GECX DEMOS; PT2

Last week, a trio of GECX pre-production prototypes showed up in Hillsdale. Now they a being put to the test...

The trio rolls through with a carefully weighed unit coal train, as the engineers work out the "kinks" in the units.

As they roll in, they move past a string of MOW cars, along with traffic on County Lane.

The string of coal cars are aluminum gondolas, with red ends noting the rotary couplers. Since this train does not have a double rotary-equipped car, all of the red ends are facing the locomotives.

Surprisingly, the train is stopping for a crew change. Actually, one of the engineering crew members riding in the second unit fell ill, and is being dropped off. Motion Sickness?

While the train is stopped, we take a closer look at the massive radiators of the new ET-Series. The new units now use two fans, which are clearly visible through the screening. This allows for better cooling, which in turn results in lower emissions; the ET's emit 70% less particulate matter and 76% less nitrogen oxides than the preceding ES-Series. The larger radiator cab (GE terminology) means that the ET's are over a foot longer than the ES's.

The train is once again on the move, and here we get a look at the AHLX-marked coal gons.

You know it's a test train when you see a caboose on the rear! APW 4345 brings up the markers. Since it's a "modernized" caboose, it not only has the AP&W's Engineering Blue paint, but several blanked-out windows as well, along with rooftop a/c units and a GPS dome as well.