From: gl4317@yahoo.com   
      
   In article   
   ,   
    Sam Wilson  wrote:   
      
   > In article ,   
   >  Glen Labah  wrote:   
      
   > > Imagine what Great Northern locomotives, in their splendid Green and   
   > > Silver paint, would have looked like had they not also had to have air   
   > > pumps on them:   
   > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnm3000/7860816500/   
   >   
   > I take it some aspect of the design meant that the smokebox didn't have   
   > to be cleaned too often.   
      
      
   I agree.  They must have some other access in their locomotives other   
   than the traditional hinged end vault door arrangement.   
      
   If you think that's bad, imagine trying to deal with one of their   
   articulateds:   
   http://www.gngoat.org/gn2012.jpg   
      
      
   > > With the decline of passenger trains in the USA, the only thing left is   
   > > what pulls freight trains. For the most part, the management of the   
   > > railroad doesn't care what the locomotive looks like so long as it is   
   > > working well   
   > > http://www.railpictures.net/photo/331015/   
   >   
   > But there's been a change in US diesel design.  They used to generally   
   > have the look that the works were all placed under a single cover.   
   > These days the roof line is interrupted in a way that makes it look like   
   > a different engineer was involved in making the shelter for each piece   
   > of equipment.   
      
   The way design works in the USA these days?  It probably was a different   
   engineer for each piece of equipment, uncoordinated with all others.   
      
   Dilbert was an optimist.   
      
   > The effect is a line of random tin sheds lined up on the   
   > chassis.   
      
   Yes. I believe it was someone at Trains Magazine about 25 years or so   
   ago described this new look as "Someone forgot to remove part of the   
   locomotive's shipping crate."  At that time, some of the GE locomotives   
   looked to have this huge packing crate thing right behind the cab, which   
   I think was the air intake for the dynamic brake resistor.   
      
   This "forgot to remove the packing crate" look continues today.   
      
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