Union Pacific U50C trio – 5016, 5022 and 5039
(Requires Stationmaster’s original U50C).
(These were originally uploaded individually, until I figured out how to put them in a group).
The General Electric U50C locomotives were interesting, to say the least. Only 40 of them were built between 1969 and 1971, as a custom order for the Union Pacific Railroad.
It was essentially two GE U25Bs in one, with the power output being 5,000 horsepower, and this was achieved through the use of two GE FDL series prime movers.
The U50C was a younger sister to the larger U50, and also built to Union Pacific’s requirement for high-powered locomotives to haul faster freight trains. The biggest difference between the two U50 variants (aside from their appearance) was their wheel arrangement; for the U50C was a simple Co-Co instead of Bo+Bo+Bo+Bo. This design change was necessary because the original U50 was found to be unsuitable for UP’s aforementioned requirement.
Unlike her bigger sibling, the U50C used 12 cylinder engines instead of 16. Bizarrely the U50Cs had their engines oriented with the radiator sections both facing inwards, which made for a very unusual appearance. Suffice to say, I think the original U50 is the better-looking of the two.
Neither design was particularly successful. Both suffered numerous mechanical faults throughout their incredibly short working lives. In the U50C’s case, the measures taken to reduce the locomotive’s weight caused lots of problems. The aluminium wires (as opposed to the regular copper) were prone to overheating, which caused many electrical fires. At one point UP rewired a U50C with copper wiring, with the intention of rewiring the whole class. However this never went ahead because the locomotives’ other problems were too serious.
The U50C’s bogies suffered stress cracks in the frames, the prime movers often lost oil pressure, the cooling water would sometimes leak and the dynamic brake grids (whatever that means) were prone to melting down.
By 1976, Union Pacific had retired all U50Cs, who’s withdrawal was hastened by a business downturn at the time. Despite not even being 10 years old, all U50Cs had been scrapped by 1978.
