The story of Union Pacific's DDA40X, the 6900s | Sunday Morning Coffee & Trains 

That is *truly* an amazing opportunity - and memory. Thanks for sharing! -DeAnn

Lucky

The good ole days in Bensenville. Right across the street from 710 East Green Street in Bensenville near O Hare. LOL Never thought id use that business till, excessive road salt from a salt bunker placed next to a company roadway employees drove on prematurely killed the underbody of my car.

I’ve been doing some electrical work on the 6936. Today I’m casing a AC ground on engine #1…

@@theodorethompson9032 Hope all turns out well!

Lol

Union Pacific excelled in badass locomotives. -Tim

Agreed 👍

Yea, but the Big Boy's were way more gorgeous and fascinating!

Big Boy: "I lived bitch 😎"

Agreed! :-) -DeAnn

I love that! Also great, but hard to find, would be a DD35 B-unit. Those massive cabless units look sooooo good! Thanks for watching! -DeAnn

Si pero me gusta mucho el estómago y no se le vaya a hacer la tarea ❤

Yes, the big DDs... from the DD35 to the DDA40X were used anytime big power was needed. Thank you for watching! -DeAnn

Of course UP was the owner of the most powerful... steam, diesel *and* turbine locomotives, but those turbines were so unique that I guess it almost goes without saying. We have another video on the turbines. I've included a link . -Tim ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-spngeetQfRI.html

Truly the titan of trains

Yea! Nothing could match the 1-30s for sheer magnificence.

In the cold for 2 hours? You are committed to getting that good shot!! Thanks for watching. -DeAnn

These are just massive machines. I wish I had seen one on the rails hauling freight. Thanks for your note. -DeAnn

@@Railfandepot they are amazing to see ,, I have seen 6936 many times over the years ,, i was sad to hear that it's been mothballed for whatever reason I'm 46 now and am happy to say that i did get to see the centennials in operation ,,i have an 8mm movie my grandfather made in 1981 when i was just 7 ,,it shows 6900 /6936 and i think 6924 at the head of a freight train coming into Council Bluffs iowa from omaha,,and i remember more than once being at the local park and watching them go by

Very massive cameras! Tim did some professional shooting in the 1980s and he says pro camera gear came in 2 pieces a that time, the camera, the recorder AND a battery belt. Yikes! -DeAnn

One of them still runs for the UP on special occasions! So,it is still possible! -DeAnn

Oh my, thank *YOU* for watching! -DeAnn

Thanks for watching and for the vote of confidence! -DeAnn

Wait, a 747 can fly? Next you'll be telling me steam can make big machines move on their own! 😉 Thank you for watching! -DeAnn

We aim to please! :-) -DeAnn

We have another one coming out on the DDA40X - with more info on how it all works. Fascinating stuff! Thanks for watching! -DeAnn

It is a monster! The good kind. :-) Thanks for watching! -DeAnn

Thank you very much, kind sir. :-) -DeAnn

I am not sure why, but I always like the look of the DD35 B units! -DeAnn

I will certainly keep up my Sunday morning appointment. :-) Thank you for watching! -DeAnn

Excellent rhyming my good man. Thank you for watching! -DeAnn

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching, and for the positive comment! -DeAnn

That horn befits the locomotive it is attached to! Thanks for watching! -DeAnn

Thanks for watching! -DeAnn

Thank you for watching! And yes, the DDA40X is truly an impressive machine. -DeAnn

"The Great Chase". That would be a great memory! Thank you for watching! -DeAnn

Oh yes, until diesel standardization, the UP kept pushing the envelope on higher and higher horsepower/tractive effort locomotives. -DeAnn

Bruce, I can guess from your RU-vid handle that you may have a special interest in these behemoths! I *really* appreciate the kind words. We've had some rather nasty comments lately, so you are my new favorite person. -DeAnn

@@Railfandepot Thank you. Probably buy the video if it isn't in my library already. Have bought some videos from y'all. Come visit me sometime, I'm with the Virtual Railfan channel group. I'm usually at the Flagstaff camera chat or Belen NM camera chat.

Thanks for watching! And for the vote of confidence. :-) -DeAnn

Thank you for the kind words. We do work at it! :-) -DeAnn

Thanks for watching! It is a great story. 😀 -DeAnn

Maybe we should call it... *beverage and trains anytime*? :-) Thanks for watching! -DeAnn

@@Railfandepot idk my Sunday mornings are sacred to me. Couldn’t refuse overtime. Perhaps something on the Milwaukee Road. Tragic that all of that engineeering out west was never used again. Thanks for your posts!

