@bkayganich: It's a M5. See below - one of the staff at the WP museum commented on it. A Western Pacific railfan who has heard this M5 will never mistaken it for anything else. P5's sound a bit higher pitched and "brighter" while the M5 sounds mellower. There are websites that compare the sounds, if you want to verify. Look for my videos of the SP 6051 - that one has a P5.
@Lifty4ever The DDA40X was an experimental road engine used exclusively by the Union Pacific RR primarily for the run from Wyoming to Los Angeles.(the same road as was commanded by the old retired Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy.)The DDA40Xs measured 99'-08" tounge to tounge. Each carried TWO 600 HP Diesel Engines with associeted Alternators. They came equipped with the single largest fuel tank of any land vehicle ever,1,000 Gals each. Also, 4-Axle Trucks. Basically, 2 Engines on a single chassis.
@cchan006 are you kidding? if anything thats like 25 the first time or even slower, the second shot, definately 45, I think of it in terms of what would an automobile look like on my road or highway
To see damage to the Union Pacific tracks caused by the flood of 97, search for flooding in the Feather River Canyon or "1997 New Years Flood in Plumas County Trailer"
there is something running around on the UP right now with a horn sounding like this I was in Rochelle less tha 2 weeks ago and i was in my motel room about a mile from the UP line there and I heard a train pass through town with a horn that sounded identical to this almost but I never made it down to the railroad park to see it I was told it was unlikelly an M5 I heard but probilly an out of tune P5 or K5LA but it sounded like this I heard it a few times on 2 seprate occasions there
@cchan006 thats col I was wondering about that very fascinating a K5LLA on a SD70ACE I figured as much but i wasnt sure becuse no one spoke of anything special through the railroad park I heard that and wonderd what it was interesting since my motel was close enough to here the horns but to far to race over to catch I just listened and wondered
@cchan006 thats cool I had wonderd about that someone said the WP heratage unit was running around Rochelle so I just assumed maybee some sentemental railroader from UP put an M5 on the WP unit but no one spoke of seeing the WP unit pass through so I assume it was an ordinary unit and you say trainorders says there is some ACEs running around with K5LLA horns sounding like the M5 that makes sense I did see the MKT unit there in July before it burned up
@cchan006 I found out wha railroad had an M5 on there unit in Rochele that night it was the Burlington Jct RR they have a GP9 with an M5 on it but yes I to have heard some K5LLA horns sound simular to these
@gaycowboy31 I live in Council Bluffs Ia. The same UP line that goes thru Rochelle. I se A LOT of trains go thru here and occasionally see the #6936 pulling frieght trains. We have a non working model now at the entrance to Omaha at a museum. You can see it along with a BIG BOY on the hill from the Interstate. Just across the Missouri river.
@SMITHnWESSON44m I saw that engine a few weeks ago when I passed through Council Bluffs on I-80 up on that platform with the BigBoy I sure wanted to stop that night and photograph it but I kept going as for 6936 and the M5 horn I was told through some local railfans tha there is some K5LLA horns or one of those models like that on the new SD70ACE units that are out of tune and sound like an M5 such as this but there was no railfan reports from Rochelle of DDA40X 6936 running through there
@Hightrain12 yah thats cool I also was in Rochelle a few months back and saw a few trains come through on the UP and they had some K5LA horns that sounded like this I am over in CSX territory right now in Clifton Forge Va it might be interesting to hear the horns here and tomorrow I will be over in NS territory in Roanoke Va
@misinco: The Portola Museum guys like to recreate the WP every chance they get, so maybe that's why they put it on the 6936 to revive the Feather River Canyon? I've heard that DDA40X had Leslie RS3L's and S-5T's installed originally.
Used to run several times a year, as retired VP Bill Wimmer's locomotive of choice for Specials, as back up for UP Steam Crew, and to several special events. Not sure how often they will run it this year.
The yellow plates near "N" on the engineer's side (and "FI" on the conductor's side) are sandboxes. It's a lesson learned from the early production of DD35's, where sand got all over the equipment, so they were placed outside.
Times sure are slow now I drive by the UP yard in San Bernadino Ca. on my way to work they have this line of Locomotives that keeps getting bigger and bigger that are just sitting there going nowhere. Its very near 2 miles long now. I will try to get my camera working tomorrow and get a vid of it. Must be no freight. I cant imagine all the crews that are sitting at home with no work right now..
