Parade of Centennials

[@jeffbutler5274]

The combination of 2 Centennials back to back with a SD40-2, in between them was a common lash up for several years. The SD40-2 were regeared to match the DDA40X's and referred to as "fast forties"

[@ve2cnl]

This footage is absolutely the ONE of the BEST I see for locomotives, especially for the centennials ones, these engines are amazing, with 6000 horsepower (2x 3000hp), and I have the 6922 in HO version I paid 2$ 10 years ago lol, Thanks for uploading this famous video :)

[@LeeWitten]

Thank you I appreciate the compliment.

[@jeffmccutcheon1921]

Big UP power never gets old!!! Watch this video at least a dozen times! Love it!!!!!!

[@LeeWitten]

Jeff, thanks for your comment. Glad you enjoy UP big power as I do.

[@philipper68]

Yeah These are my all time favourite diesel locos your so lucky to have them in your country

[@timtwichell1534]

FANTASTIC!!!! Best Centennial video I have seen here, Awesome job with the editing..

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks, appreciate the compliment!

[@normansilver905]

I worked at the fire station in Devore just at the foot of the Cajon Garde. I'd see UP Centennial's, U-50B's; GP-9 with turbos, GP-9B and also SD 24 B's pass daily. I can remember GP-30's with B units too.

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks for your memories of that era. I was more limited to Utah when I was younger.

[@ricardojuricic9027]

it's incredible that all locos seem to be spotless clean 😊😀 thanks for the video👏👏👏 saludos desde 🇦🇷Argentina cheers!

[@LeeWitten]

Looks sometimes can be deceiving. There were many that were pretty soiled but I'm sure UP did their best to keep the newer ones looking good.

[@jonathanedwards4251]

I’ll never understand how we’re only left with one of these monsters in service. 6600 hp beats EVERY modern production line loco today. They should have kept them all in service

[@DASCO2136]

20,000 miles a month times 10-12 years of heavy service. You do the math

[@karlrovey]

Because it isn't cost efficient or all that more productive than just using one or two more locomotive units. It is more efficient to have more independent sets of driving wheels. UP (as did the other railroads) discovered this. There's a reason they don't even try to produce locomotives with this much HP anymore.

[@sonicunleashedproductions2884]

jonathan edwards yeah i have to agree it sucks that we probably dont have a single one of these engines anymore and if its true that it had 6600 hp then im 100% sure that these engines suceded in pulling one of the longest trains EVER!

[@FFred-us9tw]

Horsepower is not what moves trains. Tractive effort does. In simple terms, tractive effort is the locomotives ability to get that power to the rail. Think of it like putting a 2,000 HP engine in a Toyota with 12” wheels. If you floor it the wheels will Just spin and the car won’t move. That’s tractive effort in simple terms. The DDA40X was 6,600 HP but only had 113,000 lbf starting tractive effort and 103,000 lbf continuous. That was great back in 1969. But the current GE and EMD loco’s can easily out pull a DDA40X. The EMD SD70ACe-T4 as an example is only 4,400 HP but it puts out 200,000 lbf of starting tractive effort. And it’s doing it with only 12 cylinders vs. 32 cylinders and 6 axles vs 8. It also requires a fraction of the maintenance and fuel as well.

[@FFred-us9tw]

@@sonicunleashedproductions2884 there is a DDA40X left in operation. But as I mentioned above, current locomotives are far more powerful.

[@1978garfield]

Amazing footage. Thanks for sharing. I wish UP would have sprung for a red white and blue Bicentennial paint job on one of the Centennials. That would have been somthing. UP used to have the coolest power. Centennials. DD35s U50s and all the amazing GTELs.

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks for the comments. Yes a Bicentennial Centennial would have been great. Modelers would love it.

[@aflsteve9139]

Marvellous historical value Lee. Many thanks for sharing it.

[@LeeWitten]

Thank you and My pleasure.