And both locomotives were Union Pacific specific! Thanks for watching. -DeAnn

Another big horsepower monster from Union Pacific. What's not to love, right? 😀 -DeAnn

Thank you so much, and thank you for watching! -DeAnn

You may be right. 😂😮💗 All I know is I am not going to try to pick up any of them. Thank you for watching! -DeAnn

That's a lot of power pulling that train! Thanks for watching. -DeAnn

What is the minimum radius these look good on? -Tim

@@Railfandepot 30, anything smaller doesn't look right, I have 1 34 degree on most of the outside line with 1 30 bend. l really like the big bends, I also super elevate with styrene on the outside rail!

@@chrisjones4423 Thanks for that. I know any big radius curves are tough to fit onto a layout. That is why i asked. -Tim

Thank you much for subbing. We have more videos coming! -DeAnn

True story! -DeAnn

Yes, I believe most of this was shot in the Sherman Hill area. So, yep you are right on the money. -DeAnn

Union Pacific, and I, thank you. 😉 Thanks for watching! -DeAnn

The Canadian roads began it all, the DDA40X is similar, but does not have the same structural safety features. Maybe that is why others claim the SD60M? No matter what - the DDA40X cab is certainly wider than previous US cab units! -Tim

“Wide cab” didn’t simply mean wide nose. The DDA40X shared a cab with the F45. It simply didn’t have a full cowl. But it’s not a wide body cab by definition at all. The 6085 had a true wide body cab. The DDA40X cab did not and it’s way more different than you think. The 6085 had the Desktop control stand, higher cab floor, totally different side window layout, different seating arrangement, completely different nose interior and front door, central HVAC and most importantly, the improved collision protection in place. There is no comparison. Two totally different cabs.

@@Railfandepot the DDA40X did not have a “wider cab than any previous units”. It uses the same cab as the FP45 which came out in 1967, two years before the first DDA40X. The term “wide body cab” is thrown around way too much. A true wide body cab is not like these early wide NOSE cabs. There is a lot more to what makes a true wide body cab then the exterior appearance. And as information, a true wide body cab or a wide nose cab like on these are actually not any wider than a conventional cab.The term comes from the airlines about being more spacious. But it’s not really “wider”

It's a good video...and a good locomotive! -DeAnn

Thank you for watching! It's great to have you here :-) -DeAnn

Hello! What are some of your favorite locomotives?

Thanks for watching! :-) -DeAnn

You’re welcome

Hmmmm... beautiful *and* badass as another commenter noted? -DeAnn

I wish that had been me! Except, then I'd be older than I am....hmmm...that *is* a downside! :-) -DeAnn

There is one here in the midwest. See link below. It's at the Illinois Railway Museum. Thanks for watching. -DeAnn www.flickr.com/photos/train-kid-1996/13003750375/

Not everyone likes to looks of the U50s, but I do. They remind me of a broad shouldered bulldog. -Tim

To me, it looked like the U50s, and Alco 855s designers smacked the cabs into a wall, although the U50 could have had a Shark mouth painted on it. Lol.

My best *guess* is no...but remember there are several museums that have these beasts and it is quite likely that one of these (WP Museum, Illinois Railway Museum, etc) could get that done. -DeAnn.

One of these beasts still runs! It may only be for special occasions, but it still runs every now and then. -Tim

@@Railfandepot wow

Well, The DDA40X is 6,600 HP with 113,000 lbf starting Tractive Effort. The 4014 is around 6,200 (drawbar HP) with around 136,000 lbf Tractive Effort. So Big Boy should win it with ease.

😀😀😀 -DeAnn

Sorry for the delay in replying. Yes, there is a DDA40X in Cali. It's at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola. See the link below. As for 6936, it is kept in running condition, available for company use, in Cheyenne. -Tim www.wplives.org/locomotivepages/up6946.html

@@Railfandepot thanks for the info

It depends on what measurement is used. Horsepower? PRR had several steam locomotives with higher horsepower, and of course the C&O Allegheny too. Big Boys were not the highest tractive effort locomotives either, though they easily beat out the Allegheny on this metric. For the combination of speed, pulling power and horsepower, Big Boy puts together a complete package. So, depending on what measurement is used, the Big Boy locomotives rise and fall on that particular list. For instance the Virginian Triplex (2-8-8-8-4) had a very high tractive effort - but could only run at 10 to 15 MPH. I'll quibble with one point in your comment, I doubt anyone with "general knowledge" would know where Big Boy falls on the various metrics. Thank you for watching. -Tim

It's hard to believe there is no more GM EMD! Thanks for watching. -DeAnn

13 remain, and only one is in use by UP, kinda. 6936 has been stored for 5 years now. Its last use was when it helped test 844 in 2016.