The lead is a DDA-40X (6600 HP) built in 1969 in time for the golden spike ceremony, hence the reason they are called Centennials (also the reason they were numbered in the 69 hundreds. The WP geep is a high hood GP-20...followed by 2 F-7A's.
I sure wish that UP would add a Big Blow to the Heritage Fleet... UP 18 is still at Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL and was recently lovingly repainted by the crew.
that would be nice but I am afraid that is wishfull thinking I have thought that same thing of the one at Ogden Utah both units would be great canidates for that
I know these things were hogs when it came to fuel, but with today's economy the way it is, you'd think it would make more sense to have a fleet of these where you could have one or two engines on the train, as opposed to four or five like you see now.
That was the whole idea behind the whole high horsepower D-D, Double Diesel concept of motive power back then. The big problem with this concept was if 1 of the 2 prime-movers you basically lost 2 locomotives vs 1. Also some trains simply do not need one of these so a fleet of these would not be flexible which is why they were often the first to go into storage when traffic was low on the RR. Also often times you would see one of these with with 2 or more other locomotives behind them.
I always thought the Centennials would look even more imposing without the little walkway in the middle. It would look even more like one solid engine.
that makes two of us there was a railroad back east the Western Maryland railway that as I recall ran two side by side on there old engines and blew then in duet
This is the last DDA40X that still runs and is now part of the Heritage Fleet, so they're trying to preserve it. It does pull freight occasionally when ferrying from one location to another, for example, going between Wyoming and California in the summer.
6000 hp is a lot of power for one engine, the reason why it's not in service anymore is if the if the engine breaks down the crew just lost 6000 hp, and there fuel economy sucks thats why now a day all the new locomotives have 4400hp plus there easy to maintain
It's 2 SD40s with 2 additional axles. We got into a position of realizing that if you have enough power on paper but it winds up in the middle of nowhere broken, you are screwed and, boy, were they prone to failure, so you end up sending backup power equal to the task which started people asking, "Why do we even need this thing?". Not to mention the DD's crappy cornering ability due to the large trucks.
I heard it with the RS5T on it I must agree with you as I recall thats the horn the RS5T I mean I heard when it passed through Fort Worth texas on a special it reminded me of the old MKT
My grandpa have German train model sets called Märklin. Some of the American engines, such as the DDA40X and other similar models, also cannot fit on the tight curves.
You should look for Märklin. They are SUPER detailed, yet expensive as hell!
This particular Nathan M5 is an acquired taste. Many of the DDA40X's were originally equipped with Leslies, and that's what I expected to hear when I saw the 6936 for the first time last year.
P5
bkayganich 1 month ago
@bkayganich: It's a M5. See below - one of the staff at the WP museum commented on it. A Western Pacific railfan who has heard this M5 will never mistaken it for anything else. P5's sound a bit higher pitched and "brighter" while the M5 sounds mellower. There are websites that compare the sounds, if you want to verify. Look for my videos of the SP 6051 - that one has a P5.
cchan006 3 weeks ago
its cool horn
trainzaholic 1 month ago
What a wonderful sight! Both the DDA40X and the WP F units! :)
andersley 3 months ago
I still love these M5s I just wish they wernt so high on ebay to buy one
gaycowboy31 4 months ago
The DDA40X has 2 3,300 horsepower engines.
glocker98 4 months ago
MORE! MOOOOOOORE I SAYYYYYY!
OUuuuuuuuuOUouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
NICE TRAINS
VeilsItWhite 4 months ago
are these locos avalable on a train simulator
palexandersquires 8 months ago
GOTA LOVE THAT DAM NATHAN M5
fishworldhacker 9 months ago
Doesnt that M-5R24 belong to a museum employee? Because 6396 originally had an RS-3L
cweis127 9 months ago
@cweis127: Yes, that's what I have been told, too.
cchan006 8 months ago
wats special about DDA40X? im candian so well....
Lifty4ever 10 months ago
@Lifty4ever The DDA40X was an experimental road engine used exclusively by the Union Pacific RR primarily for the run from Wyoming to Los Angeles.(the same road as was commanded by the old retired Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy.)The DDA40Xs measured 99'-08" tounge to tounge. Each carried TWO 600 HP Diesel Engines with associeted Alternators. They came equipped with the single largest fuel tank of any land vehicle ever,1,000 Gals each. Also, 4-Axle Trucks. Basically, 2 Engines on a single chassis.
ancientastronomer 8 months ago
That is one weird ass consist!