[@ron9299]

Who love nose-less cab u-50? Its pretty awesome to see them couple together

[@alcopower5710]

Ron 92 ......5:42. What a sight. Kind of like the S.P. version a little better as it had a door on the nose and a different light configuration but either one is magnificent

[@anb740]

Given how long those hunks of GE junk didn’t last, I’m surprised there’s any video at all of them. I’d love to see a video of the ALCO C855s that lasted even less time than the GEs.

[@geu50c]

I love u50...)

[@A.M103]

Excellent video for Rail lovers to see the centennial jet engine sound!

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks for the comment. Actually it was the Gas Turbine Electric called The Big Blow that had the jet Engine. The Centennial just had two regular diesel engines coupled together in a single body.

[@MICHAELSTEWART]

first time i saw one was as i was driving on the overpass over the oak island engine shed in newark nj right after conrail in the spring of '76. i said to myself what a cool looking loco.

[@LeeWitten]

What was a Centennial doing in NJ?

[@MICHAELSTEWART]

Lee Witten i dunno, i didn't believe my eyes, it was the first safety cab i ever saw with green tinted windshields. must have been on an intermodal through freight and probably east of chicago there was no place to turn it around. at the time the engine shop was just recently lehigh valley as the penn central had clearance problems under their catenary for piggy backs.

[@jonathanbeard5062]

Lee Witten He's not lying. There's footage of U50c locomotives operating on erie lackawanna trains, so this is probably true as well

[@billbraden4874]

Thanks for posting I enjoyed and will keep watching your videos

[@TrainLordJC]

After seeing this video I will enjoy even more my UP 6936 HO scale DDA40X on my layout and at my club layout, which incidentally is located in an old disused British Colonial railway station. Once again the dubbing is well done.

[@LeeWitten]

I'm also an HO modeler. I have a 12 x 18 foot layout in the basement. the 1950''s to 60's is my favorite era. My father was a Union Pacific Conductor from 1936 to 74 so he lived the entire transition from steam to diesel. I belong to the Hostler Model Train Club. We're a module group and enjoy putting on shows and participating in other club shows around Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho. Check out some of my videos made on my layout such as the Santa Fe. I don't have a DDA40X but I have a Scale Trains 3 unit Turbine which is a model of the #26 in our Ogden railroad train center. Also a Big Boy, Challenger, 844 and a U50. Its great that your club has a layout in the old railway station. We've always wanted to be able to have a permanent set up somewhere.

[@johnjensen7209]

Man that must of been a site to see these monsters powering through the Blue mountains. Wish I was born back then!

[@serkistronkchillout9142]

This deserves a billion views

[@LeeWitten]

Well, we're up to 24 K and counting. Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@superbaddy4]

Very lucky to have caught 6903 in one of these clips, as that unit was wrecked very early on in it's career.

[@LeeWitten]

Oh, didn't know about that. Was it repaired and put back into service or scrapped?

[@superbaddy4]

It was scrapped.

[@LeeWitten]

Oh, too bad. Do you know where the accident was? @@superbaddy4

[@superbaddy4]

I don't know. I just read that it was wrecked and prematurely retired, and also, there are no photos of it on rrpicturearchives.net.

[@Giratina575]

@@superbaddy4 it was wrecked at cajon pass in 1974. It was leading a train down the grade when it passed a red signal and rear ended a Santa Fe train blocking the line. 6903 had it's cab ripped off and the nose pushed back into the car body

[@theengineerscab1317]

Lee half to say i still love your edits .. i know its not the right sound but the way you put them together is nice add .. Great Vids

[@LectronCircuits]

Awesome classic training. Cheers!

[@ManifestPhil99]

Ah, -how far we have come from hand held poor video to sharp images and sound in only a half century. To think we had already gone to the moon when these were filmed. Great memories.

[@LeeWitten]

Yes, I visited Europe in 1975 and had a Super 8 camera. Digitized it a few years ago from vhs tapes. Talk about lousy quality! In my 79 years of life I can't believe the arc of technology that I've experienced. Its like science fiction now.

