Stops in Hudson, PA find D&H C-424 451 (a former E-L unit) in October 1984 and D&H RS-11 5010 in July 1985.
Never thought about it previously- Was the C-420 the last production unit to not have the nose notches?
No, the notched hoods came with the middle group of road switchers, numbered RS/RSD-7 and above. The Century series, which showed up later (about 1963), still had notches on the high hoods, though they got shallower. But low short hoods lost the notches.
In my region, it was pretty much all RS1,2,3. Then it seemed like models jumped to RS11. Followed by Centuries, built after the 420's?
The C-420s are Century series. And yeah, Centuries were the last units built, though I think the very last units were C-636.
Right. The C-420 was in production the longest of the Centuries, almost to the end. It used a supercharged sixteen instead of a turbocharged twelve because ALCO figured out that one reason EMD was outselling them was the high cost of turbo maintenance. About the same time, EMD went turbo to keep up in the horsepower race. Later the GP-38 was introduced to compete with the C-420. The C-420 and C-425 were both introduced at the same time, on the same frame. The 425 had a turbo and bigger radiators, which moved the cab forward. All the later Centuries used the same short hood as the C-425, and had their internals arranged to suit that nose length. So the C-420 is easy to spot by its longer short hood. Some of them needed that space; the high C-420 noses had enough room for a steam generator.
Many a C-420 model has been criticized for the body being too far above the trucks but...look at the prototype. Doug
I never noticed that before Doug, but you're right. Here's the 1332 (a former Monon unit per the nose-mounted bell) at Knoxville, TN in May 1978 and we can clearly see what you mention.
That height would decrease her stability on curves due to the higher center of gravity. I wonder if that class had a speed restriction lower than other locos for each degree of curvature? I drive a hybrid and go around on/off ramps faster than "normal" cars due to heavy hybrid batteries under the rear seat giving me a lower center of gravity. Driving a hybrid is almost as much fun as driving my Miata. OK, I drove a Miata when I was 55. I'm driving the hybrid when I'm 85. Gimme a break. It's still fun.
I used to have an '89 Firebird Formula with Goodyear Z rated tires on it and the WS6 suspension. It sure was fun driving on old highway 14 through the hills on the way to the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. Doug
With the Mehano N Scale version of the 1970s, speed was safely self-limited by its overheated motor and routine stalling.
Interestingly enough, the MRC SCL one I have was a real racer in its youth. Super quiet, too. You really couldn't hear the motor or gears, at all. It has settled down in its old age, however. Doug
I had one in PC. It was a terrible runner, but I was thrilled to have something in PC. As long as I ran it at high speed, it'd wobble along with it's one powered truck with traction tires without stalling.
As the old expression goes, if you can imagine or remember how it's said - Saaaaaaad. I used to think it was only a Rochester, MN girl thing because I never heard it in Austin but then I heard a girl from out east say it. Doug