I'd love to ride in that cab...I'm pretty sure I don't have the cash for fuel. Certainly not a full tank! :-) Thanks for watching! -DeAnn

@@Railfandepot But, ALL your friends would just love to go with you, but will not help you with the fuel cost. Sorry about that.

@@outlet6989 Story of my life. :-) -DeAnn

The DDA40X's were mostly preserved, 13 of them. The rest were either wrecked, scrapped or used as part scavengers for other DDA40X's still around.

The prototype, as outlined in the video, still has one operating and many preserved in museums. As for the model, I don't believe the old Athearn "Blue Box" DD40 is being produced. It was not an accurate model. Athearn Genesis does has an accurate DDA40X. -Tim

@@Railfandepot I think the Diesel Spotters Guide, or one of similar info. said the Athearn DD40, was the prototype with the Standard Cab, and the AX, had the Wide nose, and better electronic controls, so the wide cab, was the only version, mass produced.

The DDA40X series were originally fitted with 5 chime Leslie horns, but as often happens some were changed out over the years. Thanks for watching. -Tim

DDA40X is 6,600 HP with 113,000 lbf starting Tractive Effort. The 4014 is around 6,200 (drawbar HP) with around 136,000 lbf Tractive Effort.

Hey Bruce, DeAnn asked me to reply. While we do have some footage available in 1080, and more at least in widescreen, a lot of what we show is vintage stuff - stuff only available on vintage formats. So, as much as I'd like to have 1080 HD Wide on the Centennials, we won't ever have it from when they were running. BUt, we do have more 1080 coming! -Tim

More than 130 years... They celebrated 150 years of transcontinental railroading in 2019, and were incorporated before that golden spike was hammered down in 1869! And yes, they've done a lot of buying of other railroads, but never have they been sold. -DeAnn

@@Railfandepot wow

I doubt it, although clearly I shouldn't say never. Since the GE AC6000CW hit 6,000 HP, it seems that GE and EMD have backed off the HP race. Although the GEVO-16 units are rated at 6,200 HP... still shy of the 6,600 HP of the DDA40X. -Tim

Stretched and doubled! Thanks for watching. -DeAnn

No it’s not and that doesn’t even make any sense. They share no similarities aside from the builder. The DD440X uses DC traction, two 645 engines with conventional control and 4 axle trucks. The SD70M is AC traction, uses a single 710 engine with EMDEC control and has 3 axle trucks. And that’s just the basics.

@@FFred-us9tw was just a joke calm down

@@RailsAndContrails I’m perfectly calm. But if you post things that make no sense on a public forum you should expect that people may call you on it.

@@FFred-us9tw I know I was not thinking when I posted this I just wanted to comment somthing

Outdated technology. Modern diesel electric locomotives can outpull these and do it with much better efficiency and less maintenance.

Outdated technology but some of them got preserved

Oh, yes...that's a lot of power! Thanks for watching! -DeAnn

They may be burning off some oil, though it's really a mixture of oil burnoff from an engine that is not running clean and exhaust. Kind of like when you see a semi-truck on the road. -Tim

Time marches on and needs change. The Centennials were a big success - each retired with over a million miles of service. But, nowadays (even though one is still in service for the UP) they would not meet emissions standards - nor the railroads efficiency needs without the latest electronics. -Tim

Economics won out... they were the only railroad putting time and money into the high horsepower chase - and into these diesel locomotives. Eventually, as GE and EMD designed better and more powerful, and more flexible, locomotives, it was cheaper for UP to go with the rest of the industry. As for why these were retired, each unit ran more than 2-million miles - so they were successful, but they were also expensive to maintain. -Tim

Another reason was revealed with the SD90MACs. If a 6000hp unit fails, a train loses a lot more hp than if a 2000hp SD40-2 fails.

@@AVeryRandomPerson Don't forget, more importantly, the train also loses those six axles of dynamic breaking which are equivalent to nine axles of dynamic braking of a C44-9C.