#carbody

[tazweedapp]

Purchasing an automobile is one of the most significant decisions you will ever make. Every driver has different priorities, whether it is related to the safety features or the appearance of the vehicle. We at Tazweed are well aware that a car buyer's preferences may differ from another's. But, you may find that choosing between an SUV and a hatchback is simpler if you are aware of their differences. This article is intended for those who are somewhat perplexed by the distinctions between car body designs.

[frenchcurious]

MG PB Airline Coupe by Carbodies 1935. - source Amazing Classic Cars.

[englishcarssince1946]

1984 Carbodies FX4R Taxicab

My tumblr-blogs:

www.tumblr.com/germancarssince1946 & www.tumblr.com/frenchcarssince1946 & www.tumblr.com/englishcarssince1946 & www.tumblr.com/italiancarssince1946 & www.tumblr.com/japanesecarssince1947 & www.tumblr.com/uscarssince1935

[alightinthelantern]

The 1956 Chrysler Norseman was a concept car designed by Chrysler stylists and built overseas in Italy by Carrozzeria Ghia, a coachbuilding (carbody building) firm who famously did the styling for the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia models. Intended for the 1957 circuit, the car was completed in 1956 and sent from Italy to America on the Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria in July.

The car was a four-seat fastback coupe with hidden headlights and a cantilevered roof supported only at its rear-end, allowing for an all-glass front windshield with no metal supports. The car was state-of-the-art, and it’s unknown how many of its daring concepts would have made it into production models, as the car never entered production. On the evening of July 25, amid heavy fog, the Andrea Doria collided with the Swedish ocean liner Stockholm fifty miles south of Nantucket Island, and sank late the next morning. Forty-six people were killed in the initial collision when the Stockholm’s bow pierced the Andrea Doria’s side, but as the ship stayed afloat for eleven hours after the collision and many ships arrived to take on survivors, the remaining 1,660 passengers and crew were evacuated safely, in what became known as one of the greatest rescue operations of the 20th century. With photographers and television crews in airplanes on hand to watch the final moments, the Andrea Doria slipped beneath the waves at 11:00 AM. The Chrysler Norseman, located deep in the Andrea Doria’s garage, was lost as well, and never recovered.

Although it’s tempting to mourn the loss of such a gorgeous and daring car, I think that the daring concept elements which give the car some of its charm would have been toned down in production. A similar car from 1956, the Mercury XM-Turnpike Cruiser, was a radical car in its concept, with radical styling and glass roof panels above the doors that opened vertically like gullwing doors to allow for easier entrance and exit from the car’s low roof. These elements were toned down in production, with the glass panels replaced by a plain hardbody roof and the styling simplified on the carbody. Doubtless the same would have happened the the Chrysler Norseman had it entered production.

[les-belles-mecaniques]

1931 Invicta S Type by Carbodies

[middleland]

6000 horses by Jackson Hayes25

Via Flickr:

CSX B631 rolls south along the Great Miami River in West Middletown, Ohio. A near consecutive set of UP AC6000 carbodies caused no stir among the horses in the trackside barn.     

[guerrerense]

