from the New Haven.  I THINK the E44s were longer.

[RobBob]

Thanks for the pix.  Looks like the E44 is a 'kit-bashed' E33 (hint, hint.)  Personally, I like the look of the E33 better, more "rail-roady" IMO.  Anyhow, I've got an eclectic collection of engines that I bought just because I liked the way they looked.  Someday I'll paint them all for my imaginary Belt Line Union Railroad (AKA BLURR.)

Happy railroading! 

[Len]

The 4,400HP E-44's were built specifically for the Pennsylvania RR between 1960 and 1963.

What most folks refer to as E-33's actually started life on the Virginian RR as 3,300HP EL-C's. VGN merged with the N&W, which eliminated electric operations and sold them the the New Haven RR in 1962. The New Haven redesigated them as EF-4's, and used them up until the Penn Central fiasco. Penn Central changed the designation again to E-33, which is also the designation used by Conrail when they took them over after PC went under.

So to be completely accurate, if it's in VGN or N&W paint it's an EL-C.
If it's wearing NH colors, it's an EF-4.
And if it's PC black or Conrail blue, it's an E-33.

Len

[RobBob]

Thank you Len, that's good stuff.  I guess what I have is an EL-C then.  I've been searching the web for pix of the EL-C in action on VGN, can't find 'em even on the VGN historical society web.  Know of any?  I'd even like to see it on a model railroad to see what the overhead wire should look like.

Thanks again.

[Len]

Not in action, but one of the few color photos of a VGN EL-C at a transportation museum: http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/vgn/vgn135afh.jpg The color is a VERY dark blue, often confused with black in black & white photos. A picture of a Conrail E-33 under wire can be found at http://www.american-rails.com/el-c-rectifiers.html While not specifically VGN, the overhead is typical of what was found in that area.

Len

[RobBob]

Thank you Len, totally excellent links.  Apologies to Mouse for hijacking your subject.
Must go now,
Happy Railroading!

[BillD53A]

Fergot about the Virginian...Thanks!

[jward]

a little more about the e33 and e44.

the e33 was built in 1957, and was the forerunner of the e44. there were only 12 e33s, 11 made it to penn central (4600-4610) and 10 of those ran under conrail.

the e44 was similar to the e33, but more powerful. prr bought the only ones made, numbered 4400-4465. there were actually two types on e44s. the e44 was rated at 44oo hp, the e44a was 5000hp.

conrail ended the use of electric locomotives in the early 1980s. shifting traffic patterns had moved most of the freight trains off the electric lines, most of which had been sold to amtrak, in favour of parallel lines conrail owned outright.

it is not widely known, but there was also an e50, which was similar to the e44a. the only 2 were built to shuttle coal from a mine to a power plant on a private railroad in ohio.

the model designations were official from general electric, who built them.

[CAB_IV]

I also wish they would make some E44s, but it might not be so cut and dry.   

For those of us serious about modeling the Northeast's Electrics, the E44 is one player that is truly missing from the bunch.

However,  the E33 over its life time, has spanned three distinct "locations" (virginian territory, New haven Territory, and Pennsy territory).   In each of those places,  it wore distinct and popular paint schemes or road names, which were probably enough in their own right to justify a run of the model. 

The E44s have had a much more "stable" life.   They were rarely repainted going from Brunswick Green to Black, and then possibly Conrail blue or Amtrak Silver (and the Amtrak was short lived).    The E44s never left Pennsy territory, and electric freight beyond Waverly Yard on the Northeast Corridor came to a hault with the merging of the New Haven with Penn Central. 

Though I would argue that the E44s are more attractive an impressive in form,  Its still a relatively "local" piece of equipment,  and does not have anywhere near the "awesome" factor of the GG1.


I do love my E33s.  They have an excellent rumble somewhere around 11-12 speed steps out of 28.  Its so low that even though it seems quiet, you can still hear it over even a crowded open house. 


My Repainted E33s.  The 4610 was a recent aquisition and I've been working on fixing the paint on it (was 4603).  The nose is the hardest part to adjust, since i have to carefully remove the lettering without damaging anything else.     #4608 was also originally a 4603, but i chose 4608 since that E33 kept many of its "old" vents, compared to the rebuilt E33s. 

Ironically, I don't think i've ever seen a photo of 4603 in blue, and none of Conrail's E33s look like the Bachmann model.   However, Many E33s got fresh blue paint right before being stored and then retired.  Some were even rebuilt with new guts. 




I also have a trio E44As.  These are by Alpha, rather than ALCO.  The Alco brass ones are pretty common but the Alphas are the best. 

Try not to laugh at my pick of road numbers (4456, 4457, 4465),  they were all based on photos I could find of them that made it convenient to choose these units.  I used Microscale Conrail sheets,

#4456 was the first E44A to be painted blue (the first blue E44 was #4414.  Bachmann should definitely do that road number).


I have several photos of #4457, but I'm unsure if it was so dirty that the warning labelse were gone, or if it never had any warning labels on it, so I left it blank.


#4465 is the last surviving E44, and it retained a lot of it's PRR markings.   E44s #4460-4465 were originally built with solid rectifiers,  as well as the "original" motors in the E44s.    When the PRR sent many of its other E44s back to get the solid state rectifiers, GE rebuilt them with more powerful traction motors.   This account for the increase 5,000 HP from the original 4,400 HP.   This means that while #4460-4465 resemble E44As, they are in fact, still E44s.