[@dieselpower1133]

At 9:45 , notice the B-Unit , it is extremely hard to find raw footage of these units in service . Enjoyed the video , but if you ask me , you should upload a special B-unit video with only B-Unit sightings.

[@LeeWitten]

That sounds like something interesting to do but I've got another 100 films to edit and upload before I'll get to that. Maybe someday.

[@CentralPALocos]

The B unit is actually a DD35, which was (along with the DD35A) the predecessor to the DDA40X. The DDA40X enjoyed much more success than it's 567 powered predecessor. No DDA40X B units were ever made. Also, notice the GP30B and SD24B units, those are rare as well. Good video!

[@KaciCooperations]

@@LeeWitten that must be a rare footage

[@LeeWitten]

@@KaciCooperations I would think so but other photographers may have also captured them in service as well.

[@geomodelrailroader]

got to love those Big Jacks currently only one runs and it is in Cheyenne.

[@jacksonpugh6423]

8:40 6936 the last operational DDA40x

[@thatslowaccordd]

Why don't they make a new centennial? Like imagine a ACE that size? AWSOME

[@christianjohnson9190]

RailFe Productions Double the horsepower twice the range and economical with the tier 4 engine 😌

[@karlrovey]

They discovered it was actually more cost efficient to use multiple, smaller diesel locomotive rather than one large diesel locomotive. There's a point where more horsepower on a single locomotive isn't useful and it's better to just add another locomotive.

[@mikemcgrew65]

Karl Rovey Absolutely, tractive horsepower at the wheel to the track with reduced slippage makes the difference and fuel consumption reflects the cost of moving freight.

[@nutstr20]

Thank For Great Videos

[@scoobycarr5558]

BTW if you wanted to know how Union Pacific left-handed its train operations between Ogden and eastern Utah was that its two main tracks crossed over each other in Utah's Echo Canyon just like BNSF has a similar crossing near Victorville in California. It could be that loads on UP freights climbed upgrade into the Wasatch while empties went downgrade.

[@LeeWitten]

Yes, I'm familiar with the crossover at Curvo. Also, and I can't remember just which, one of Harris' films actually shows that crossover in action. I'll have to search through films I haven't loaded up yet.

[@tonywaldon7801]

There was nothing like the 6900's a credit to the profession

[@scoobycarr5558]

Amazing! And not one single freight car in the consists with one hint of graffiti!

[@LeeWitten]

Interesting how our culture has changed regarding graffiti. i watch a lot of KZbin videos in Europe and you see the same thing. Almost every vertical surface, walls, buildings and train cars are covered in the stuff.

[@KK_on_KK]

So?

[@davidng2336]

@@KK_on_KK there’s a point where it gets out of hand.

[@KK_on_KK]

@@davidng2336 I do agree with that.

[@Blackscorpion1963]

What is interesting is the performance of the engines in the DDA40X Centennial at altitude. All 645 engines utilize either a Roots blower or a turbocharger for cylinder scavenging. For turbocharged engines, the turbocharger is gear-driven and has a centrifugal clutch that allows it to act as a centrifugal blower at low engine speeds (when exhaust gas flow and temperature alone are insufficient to drive the turbine) and a purely exhaust-driven turbocharger at higher speeds. The turbocharger can revert to acting as a supercharger during demands for large increases in engine output power. While more expensive to maintain than Roots blowers, EMD claims that this design allows "significantly" reduced fuel consumption and emissions, improved high-altitude performance, and even up to a 50 percent increase in maximum rated horsepower over Roots-blown engines for the same engine displacement. Horsepower for naturally aspirated engines (including Roots-blown two-stroke engines) is usually derated 2.5 percent per 1,000 feet (300 m) above mean sea level, a tremendous penalty at the 10,000 feet (3,000 m) or greater elevations which several Western U.S. and Canada railroads operate, and this can amount to a 25 percent power loss. Turbocharging effectively eliminates this derating. Ref: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_645

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks for the reference to the technical article on the engine. I've not delved into that aspect of the DDA40X before.

