SP E7B #5901

SP E7B #5901

Southern Pacific - E7 5900B

In the 1930s, Electro-Motive boxcabs suffered from two problems that had also been plaguing CB&Q's shovelnose Zephyrs: 1) the position of the cabs left the crew vulnerable to serious injury or death in the event of a collision and, 2) the crew tended to suffer from a psychological phenomenon known as 'train nystagmus': crews would become mesmerized while watching the passing railroad ties from such as close position. This would often result in missed signals, stops, etc. Electro-Motive responded by introducing the E series of locomotives.

The E series relocated the cab to an elevated position above a prominent nose, and these modifications ran concurrent with a new frame design that allowed the body to become an integral part of the support structure: a concept already introduced for the first time on CB&Q's Pioneer Zephyr. The first E series locomotives were 12 EA/EB units purchased by the B&O in 1937. By 1940 EMD had produced the E1, E2, E3, E4 and were in the process of developing the E5 when CB&Q approached them to design an all stainless steel loco for their growing fleet of Budd stainless passenger cars. While one team of EMD engineers handled this new request, another went ahead and released the new locomotives (non-stainless steel) under the name E6.

The E7 was introduced in 1945, and was the first E unit to incorporate the famous 'bulldog' nose (the bulldog nose had made it's first appearance on the streamlined FT freight locos in 1939). EMD was planning on ending production of the venerable FTs in 1945, and saw in excellent opportunity to reuse the popular nose style on the new E7s; hense the first move by a locomotive manufacturer to standardize diesel production.

Strictly used for passenger service, numerous stylistic variations of the E7 were produced; often customized by the railroads themselves. The E7 turned out to be the company's best selling E series model. By the time production ended in 1949, 510 units had been sold.

Author: Scott Struik

SP E7B #5901
• $screenshot$.jpg 5.85KB
• config.txt 4.40KB
e7 sp 5900b_body
e7 sp 5900b.texture.txt 34 bytes
e7 sp 5900b.tga 12.00MB
e7 sp 5900b_body.im 321.38KB
env_glass.bmp 12.05KB
env_glass.texture.txt 32 bytes
env_metal.bmp 12.05KB
env_metal.texture.txt 32 bytes
grey.texture.txt 27 bytes
grey.tga 12.02KB
white-light-small-white-light-small.texture.txt 69 bytes
white-light-small.bmp 3.05KB
white-light-small.tga 3.04KB
white-light-white.texture.txt 40 bytes
white-light-white.tga 3.04KB
window.texture.txt 29 bytes
window.tga 128.04KB
e7 sp 5900b_shadow
black.texture.txt 28 bytes
black.tga 786 bytes
e7 sp 5900b_shadow.im 20.63KB