ELECTRO-MOTIVE EDUCATION

General Motors' Electro-Motive Division modernized the railroad industry with its revolutionary diesel engines and diesel-electric locomotives.

- ROCKY ROTELLA

Before the advent of the automobile and our vast highway and interstate network, railroads were the medium that connected towns and cities, and the routes they traveled helped shape our county. As the railway system evolved, it played a vital role in transporting passengers and freight to new destinations. The Transcontinental Railroad's completion in 1869 connected the East and West making cross-country rail travel possible. You may notice when driving today's highways that towns and cities are generally spaced 50 to 100 miles apart. That spacing isn't coincidental-it was the distance that steam locomotives could travel before needing to refill its tender with water. Railroads set up "water stops" along their track route and settlements often emerged as locomotive replenishment afforded time for onloading and offloading passengers and freight. As highways were built, they often paralleled railways, and many of the once-trackside towns and cities remain today. Some even evolved into major metropolitan areas.

Early steam locomotives evolved into massive engineering marvels, but the operating principle remained largely the same as the steam engine developed by James Watt in 1776. While steam power was quite effective, steam locomotives were costly to operate and maintain. They consumed large volumes of water and fuel and the frequent replenishment stops lengthened passenger travel time. As highly mechanical machines, strict maintenance schedules had to be followed to maximize locomotive service life. Roundhouses and engine shops were strategically placed along the route where regular maintenance and repairs were carried out by an army of trained workers 24 hours a day.