Jemalacane 1 year ago
How fast would you guess that train is going! My guess would be about 40 or 50 miles an hour
styx4ever1963 1 year ago
@styx4ever1963: Yeah, my guess would be about 40 mph also.
cchan006 1 year ago
@cchan006 are you kidding? if anything thats like 25 the first time or even slower, the second shot, definately 45, I think of it in terms of what would an automobile look like on my road or highway
aquifer93 11 months ago
Comment removed
75Bird455 6 months ago
Wow nice to see the caboose dont see them very often thanks for posting this video!
styx4ever1963 1 year ago
not as impressive as our Deltics!
palexandersquires 1 year ago
impressive
rhondaw1 1 year ago
that thing is hualin ass
codybrock2345 1 year ago
To see damage to the Union Pacific tracks caused by the flood of 97, search for flooding in the Feather River Canyon or "1997 New Years Flood in Plumas County Trailer"
kevininquincy 1 year ago
there is something running around on the UP right now with a horn sounding like this I was in Rochelle less tha 2 weeks ago and i was in my motel room about a mile from the UP line there and I heard a train pass through town with a horn that sounded identical to this almost but I never made it down to the railroad park to see it I was told it was unlikelly an M5 I heard but probilly an out of tune P5 or K5LA but it sounded like this I heard it a few times on 2 seprate occasions there
gaycowboy31 1 year ago
@gaycowboy31: I heard recently on Trainorders that some of the K5LLA's on SD70ACe's sound similar to M5's.
cchan006 1 year ago
@cchan006 thats col I was wondering about that very fascinating a K5LLA on a SD70ACE I figured as much but i wasnt sure becuse no one spoke of anything special through the railroad park I heard that and wonderd what it was interesting since my motel was close enough to here the horns but to far to race over to catch I just listened and wondered
gaycowboy31 1 year ago
@cchan006 thats cool I had wonderd about that someone said the WP heratage unit was running around Rochelle so I just assumed maybee some sentemental railroader from UP put an M5 on the WP unit but no one spoke of seeing the WP unit pass through so I assume it was an ordinary unit and you say trainorders says there is some ACEs running around with K5LLA horns sounding like the M5 that makes sense I did see the MKT unit there in July before it burned up
gaycowboy31 1 year ago
@cchan006 I found out wha railroad had an M5 on there unit in Rochele that night it was the Burlington Jct RR they have a GP9 with an M5 on it but yes I to have heard some K5LLA horns sound simular to these
gaycowboy31 1 year ago
@gaycowboy31 I live in Council Bluffs Ia. The same UP line that goes thru Rochelle. I se A LOT of trains go thru here and occasionally see the #6936 pulling frieght trains. We have a non working model now at the entrance to Omaha at a museum. You can see it along with a BIG BOY on the hill from the Interstate. Just across the Missouri river.
SMITHnWESSON44m 1 year ago
@SMITHnWESSON44m I saw that engine a few weeks ago when I passed through Council Bluffs on I-80 up on that platform with the BigBoy I sure wanted to stop that night and photograph it but I kept going as for 6936 and the M5 horn I was told through some local railfans tha there is some K5LLA horns or one of those models like that on the new SD70ACE units that are out of tune and sound like an M5 such as this but there was no railfan reports from Rochelle of DDA40X 6936 running through there
gaycowboy31 1 year ago
@gaycowboy31 CSX has some K5LA's that are out of tune and sound sort of like this.
Hightrain12 4 months ago
@Hightrain12 yah thats cool I also was in Rochelle a few months back and saw a few trains come through on the UP and they had some K5LA horns that sounded like this I am over in CSX territory right now in Clifton Forge Va it might be interesting to hear the horns here and tomorrow I will be over in NS territory in Roanoke Va
gaycowboy31 4 months ago
Why did they change it? Was the RS3L the original one?
misinco 1 year ago
@misinco: The Portola Museum guys like to recreate the WP every chance they get, so maybe that's why they put it on the 6936 to revive the Feather River Canyon? I've heard that DDA40X had Leslie RS3L's and S-5T's installed originally.
cchan006 1 year ago
Is that her origional horn?
ThomasRivette 1 year ago
@ThomasRivette: No, the Portola Railroad Museum installed the M5 on the 6936 only during her stay in California that year.
cchan006 1 year ago
@ThomasRivette It Should be! it sounds damn good!
firefighteremt1989 1 year ago
Very cool video. I actually think the horn on the DDA40X is a bit wimpy considering the size of the loco.
