Ready to Roar

Couldn't resist submitting a closer crop of this shot. Up close and personal with the 44 year old machine that will convert the juice from a thin wire into the power of five thousand charging horses.

The title stems from the fact that these older locomotives have a very distinct sound when accelerating from standstill. The motors are connected to the wheels with a rubber-ring tramsission system, and when the driver applies power, the rubber elements are compressed as the motor works against the stationary wheel, but then expand as the train starts moving. This periodic compression results in a very deep, vibrating tone, a low, rumbling growl, which makes the ground tremble as the engine works its way up to speed.

In contrast to that, modern 3-phase AC machines have an equally characteristic buzzing/whining sound. Both of these departure overtures have their fans, and as you may have guessed, I tend to prefer the old one. As a DB driver said: "A good engine doesn't whine when you kick it in the guts. It growls."