Re: Regauging diesels

Ted miles Wrote:
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> Folks,
> Not to ask a dumb question; but I do not
> know much about Diesels.
>
> Is it possible to change a Diesel road locomtive
> from standard gauge to 36 inch gauge? There must
> be a lot of used Diesels around.
>
> I understand that the D&S for example would need a
> road Diesel rather than a switcher to make main
> line trips.
>
> How much would it cost today to build something
> new by a company like GE which has done them in
> the past?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ted Miles, narrow gauge fan

Sure it's possible to re-gauge diesels. It's not easily done, however. The traction motors are located in the trucks so you need entirely new trucks with entirely new (narrower) traction motors along with the necessary alterations to the frame, fuel tank, and so forth. Smaller motors means needing more of them so you usually wind up with more axles...8-axle conversions are common. In short the re-gauging quite often turns into a fairly extensive rebuild, and you still wind up with a locomotive that requires standard-gauge clearances in terms of width and height.

I believe GE is still in the narrow gauge road locomotive market. I've seen claims that prices are in the general vicinity of 3 million U.S. dollars per. These are mainline locomotives based on standard gauge designs, and produce far higher power and tractive effort than anything that has ever run on the Silverton line. I don't know if they produce anything of the size the D&S requires, but the D&S's choice of builder probably provides some insight in that respect.