[@B1ENTERTAINMENT30]

HEY I RECOGNIZE 6943! I have it in HO scale! Good to see a familiar face on camera! 😁

[@LeeWitten]

Yes, I like to see namesakes of my models in the prototype also.

[@asherpate8]

0:29 Sorry if you don't think it was from Harris Film 1 And sorry if I'm talking to you about this again

[@GIGABACHI]

All good things must come to an end.

[@kawanbrownlee9724]

JIGA BACHI at least some are still around

[@xenomorph2056]

@@kawanbrownlee9724 including the one they kept in service!

[@kawanbrownlee9724]

@@xenomorph2056 oh 6936 but I feel bad for 6925 its been used for parts and sitting abandoned hope someone buys it and restores it may not be back to working condition but has new parts on it

[@TheTrainExpert]

That one at 8:14 is at the illinois railway museum in union Illinois

[@LeeWitten]

I was at that museum once a number of years ago. I couldn't believe the extensive collection and those large car barns were amazing. It was off season and things were closed but I got one of the guys to loan me a key to the bars so I had a solo tour through the facility. Illinois also has one of the only two turbines. Ours in Ogden is being repainted and looks great. Hopefully we'll get money to have Centennial 6916 get a new coat as well.

[@anthonyhunt701]

My all time fave diesel-electric loco❤🤘🏻🚂

[@therealerroredxd]

5:50 at this point the headphone users are near to or are dead with FULL volume.

[@LeeWitten]

Sorry about that!

[@dibblesplaysgames]

love the UP DDA40X class.

[@michaelosgood9876]

Amazing footage of an amazing Loco. The only ones I like more are the Turbines, one of the boldest moves in railroading.

[@LeeWitten]

I hope UP keeps the 6936 running.

[@michaelosgood9876]

The mileage the Centennials achieved is what set them apart on UP line. Average mileage rose gradually through steam, through the turbine Era then almost doubled with 6900 series. Small wonder they're so revered by the Railroad

[@tomcline5631]

With the Big Boy 4015 back in steam they always gotta have a diesel engine with it... Make it a Centennial!!!!!! That keep the insurance dinks happy and be the most absolutely coolest thing on the planet!

[@daniellibich1376]

With millions spent to restore big boy 4015 to operation even if it had to go through the FRA mandated 1472 day inspection when a number of tourist railroads that have an operational steam locomotive also employ a diesel locomotive in the consist. If UP needs a diesel locomotive in the consist behind 4015 when know it would be cool to see a centennial in the consist especially a DD40AX paired with a DD40BX.

[@DASCO2136]

Hmm, with the big boy now being under restoration to operating condition, I'm curious on seeing this happen: Have the 4014 and the 6936 by themselves, pull 80 fully loaded freight cars up Sherman Hill at the same time and see who can get there first.

[@sheepdog271]

That would be a true power move!!!

[@michaelosgood9876]

Get Number 26 running dude & that'll be ever more interesting! We'll be running out of track,tho

[@frankmosch877]

I've got No 6936 DD-40AX eight axil 123 ft long twin engine monster, in HO scale of course, pretty expensive pretty cool if your into HO scale trains like me... Frank misssssschief.....thank you

[@LeeWitten]

Yes, I'm into HO and have a basement layout. Check out some of my films on my channel such as the Santa Fe and California Zephyr that I filmed running around the layout. I don't have a Centennial, its a little big for my layout. I do have U50 though.

[@michaelosgood9876]

@@LeeWitten hi Lee. Any plans at Ogden or UP to get Turbine 26 running? Huge task, I hear but I'll be on 1st plane over to witness this beast running, if that be the case.

[@LeeWitten]

@@michaelosgood9876 Sorry not to be. traction motors all stripped and scrapped. There's no justification is spending money on it. Mabey the one at the Illinois State railroad museum in Union, Illinois could do it. I don't know the status os it there.

[@michaelosgood9876]

@@LeeWitten thanks for the update on turbine 26. This turbine averaged the highest annual mileage of any turbine, incedently. I believe Turbine 18 in Illinois has 2 traction motors, enough to shift it around with the diesel which is said to work. As for the turbine, I'm unsure.