LGLG69 1 year ago
Check out my videos of #6922. I shot it back in the 1980s
dreambuilders48808 1 year ago
that horn is like jizz in my pants
1998ChevroletS10 1 year ago
Best.Horn.EVERR!!
fixierider97 1 year ago
awesome video
irishmanO1 1 year ago
great vid
maniacmarklewin52 1 year ago
In Brazil, the state of Minas Gerais, the company (CVRD), (EFVM) (VALE) observation is the same company.
Bought more than 80 EMD SD45 turning a in DDM45, Bilotta metric of 1 meter.
Why do you like MPH and not KPH
bathe you in!
SAMUELDUNGAORIGINAL 1 year ago
Cool!An F unit!
coolcatevan9 2 years ago 4
One of the most beautiful duals I ever heard!!
MCOvronnaz 2 years ago
One of the most awesome locomotives ever built and one of the best sounding horns ever made. Excellent combination.
t3hsully1985 2 years ago 6
Very nice, cool train! Does the #6936 still run or is it off line? Kev.
kendallscottxo 2 years ago
6936 winterized right now, but still in running condition.
cchan006 2 years ago
@cchan006 do u know how often they run it?
colinroxanduknowit 2 years ago
Used to run several times a year, as retired VP Bill Wimmer's locomotive of choice for Specials, as back up for UP Steam Crew, and to several special events. Not sure how often they will run it this year.
cchan006 2 years ago
That's a loud loco! ;) But I like it, 'till the point that I'll do the papermodel of this, whenever I can!
MCOvronnaz 2 years ago
I love me an M5. Great find. 5*
clinton984 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
is that all the american train drivers do? just play with the horns it must get on your nerves, blowing the horns all the time
our railways don`t.
palexandersquires 2 years ago
This is a 6600hp AND AC MOTORS
matheusRFFSA 2 years ago
this is a DC locomotive, not AC, unless UP changed out the motors
FanRailer 2 years ago
so this beast engine it was a failure from design not discover untill being on the field??
juvmol 2 years ago
There is a 6000 hp AC unit. Being used now
fastalk 2 years ago
Nuts.
- A
ibook133 2 years ago
between the Union and the Pacific lettering theres an space??? why??? thanks
falko73 2 years ago
Because there are more letters in Pacific than Union. They justified the words from the left side.
BARRIEMOREBARLOW 2 years ago
union on 1 engine and pacific on the other engine!!! 2 engines on one frame hense the space between the two...
locoman306 2 years ago
thanks for the answer!!!
falko73 2 years ago
what is that yellow plate for? its right in-front on the "N" in UNION PACIFIC on the DDA40X.
TheKmannn 2 years ago
The yellow plates near "N" on the engineer's side (and "FI" on the conductor's side) are sandboxes. It's a lesson learned from the early production of DD35's, where sand got all over the equipment, so they were placed outside.
cchan006 2 years ago
Ohhhh.... thats makes sense.
Thanks for the info. i always wondered what they were for.
TheKmannn 2 years ago
Times sure are slow now I drive by the UP yard in San Bernadino Ca. on my way to work they have this line of Locomotives that keeps getting bigger and bigger that are just sitting there going nowhere. Its very near 2 miles long now. I will try to get my camera working tomorrow and get a vid of it. Must be no freight. I cant imagine all the crews that are sitting at home with no work right now..
Sodiumreactor 2 years ago
The lead is a DDA-40X (6600 HP) built in 1969 in time for the golden spike ceremony, hence the reason they are called Centennials (also the reason they were numbered in the 69 hundreds. The WP geep is a high hood GP-20...followed by 2 F-7A's.
Shield1751 2 years ago 2
I sure wish that UP would add a Big Blow to the Heritage Fleet... UP 18 is still at Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL and was recently lovingly repainted by the crew.
rebeltag 2 years ago
that would be nice but I am afraid that is wishfull thinking I have thought that same thing of the one at Ogden Utah both units would be great canidates for that
gaycowboy31 2 years ago
WHOA! What kind of locomotive is that? The lead engine is huge! What model is it?
whatchamacallit 2 years ago
i like this vid 5* !!!
