Tunnel Motor -- Southern Pacific SD40T-2 Locomotive in San Luis Obispo, California
by Darin Volpe
Title
Tunnel Motor -- Southern Pacific SD40T-2 Locomotive in San Luis Obispo, California
Artist
Darin Volpe
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
When the steam era disappeared in the '60s and the diesel engine took over, Southern Pacific Railroad found it had a new problem on its hands - the new diesels tended to overheat in the long tunnels and snowsheds along the main line over the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. After testing various options, the solution came in 1972 in what became nicknamed the "Tunnel Motor," a design that lowered the air intakes to the bottom of the car body to draw the cooler air lower in the tunnel instead of the warmer air on top. This photograph shows both designs. You can see the grilles at the rear of the locomotives - at the deck level on the SP 8529 Tunnel Motor in front and at the top on the locomotive behind.
SP 8529 is a model EMD SD40T-2 that was built for the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1978. This photo is from 1996 at the San Luis Obispo train station.
Uploaded
September 23rd, 2020
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