EMD BL-2: WM-81

Last crawled date: 2 years, 11 months ago

The Western Maryland owned two BL2 diesel engines, Nos. 81 and 82. These engines were 2 of 59 built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. They were paired with trailer diesels 138-T and 139-T, respectively. The engines were painted as follows: DuPont 'Duco' black paint (code 254-2234) for the body, 'Duco' gold (254-54292) for the trim, and DuPont 'Dulux' black (88-762) for the undercarriage. According to the book 'Western Maryland Diesel Locomotives, 'Designed by EMD to work alone, they did not perform well in MU service. Their frames required numerous repairs, due to damage by stress cracks.' Both units survive. No. 81 is at the B&O Museum in Baltimore, and No. 82 is operated by a private railroad in West Virginia. Trailer 138-T is connected to No. 81; no one is actually sure what happened to 139-T. The units were heavily modified by the WM; dual headlights, single chime airhorns, and a 65:12 gear ratio. In addition, 81's controls were replaced by those from wrecked SD40 7473. I left a few details out; however, I did put the lettering and stripes on a different layer. #baltimore #bell #choo_choo #chuff #cumberland #diesel #electric #electromotive #elkins #general #gettysburg #hagerstown #horn #locomotive #maryland #motors #pennsylvania #rail #railroad #railway #steam #thurmont #track #train #west #west_virginia #western #whistle