[@mikemasheris9814]

6930 is at IRM in Union,Illinois

[@LeeWitten]

Yes, I've seen it there.

[@billbraden4874]

I like the up because they where experimental

[@LeeWitten]

Yes but the Rio Grande did some experiementing of thier own with the German designed Krauss-Maffei ML 4000

[@connerrolofson1585]

I think both were experimenting with the modular electronics that were to be used by EMD in the future, and it was successful. The SD40-2 became the first engine to introduce the modular electronics and the Dash 2 lineup in general.

[@timothydevillers2298]

I got 6910 and 6932 in HO scale

[@LeeWitten]

+Timorhy DeVillers Its always fun to see the prototype of your model in action. Thanks for the comment.

[@tommythomason6187]

Old War Horses that did their time and, from what I've heard and read, did the job well.

[@LeeWitten]

I'm glad UP keeps one, 6936 operating and in service on special trains.

[@jaiyanachowdhury5674]

What was the number of the n&w sd40-2 in the film which had 6 powered units?

[@LeeWitten]

You'll have to tell me the time in the video where you saw that.

[@davidng2336]

6936 has since been donated to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America. They will soon bring it back to operation.

[@LeeWitten]

Oh, OK, I didn't know that. I thought it was still be operated by UP. Thanks.

[@rickmoredock3054]

6:58 Is that unit behind the GP30 an F7?

[@LeeWitten]

Kind of looks like it. Or an FT

[@LeeWitten]

Ha Ha!

[@acelafan-mn4ub]

Pretty funny joke, but in all seriousness, I found out that the F-Unit behind the GP30 is one of the F3s that was part of a rebuild program undertaken by UP. They rebuilt their F3s in 1958-1959, which included fitting them with 1,750 HP 16-567C diesel engines, D12 main generators with D14 accessory alternators, and D37 traction motors. These rebuilt F3s were called F9s since the components they used were the same ones used for the EMD F9.

[@elperroazul9992]

Do you have any clips of TRUE Union Pacific passenger trains since some clips are from before 1971 so Amtrak doesn’t exist.

[@LeeWitten]

Look at my Stephen Harris videos #2, 3, and 4. There is the Portland Rose, City of Portland, Butte Special and City of Everywhere.

[@Guillotines_For_Globalists]

Who was traveling in the business car?

[@LeeWitten]

Some company big shot..inspecting or on some kind of business trip.

[@austentoland1193]

What happened to theses Locomotives that Union Pacific used to run from the 1970s if I may ask?

[@LeeWitten]

A couple of them are on static display, one here at the Ogden Union Station. UP stills run one of them in their heritage fleet I believe.

[@srinurkomalasari756]

How double traction or more works

[@LeeWitten]

Not sure what you mean?

[@seaboardspastic]

7:37 full clip?

[@LeeWitten]

Yes

[@seaboardspastic]

@@LeeWitten Could I see the full clip, or was that the full clip?

[@LeeWitten]

That clip was extracted from another film but that segment is a full clip. @@seaboardspastic

[@pqhkr2002]

DDA40X is awesome, but what is the difference between DDA40X and 2xGP40? I mean performance and maintenance.

[@oldspguy4786]

Good question and the answer is interesting. In the early 1960's UP Mechanical Dept. head Dave Neuhart and his team did a study. They found that the average annual maintenance cost of a diesel locomotive was around $7,000 (those were the days!) regardless of the size of a locomotive or it's horsepower. So a 6900 would cost half of what 2 GP40's would in annual maintenance yet give the same performance. This is what led to the concept of big twin diesels (DD35 A&B, DDA40X, U50, U50C and Alco 855).

[@pqhkr2002]

@@oldspguy4786 Thanks. So the big twin engine is for lower maintenance cost, but then, after those crazy years which I guess also include the years when single engine 6000hp, SD90MAC-H and AC6000CW, they realized smaller locomotives, 3000~4500hp, 4 or 6 axle are actually more efficient if combine maintenance and operate. In other word, the final cost of 2xGP40 is actually lower than 1 DDA40X. Am I right?

