Editing EMD BL2

{{Short description|Model of diesel-electric locomotive}}
{{Infobox locomotive
|  name=EMD BL2
|  powertype=[[Diesel-electric]]
|  image=Janesville & Southeastern BL2, at NRM, Green Bay, 20040426.jpg
|  caption=Janesville & Southeastern #52 at the [[National Railroad Museum]].
|  gauge={{track gauge|ussg}}
|  aarwheels=B-B
|  builder=[[Electro-Motive Diesel|General Motors Electro-Motive Division]] (EMD)
|  buildmodel=BL2
|  totalproduction=59
|  builddate=September 1947 &ndash; May 1949
|  locale = [[United States]]
|  primemover = [[Electro-Motive Diesel|EMD]] [[EMD 567|16-567B]]
|  enginetype = [[V16 engine|V16]]
|  cylindercount=16
| generator = EMD D-12A
| tractionmotors = (4) EMD D-17-B or D-27-B
|  poweroutput={{convert|1,500|hp|kW|abbr=on|lk=in}}
|  tractiveeffort={{convert|56,200|lbf|kN|abbr=on}}
|  operator=[[#Original owners|See "original Owners"]]
}}
The '''EMD BL2''' is a model of [[Diesel electric locomotive|diesel-electric locomotive]] built by [[Electro-Motive Diesel|General Motors Electro-Motive Division]] (EMD). A total of 58 units (plus a single BL1) were built between 1947 and 1949.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Foster |first1=Gerald L. |title=A field guide to trains of North America |date=1996 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |location=Boston |isbn=0-395-70112-0 |page=104}}</ref> The BL2 was not very successful, as it was unreliable and occupied a gap between [[Cab unit|carbody]] and [[hood unit]]s, which resulted in it suffering from the drawbacks of both designs. However, lessons learned from the BL2 were incorporated into EMD's next design, the [[EMD GP7|GP7]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Schafer|first=Mike|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38738930|title=Vintage diesel locomotives|date=1998|publisher=Motorbooks International|isbn=0-7603-0507-2|location=Osceola, WI|pages=37|oclc=38738930}}</ref>

==History==
EMD's diesel program was well underway by the late 1940s thanks to the success of the company's [[EMD F-unit|F-]] and [[EMD E-unit|E-unit]]s. While the F-units in production were great for moving trains over the railroad, their full-width carbody made it difficult for locomotive crews to see to the rear of the locomotive while switching. This was considered an acceptable sacrifice for a mainline locomotive, which was expected to do little switch work, since the full-width carbody type was considered much more handsome and stylish. By 1948, competitors [[Alco]], [[Baldwin Locomotive Works|Baldwin]], and [[Fairbanks-Morse]] had introduced [[road switcher]] locomotives, which used the narrow hood and full walkway of a [[switcher locomotive]] with a longer frame and the high-speed [[bogie|trucks]] of a road locomotive. These locomotives were successful at displacing steam from secondary services such as local and branch-line work.

EMD developed the BL1, basing it on the [[EMD F3|F3]] and using the same bridge-truss [[cab unit|carbody]] construction as the F-unit (as opposed to the weight-bearing frame of a true [[road switcher locomotive]] like the [[Alco]] [[ALCO RS-1|RS-1]]) with the body cut away behind the cab to provide visibility to the rear.<ref name="Gardner1">{{cite magazine |last=Gardner |first=Bill |date=October 1982 |title=EMD GP7: EMD's Trendsetter |magazine=Mainline Modeler}}</ref> The first BL1 was EMD Demonstrator #499, built in September 1947. The BL1 Demonstrator was EMD Project 89499, thus the 499 Demonstrator number. The BL in the model name stood for "Branch Line", indicating that EMD felt the locomotive was best suited for light traffic and frequent switching chores.<ref name=":0" /> The BL1 was built with a light-weight underframe and [[draft gear]] and no [[multiple-unit train control|multiple unit]] (MU) capabilities, as it was expected to operate as a single unit.<ref name="Gardner1" /> However, MU capability was later added to the BL1.<ref name="Gardner1" />

In response to feedback from the railroads, the visually-identical BL2 was built with a heavier frame and draft gear and MU capability.<ref name="Gardner1" /> The production BL2 used the standard [[Woodward, Inc.]] electro-hydraulic governor and notched throttle as used in the F3 (as opposed to the air-actuated throttle with which the BL1 was originally built). The BL2 could be equipped with a train-heating [[steam generator (railroad)|steam generator]] for passenger service, identified by an exhaust stack between the panes of the front windshield. The [[Boston and Maine Railroad|B&M]], [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway|C&O]] and [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad|Rock Island]] ordered such units.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Lettenberger|first=Bob|title=Ask Trains|date=February 2023|magazine=[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]]|publisher=[[Kalmbach Media|Kalmbach]]|page=46}}</ref>