NS KC32/AVR Extra Job @ Pittsburgh PA por Ian M. Hapsias Por Flickr: Dusk is quickly approaching as NS KC32 (at the time of this photo, now called as NS AVR01 in current times), the AVR transfer train, returns back east with their pick up from the Norfolk Southern interchange at Island Avenue Yard on Pittsburgh's northside. The train will jump back onto home rails at CP-BLOOM, about 2 miles further east of the picture here, at CP-PITT. Once back on home rails the train will venture over to their operations base at the former Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Glenwood Yard in Pittsburgh's Hazelwood neighborhood. At Glenwood, the train is broken down accordingly for each train that runs on their system day in and day out to ensure the cars get to their proper customer in a quick and orderly fashion. Today's train is sporting 4 corporate painted engines, all stenciled for Carload Express' Allegheny Valley Railroad (A.V.R.). The first 3 units are former EMD built SD45/45-2's that were rebuilt to SD40-2 standards after their first retirement from their owner railways. The only difference is in internal, as the SD45/45-2's were built with 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine generating 3,600 hp. Upon retirement a large number of the SD45's were being rebuilt to SD40-2 standards with a EMD 16-cylinder 645E3 generating 3,000 horsepower, but keeping the iconic SD45 "flared" carbody. Getting out of technical's of the engines and back to the picture itself, I have to truly give credit to the revolutionary invention of .RAW file shooting. If it wasn't for me shooting so, this file would have been a complete and utter loss being it was so dark and badly botched. A tedious amount of effort in Photoshop RAW editor and photoshop itself brought this photo back to life and so evenly balanced. It still stands to this day as one of my best shots I've taken and taught me well to never count a photo out if the initial exposure was botched. All brought to you by the 3 letters of R, A and W.

[asterisk-666666]

whenever I see midcentury carbody locomotives I think about what a pain they are to work with vs hood units. Sure they’re pretty and iconic but yeesh those tiny vertical ladders in and that awful visibility.

[shellbody2024]

red carbody

[elegant-7-d-mat]

Elegant Auto Accessories . . 🚗Protect your car's exterior with our durable CarBody Cover.👍🌿

#cars#automobile#elegantauto#caraccessories#cover#carinstagram#carlovers#carlife#automotive#carlovers#carphotography#carowners#elegantauto#carcare

[frenchcurious]

Austin A40 Somerset Convertible 1953 by Carbodies. - source Renaud Mann.

[lost-little-fawn]

mommy issues

mother is a pale clouded glass sitting on a windowsill sunheated and spoilt in my toddler hands, so thirsty i never noticed all the mold. until i vomited it  through my fingers, all over my winnie the pooh blanket.

i know that isnt true. i know there was something there.  a warmth, a safety. distant, but there. i just dont  remember it. my mind was concise and desperate in the art of forgetting. a wild animal avoiding a  predator. and so now a gentle, empty valley lies in my recollections, roiling with soft grass and foliage. 

the sinkholes are starting to become more common.  i, myself, am a sinkhole, i think. or at least sinking.  cresting the waves and dipping under them,  heavy like a rock, silent. most children don't fight when they drown. one second they're there, the next,  an absence. a watery grave. i long not to make a fuss. i long to welcome the siren song pulling me down. 

i hold onto the things from my childhood because that's a much safer way to remember. the texture and color and weight are familiar, more familiar than my fathers face, more familiar than my own. they comfort me, reaching threadbare hands through time.  something that cannot think cannot disappoint you. 

my mother has always been a lightning storm.  pablo neruda's desert, "shivering in its solitudes." my solitude, my chubby fist in her fingers, gripped so tight it felt like a breaking. i always knew she was more fragile than me, less concrete. wispwaif.  my whole life was a game of chicken,  begging for my needs without having needs,  without taking up space, without taking her space.  screaming for help without making a single sound. 

she never once helped me across the street.  i crossed like a voyage, praying the headlights were moths leading me home. praying theyd stop for me. strangers stared at me across pavement.  shooed me away like a stray dog. sometimes  i wish they’d crawled out of their metal framework carbodies and ask me to come home with them, take me to the pound.

i ate in secretive bursts, my stomach a monster,  howling in its need. the wrapper sounds striking base fear in my heart, making me freeze, rabbitlike. twitchy.  my own home is still a battleground of her voice. i will always question if my own hunger is worth obeying. 

i never knew who i would become, never had any thoughts about what would happen next. only stuffing my face into the ground like an ostrich and waiting for the storm to stop. it only evolved, darker and electricity charged. im left thinking, staring, confused by a world i never expected to survive.  it’s angrier than i expected, and hungrier. im carving out my place in it with my nails and teeth.