[@oldspguy4786]

@@pqhkr2002 At the time, UP management was looking primarily at their needs on their Wyoming Division (heavy tonnage at high speeds) and the big twin diesels fit the bill. UP did, however at the same time continue to acquire more standard power in the form of SD40's and U30C's. The management of the day (1960's) apparently never liked needing 2 locomotives to do the work of 1 on the Wyoming Div. so they continued to support the big twin diesels at the time. UP contended that overall, the cost of a 6900 was less than 2 standard diesels. What eventually led to the demise of the big diesels was not so much overall costs as the fact that they couldn't pool them. Run-throughs of UP power were common on SP, WP, CNW and BN. SP had a few of these big guys (3 DD35B's and 3 U50's) but they were kept on the Sunset Route. SP would not allow them West of Ogden. CNW, BN and WP (which later became part of UP) wouldn't allow them on their rails at all. As I recall, line-side clearance was the biggest problem. That meant that every time a UP train got to Ogden, Roper or any other transfer yard, the big power would have to be cut-off and changed-out for standard power. This resulted in extra time and unnecessary delay. During the time I worked on SP's Roseville Sub (Donner Pass) I don't ever recall seeing anything more exotic than UP SD40's and 45's on run-throughs.

[@pqhkr2002]

@@oldspguy4786 Wow, that's complex. They afraid other RR damage their big engine? Or these big engines are too heavy, may cause damage or accident on their bridges? Line-side clearance problem, is this caused by the length of these big engine?

[@oldspguy4786]

@@pqhkr2002 To all three questions I'd have to answer "yes". Much like the Big Boy in the steam era, the big diesels were primarily intended for Wyoming Division rail, though the big diesels were sometimes run as far west as Los Angeles on the UP. There was a segment where they had to use Santa Fe rail over Cajon Pass to get to LA, but since that was a jointly used line, they worked-out any potential clearance problems with the Santa Fe ahead of time. Of course you have to remember that Management also changes over time. What one group thinks is a good idea, the next may not.

[@slidingdoor9055]

Was that the driver and conductor grabbing their pay packets at 3.36?

[@LeeWitten]

No, those were train orders, that's the way they would communicate when radio communication wasn't available.

[@arkie74]

why did they have a pair of like sd20's or, gp 30's in the consist...... wasnt the DD40's powerful enough?

[@LeeWitten]

Its all a matter of the tonnage that is being hauled and whether its climbing a grade like from Ogden to Cheyenne.

[@arkie74]

@@LeeWitten seems, I read, or heard some where that it had something to do with them pushing them through tunnels because they overheated to quick.....? also, wasnt there a DD45? or was it called the DD40x?

[@LeeWitten]

@@arkie74 You may be right about th pushing thru tunnels but i haven't heard that. There was a DD35 but I don't recall a DD45.

[@tommythomason6187]

Freight Monsters.

[@saxonaudio]

Oh yeah.

[@moontrainz3790]

4:28

[@benmoore2253]

I know where 8:38 is

[@Eric-un5ov]

Good video Lee. I uploaded more train videos. Check it out

[@LeeWitten]

+Eric (ericondefense) Thanks Eric. I'm working on more videos. Will have some up soon.

[@Eric-un5ov]

Check out my new videos

[@Eastkentuckysirensandtrains]

I have 6900 in ho scale

[@LeeWitten]

I'm into HO also but never did get a 6900. I did get the big turbine model by Scale Trains. Our Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden has both of them on display.

[@Eastkentuckysirensandtrains]

@@LeeWitten Nice!

[@christopherdibble5872]

The engineers don't wave from the trains anymore, not like they did BACK in 1954.

[@jupitertheplanet1667]

The EMD DDA40X is the most ugliest locomotive ever built!

[@lennoxschannel7484]

What are you talking about?!

[@markpritchard3645]

You must be looking at another locomotive The DD40 was ruggedly handsome.