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19

The passage through test had not been smooth. The electrical system as well as many of the various components were of new design. The excitation system, which was used to control the power demands on the two diesel engines and thereby allow them to produce constant horsepower, involved a new and complex rotating unit called a metadyne, which acted up and resisted proper adjustment. The two huge 900--hp engines, sitting side by side in the cab, made for a very crowded layout which hampered the testing. However, early in December things began to look brighter. For the first time, the metadyne began to act as though it would finally work out okay and we were greatly cheered by this. For this was one of the first efforts to load an engine at its rated horsepower over a wide range of locomotive speed. The systems used prior to this time had been based on approximations of this at best and at worst, relied simply on engine stalling to get a generator "wraparound" at all. Even the much-heralded system developed by Hermann Lemp in the 1920's, depended on such engine stalling to some extent. Also we were plagued with engine governor trouble, experiencing a lot of hunting and overshooting. They were Woodward governors, supposedly the best, and we finally had to get a Woodward service engineer in from Rockford to help out. He was a good boy named Bill Whitehead whom I was to run into on other jobs later. The Woodward Governor Co. was a relatively small concern and my recollection is that Bill was the son of the president or some such luminary. But he knew his stuff and seemed to get us out of the hole. Just about the time this obstacle was hurdled, a lube oil manifold sprung a leak and we had to suspend operations for another two or three days. But on December 12th, we made our bearing run and everything seemed to work pretty well. It really began to look as though we'd make a locomotive out of it after all. We got up to 65 mph and with a light locomotive, the acceleration was almost enough to lay you in the aisle. And the metdyne was looking more encouraging all the time. A few days later, we began oscillograph tests to develop a smooth transition, beating up and down the test track hauling five cars of coal and developing films feverishly to find out what adjustment had to be made to get what we wanted. And at this point my diary record ceases so I don't know what went on or what additional headaches we developed before this locomotive was finally shipped, which occurred in February 1936. The locomotive was to have an 11-year life and was retired in June 1947, to be cut up by the railroad for scrap at Paducah, Kentucky. Heaven knows, this wasn't a particularly creditable showing but on the other hand, the locomotive was a pioneer design, it had no brothers or sisters, and was soon what was known as an "orphan" with all the attendent problems of operation and maintenance that accompany such a situation. At any rate, I think I can say that it was the best-looking diesel which had been produced up to that time--for whatever solace that may be.