[collinthenychudson]

Day 21: EMD AEM-7

Info from Wikipedia:

The EMD AEM-7 is a twin-cab four-axle 7,000 hp (5.2 MW) B-B electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and ASEA between 1978 and 1988. The locomotive is a derivative of the Swedish SJ Rc4 designed for passenger service in the United States. The primary customer was Amtrak, which bought 54 for use on the Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor. Two commuter operators, MARC and SEPTA, also purchased locomotives, for a total of 65.

Amtrak ordered the AEM-7 after the failure of the GE E60 locomotive. The first locomotives entered service in 1980 and were an immediate success, ending a decade of uncertainty on the Northeast Corridor. In the late 1990s, Amtrak rebuilt 29 of its locomotives from DC to AC traction. The locomotives continued operating through the arrival of the final Siemens ACS-64 in June 2016. MARC retired its fleet in April 2017 in favor of Siemens Chargers, and SEPTA retired all seven of its AEM-7s in November 2018 in favor of ACS-64s. Amtrak assumed control of almost all private sector intercity passenger rail service in the United States on May 1, 1971, with a mandate to reverse decades of decline. Amtrak retained approximately 184 of the 440 trains which had run the day before. To operate these trains, Amtrak inherited a fleet of 300 locomotives (electric and diesel) and 1190 passenger cars, most of which dated from the 1940s–1950s.

Operation on the electrified portion of the Northeast Corridor was split between the Budd Metroliner electric multiple units and PRR GG1 locomotives. The latter were over 35 years old and restricted to 85 mph (137 km/h). Amtrak sought a replacement, but no US manufacturer offered an electric passenger locomotive. Importing and adapting a European locomotive would require a three-year lead time. With few other options, Amtrak turned to GE to adapt the E60C freight locomotive for passenger service. GE delivered two models, the E60CP and the E60CH. However, the locomotives proved unsuitable for speeds above 90 mph (145 km/h), leaving Amtrak once again in need of a permanent solution. Amtrak then examined existing European high-speed designs, and two were imported for trials in 1976–77: the Swedish SJ Rc4 (Amtrak No. X995, SJ No. 1166), and the French SNCF Class CC 21000 (Amtrak No. X996, SNCF No. 21003). Amtrak favored the Swedish design, which became the basis for the AEM-7.

The AEM-7 was far smaller than its predecessors, the PRR GG1 and the GE E60. It measured 51 ft 1+25⁄32 in (15.59 m) long by 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) wide, and stood 14 ft 9.5 in (4.51 m) tall, a decrease in length of over 20 ft (6.1 m). The AEM-7's weight was half that of the E60CP or the GG1. On its introduction it was the "smallest and lightest high horsepower locomotive in North America." The Budd Company manufactured the carbodies for the initial Amtrak order, while the Austrian firm Simmering-Graz-Pauker built the carbodies for the MARC and SEPTA orders.

Reflecting the varied electrification schemes on the Northeast Corridor the locomotives could operate at three different voltages: 11 kV 25 Hz AC, 12.5 kV 60 Hz AC and 25 kV 60 Hz. A pair of Faiveley DS-11 two-stage pantographs, one at each end of the locomotive, collected power from the overhead catenary wire. Thyristor converters stepped down the high-voltage AC to provide DC power at a much lower voltage to four traction motors, one per axle. As built the AEM-7 was rated at 7,000 hp (5.2 MW), with a starting tractive effort of 51,710 lbf (230 kN) and a continuous tractive effort of 28,100 lbf (125 kN). Its maximum speed was 125 miles per hour (201.2 km/h). A separate static converter supplied 500 kW 480 V head-end power (HEP) for passenger comfort. This was sufficient to supply heating, lighting, and other electrical needs in 8-10 Amfleet cars. The rebuilt AEM-7ACs used AC traction instead of DC traction. The power modules used water-cooled insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) technology and provided about 5,000 kilowatts (6,700 horsepower) of traction power plus 1,000 kilowatts (1,300 horsepower) of HEP, twice the HEP capacity of the original DC units. The 6 FXA 5856 traction motors, from Alstom's ONIX family of propulsion components, had a maximum rating of 1,250–1,275 kilowatts (1,676–1,710 horsepower) each and a continuous rating of 1,080 kilowatts (1,450 horsepower). The remanufactured AEM-7ACs were the world's first passenger locomotives to incorporate IGBT technology.