(and favo)
sUpErShIeFbOy 2 years ago
Glad that they are still keeping it rolling
rammergramps 3 years ago
I know these things were hogs when it came to fuel, but with today's economy the way it is, you'd think it would make more sense to have a fleet of these where you could have one or two engines on the train, as opposed to four or five like you see now.
darkyoda 3 years ago
That was the whole idea behind the whole high horsepower D-D, Double Diesel concept of motive power back then. The big problem with this concept was if 1 of the 2 prime-movers you basically lost 2 locomotives vs 1. Also some trains simply do not need one of these so a fleet of these would not be flexible which is why they were often the first to go into storage when traffic was low on the RR. Also often times you would see one of these with with 2 or more other locomotives behind them.
rocketdude1979 3 years ago
I always thought the Centennials would look even more imposing without the little walkway in the middle. It would look even more like one solid engine.
ragemanchoo82 3 years ago
That is a ripper, would love to see them in duet
rammergramps 3 years ago
that makes two of us there was a railroad back east the Western Maryland railway that as I recall ran two side by side on there old engines and blew then in duet
gaycowboy31 3 years ago
wow this engine its masive!
great video!
juvmol 3 years ago
Didn't this unit has a K3 horn before?
ACLTony 3 years ago
I believe the K3 was reinstalled after the 6936's summer stay in California in 2007.
cchan006 3 years ago
why they don't use it yo pull freight trains,or put on they mainline.
gameover340 3 years ago
This is the last DDA40X that still runs and is now part of the Heritage Fleet, so they're trying to preserve it. It does pull freight occasionally when ferrying from one location to another, for example, going between Wyoming and California in the summer.
cchan006 3 years ago
No way!!
five0fan 2 years ago
yes but the question that interests me also, why are they not in regular service of hauling freight and liners?
They can't be absolete, or outdated, 'couse there's still a lot of engines like old Alcos and earlyer GP searies, which traffic regulary...
KraljLazar 2 years ago
6000 hp is a lot of power for one engine, the reason why it's not in service anymore is if the if the engine breaks down the crew just lost 6000 hp, and there fuel economy sucks thats why now a day all the new locomotives have 4400hp plus there easy to maintain
alexnscn 2 years ago
It's 2 SD40s with 2 additional axles. We got into a position of realizing that if you have enough power on paper but it winds up in the middle of nowhere broken, you are screwed and, boy, were they prone to failure, so you end up sending backup power equal to the task which started people asking, "Why do we even need this thing?". Not to mention the DD's crappy cornering ability due to the large trucks.
BARRIEMOREBARLOW 2 years ago 2
Sounds like it needs to be retuned since Nathan M5s are tunable.
JS106351 3 years ago
Wow that horn sucks, give her RS5T back!
BNSF5608 3 years ago
I heard it with the RS5T on it I must agree with you as I recall thats the horn the RS5T I mean I heard when it passed through Fort Worth texas on a special it reminded me of the old MKT
gaycowboy31 3 years ago
Comment removed
five0fan 3 years ago
Great shot, you caught this a lot. Nice M5 there.
meyer8400 3 years ago
The F7s and the GP20 are, to me, more interesting than the DDA40X
TexasPacific 3 years ago
See you this year in Dunsmuir?
seth4404 3 years ago
I'll do my best to attend again this year. I had a lot of fun last year!
cchan006 3 years ago
AWESOME, AWESOME, AWWEEESSOOMMEEE!!!!!!! I've never seen an engine that huge!!! I LOVE IT!!! 5 stars and certainly favourited!
By the way, what is the second, third, and forth engine?
BoredTrucker1902 3 years ago
They are EMD GP20, F7B, and F7A. They were idle, so the DDA40X was doing all the pulling.
cchan006 3 years ago
That engine DDA40X is like a 2 for 1 special! How much HP does it have? 5*****
DJGENEX71 3 years ago
6600 net horsepower.
BoredTrucker1902 3 years ago
I remember a HO scale model of this, that you couldn't run on the standard curve track or it'd derail due to the length.
DJGENEX71 3 years ago
My grandpa have German train model sets called Märklin. Some of the American engines, such as the DDA40X and other similar models, also cannot fit on the tight curves.
You should look for Märklin. They are SUPER detailed, yet expensive as hell!
BoredTrucker1902 3 years ago
this horn sucks I like its new horn better! the leslie!
BNSF9250 4 years ago
This particular Nathan M5 is an acquired taste. Many of the DDA40X's were originally equipped with Leslies, and that's what I expected to hear when I saw the 6936 for the first time last year.
Personally, I like the Nathan M5 a lot.
cchan006 4 years ago
well I'm happy you enjoy it! it has a leslie now! I hope it has the Nathan M5 if and when it passes by you again!
BNSF9250 3 years ago
Since this is from the WP RR Mueseum (a strict user of the M5 horn from its first geeps till its last) it only make sense for an M5 ;)
seth4404 3 years ago
I see!
BNSF9250 3 years ago