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[[photograph of two locomotives]] 
[[inset caption: Fig.1. Ingot-buggy specials--50-ton, 2-axle, 300-horsepower locomotives for hauling heavy drags at low speeds]]
[[large caption under photo: Small Diesel-electrics adapted for steel mill switching]]
by F.H. Craton
Transportation Division
General Electric Company
[[Inset summary: Standard locomotive up to 80 tons meet requirements found in most steel-mill yards in moving materials. Choice of high- or low-speed equipment depends upon such factors as character of service, number of hours to be used annually, type of maintenance, and number of locomotives operated in the plant.]]

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Among the first to adopt the efficient, time- and labor-saving diesel-electric locomotive was the steel industry. These locomotives sold at $200 per horsepower in the twenties, and a few discerning pioneers saw their way clear to buy them and put them to work on steel-mill assignments. Even at the staggering prices of those days, it was a good investment; the units have now paid for themselves several times over. These early locomotives were fundamentally costly, because the engines and electrical equipment revolved slowly compared to present-day standards; a lot of material rotated and reciprocated to produce tractive effort at the drawbar. However, these units had a high degree of reliability and operating economy, resulting in the steel industry taking hold of the diesel-electric idea seriously. The development for years was largely
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along the lines of big units; steam was used for the lighter jobs because there were no suitable diesel-electrics available.

INDUSTRY TRIES SMALL UNITS
In 1938, the small diesel-electric appeared with high-speed engines and electric drive, first as a 20-ton, 150-horsepower, than 45- and 50-ton 300-horsepower and at the astoundingly low price of $60 to $70 per horsepower. Again, with the same pioneering spirit of the twenties, the steel industry bought a few and tried them. To the amazement of many, these so-called "pin-wheel" designs proved their worth. There were troubles, but ways were found to iron them out gradually, until today the small diesel-electric has made a place for itself in this toughest of
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all industrial assignments--steel-mill switching. 

The term "small diesel-electric" has come gradually to mean locomotives of 80 tons and under as contrasted with units of 100 tons and over which were developed primarily for Class I railroad use. "Small" is perhaps an unfortunate adjective to apply to this class of motive power because to some it may imply locomotives relatively too fragile and impotent for the rigorous demands of steel-mill work. The performance of these "small" diesel-electrics, in a score of steel plants during the high-pressure record-breaking period of production now going on, has proved beyond peradventure that any such inference as to their potency does them a rank injustice. In sizes from 20 tons on up to 80, including all the in-betweens, they have been doing yeoman work.
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Reprinted from Steel, August 28, 1944.