Amtrak planned a fleet of 53 locomotives, with an estimated cost of $137.5 million. Limited funding hampered that plan, but in September 1977 Amtrak proceeded with a plan to buy 30 locomotives for $77.8 million. Five groups bid on the contract: General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD)/ASEA, Morrison–Knudsen/Alstom, Brown Boveri, Siemens/KraussMaffei, and AEG/KraussMaffei. Amtrak awarded the contract to the EMD/ASEA partnership in January 1978. It ordered 17 more locomotives in February 1980, bringing the total to 47.

Revenue service began on May 9, 1980, when No. 901 departed Washington Union Station with a Metroliner service. The Swedish influence led to the nickname "Meatball", after Swedish meatballs. Railfans nicknamed the boxy locomotives "toasters". Between 1980 and 1982, 47 AEM-7s (Nos. 900–946) went into service. Amtrak retired the last of its PRR GG1s on May 1, 1981, while most of the GE E60s were sold to other operators. The new locomotives swiftly proved themselves; Car and Locomotive Cyclopedia stated that no new locomotive since the New York Central Hudson had "such an impact on speeds and schedule performance."

This strong performance led to further orders. Amtrak added seven more locomotives in 1987, delivered in 1988, for a total of 54. Two commuter operators in the Northeast ordered AEM-7s. MARC ordered four in 1986 for use on its Penn Line service on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C. and Perryville, Maryland. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) ordered seven in 1987. Amtrak also used the AEM-7s to handle the Keystone Service on the Keystone Corridor between Harrisburg and Philadelphia as the Budd Metroliners, displaced from the Northeast Corridor, reached the end of their service lives.

In 1999, Amtrak and Alstom began a remanufacturing program for Amtrak's AEM-7s. Alstom supplied AC propulsion equipment, electrical cabinets, transformers, HEP, and cab displays. The rebuild provided Amtrak with locomotives that had improved high end tractive effort and performance with longer trains. Amtrak workers performed the overhauls under Alstom supervision at Amtrak's shop in Wilmington, Delaware. These remanufactured AEM-7s were designated AEM-7AC. Between 1999 and 2002, Amtrak rebuilt 29 of its AEM-7s. As the locomotives passed 30 years of service their operators made plans for replacements. In 2010, Amtrak ordered 70 Siemens ACS-64 locomotives to replace both the AEM-7s and the newer but unreliable Bombardier/Alstom HHP-8s. The ACS-64s began entering revenue service in February 2014. The last two active AEM-7s, Amtrak Nos. 942 and 946, made their final run on June 18, 2016, on a special farewell excursion that ran between Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.

While Amtrak was replacing its AEM-7s, MARC initially decided in 2013 to phase out its electric operations on the Penn Line altogether and retire both its AEM-7 and Bombardier–Alstom HHP-8 locomotives, but the railroad instead started a refurbishment program for its HHP-8s in 2017. As of September 2017, the first HHP-8 reconditioned under this program had been delivered and was undergoing successful testing. MARC selected the Siemens Charger diesel locomotive as the replacement for its AEM-7 fleet in 2015. The last of the MARC AEM-7s were retired by April 2017, with the Chargers expected to enter service by January 2018.

SEPTA will continue to use electric traction, replacing its seven AEM-7s and lone ABB ALP-44, an improved AEM-7, with fifteen ACS-64s. The first SEPTA ACS-64, #901, entered revenue service on July 11, 2018. On December 1, 2018, SEPTA held a farewell excursion for the AEM-7 and ALP-44 locomotives along the Paoli/Thorndale Line.

Two locomotives, ex-Amtrak Nos. 928 and 942, were moved to the Transportation Technology Center in July 2017.