Limiting the locomotive's success were several mechanical and ergonomic drawbacks. The BL2 was expensive and time-consuming to build because of its unique carbody design. Rather than being built in small segments which could be moved to another area for final assembly, the BL2 had to be built entirely in once place.<ref name="Gardner1"/> The mechanical components in the engine compartment were difficult to access and maintain, reducing its appeal among railroad shop crews. The locomotive's carbody lacked the full-length walkways of a true switch engine (a mistake not repeated on the subsequent "GP" series of diesels or other road switchers), making it difficult for the brakeman or switchman to move from one point on the locomotive to another during switching operations. Finally, although the industrial designers at EMD tried to build a carbody that evoked high-class passenger trains while retaining the utilitarianism of railroad work, the design never became popular. EMD applied the lessons learned from the BL2's lack of success in developing the [[EMD GP7|GP7]].<ref name="Gardner1" />

==Original owners==
{| class="wikitable" 
|-
!  '''Railroad''' || '''Quantity''' || '''Road Number''' 
|-
| [[Bangor and Aroostook Railroad|Bangor and Aroostook]] || 8 || 550-557 (later 50-57) 
|-
| [[Boston and Maine Railroad]] || 4 || 1550–1553 
|-
| [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]]¹ || 14 || 80-85 (Ordered by [[Pere Marquette Railroad]] prior to merger), 1840–1847
|-
| [[Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad]] || 2 || 1600-1601 (later 200-201)
|-
| [[Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway]] ("Monon") || 9 || 30-38 
|-
| [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad]] || 5 || 425-429 
|-
|[[Electro Motive Diesel|Electro Motive Division]] ||1||499 (BL1 demo, sold to C&EI 1602, later 202)
|- 
| [[Florida East Coast Railway]] || 6 || 601-606 
|-
| [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]] || 8 || 4104-4111 
|-
| [[Western Maryland Railway]] || 2 || 81-82 
|-

! Total || 59 || 
|-
|}

==Preservation==
The following BL2s have been preserved:
* [[Monon Railroad|Monon]] #32; [[Kentucky Railway Museum]] [http://www.kyrail.org/].
* [[Western Maryland Railway]] #81; [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum]] [http://www.borail.org/], [[Baltimore, Maryland]].
* Western Maryland Railroad #82; [[Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20090416134528/http://mountainrail.meer.net/].
* Janesville & Southeastern #52, ex-[[Bangor and Aroostook]] #52; née-Bangor and Aroostook #552 [[National Railroad Museum]] [http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org/], [[Green Bay, Wisconsin]]; operated on [[Saratoga and North Creek Railway]] #52 [http://www.sncrr.com/].  To be leased to [[Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum]] as of June 2021.  
* Bangor and Aroostook #54; [[Lackawaxen and Stourbridge Railroad]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20041013122548/http://www.waynecountycc.com/trhome.htm], [[Honesdale, Pennsylvania]].
* Bangor and Aroostook #56; currently owned by [[Saratoga and North Creek Railway]] #56 [http://www.sncrr.com/]. Formerly [[Janesville, Wisconsin]]. Leased to [[Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum]] in operational condition as of September 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum debuts rare EMD BL2 (with video) |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/hoosier-valley-railroad-museum-debuts-rare-emd-bl2-with-video/ |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=Trains |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Bangor and Aroostook #557; [[Cole Transportation Museum]] [http://www.colemuseum.org/], [[Bangor, Maine]].



{{Incomplete list|date=August 2008}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Additional Reading==
* {{cite book|author=Pinkepank, Jerry A.|title=The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide|publisher=Kalmbach Publishing Co., Milwaukee, WI|year=1973|isbn=0-89024-026-4}}
* {{cite journal| title=BL2..... A Final Study| first1=Dan| last1=Dover| first2=Ed| last2=Skinger| first3=Win| last3=Cuisinier| journal=Extra 2200 South| issue=46| pages=20–24}} Drawings by Win Cuisinier (Preston Cook).

{{Commons category|EMD BL2 locomotives}}

{{EMD GPs}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Electro-Motive Division locomotives|BL2]]
[[Category:B-B locomotives]]
[[Category:Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States]]
[[Category:Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States]]
[[Category:Railway locomotives introduced in 1947]]
[[Category:Streamlined diesel locomotives]]
[[Category:Chesapeake and Ohio locomotives]]