Caltrain, which operates commuter trains in the San Francisco Bay Area, purchased two retired Amtrak AEM-7s to test their electrification system once completed. The units would also serve as backup power for EMU cars. On June 7, 2018, the board awarded two contracts totalling approximately $600,000: one to purchase two AEM-7ACs from Mitsui & Co, and the other to Amtrak for refurbishment, training, and transportation to the Caltrain maintenance facility in San Jose. Locomotive Nos. 929 and 938 were delivered to California by Amtrak in June 2019.

Seven of the remaining SEPTA AEM-7s were leased to NJ Transit beginning in late December 2018 for the purpose of allowing NJ Transit to roster additional locomotives equipped with positive train control (PTC) in order to meet a deadline for operating PTC-capable equipment. However, they were never used and subsequently returned. SEPTA then used them exclusively for overnight work service during autumn, cleaning tracks and applying traction gel. In 2022, SEPTA sold the AEM-7s and ALP-44 for scrap.

Two units have been preserved: ex-Amtrak Nos. 915 at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, and 945 at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Models and Route by: Virtual Beech Grove, Auran, and Download Station

[alightinthelantern]

Parlor-Observation car "Juno" on the Nebraska Zephyr, a daytime passenger train operated daily by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) between Chicago, Illinois and Lincoln, Nebraska. Beginning operation in 1947, the train was typical of streamlined trains of the postwar period in that its carbodies were built of stainless steel and featured an all-silver exterior, the trademark of the Budd Company, but it was also notable in that it continued the CB&Q's unusual tradition, which began in the 1930s, of articulated, unified trainsets, with all passenger cars in each consist sharing bogies (wheel-trucks) and permanently coupled together.

The Nebraska Zephyr operated once-daily in each direction, with Westbound #11 departing Chicago at 12:45 PM and arriving in Lincoln at 10:30 PM, while Eastbound #12 departed Lincoln at 11:00 AM and arrived in Chicago at 8:45 PM. The 551-mile (887 km) trip took 9 hours and 45 minutes, and its average speed was 56 miles per hour (90 km/h) including stops. Service utilized two trainsets which each operated one direction on day and the opposite direction the next. One trainset's cars bore the names of Roman female gods, and was nicknamed "the train of the goddesses" (Venus, Vesta, Minerva, Psyche, Ceres, Diana, and Juno), while the other trainset's cars were named for male Roman gods, and was nicknamed "the train of the gods" (Apollo, Mars, Neptune, Cupid, Vulcan, Mercury, and Jupiter). The trainsets were in fact built by the Budd Company back in 1936 as the second pair of Twin Zephyrs, for CB&Q service between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, making them some of the first stainless-steel trainsets built by Budd, and as such they initially bore the same style of locomotive as the other CB&Q Zephyrs from the 1930s, of a smooth, semicircular front curving seamlessly into the roofline at its top, but these locomotives were later replaced with the stainless-steel-bodied, shovel-nosed diesel locomotives of the 1950s which all the CB&Q's Zephyr trains later received.

Each of the Nebraska Zephyr's two trainsets consisted of several coaches and parlor cars, a coach-dinette, dining car, cocktail lounge, and parlor-observation car. The parlor-observation car on "the train of the gods" was named Jupiter, while its goddess counterpart was named Juno. The locomotives were named Pegasus (CB&Q #9904) and Zephyrus (CB&Q #9905). The trains were generously appointed and provided comfortable travel throughout the 1940s and '50s, and the high level of service was maintained until 1963, when the cocktail lounges were removed in favor of additional seating. In 1966 the dining cars were rebuilt as "cafeteria cars" with vending machines for additional cost-cutting. The aging trainsets were retired from service entirely in 1968, although CB&Q continued to operate the Nebraska Zephyr train with other rolling stock until 1971, when the newly-birthed Amtrak took over all remaining passenger rail service in the US.

[ridesafelyauction]

Learn more: rdsf.ly/nxx0