<kuid:802030:102448> Monon BL2 #36

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REQUIRES EMD 16-567B from The Erecting Hall! https://n8phu.wordpress.com/sounds/

With the creation of the iconic FT, the railroads had a new demand for
roadswitching duties. While ALCO provided this demand with engines such as the RS-1, EMD wanted a piece of the pie
and created the BL1. They basically took an F unit and turned it into a roadswitcher unit. The lack of a full
carbody allowed for crews to see behind them much easier. Later the BL1 would become the BL2. But because ALCO
had already established them selves in the branchlines, the demand for the BL2s never materialized and production
of the locomotive was ended only a year later. However some railroads still purchased a copy. The railroads in question
were the Monon, Cheseapeke & Ohio, Bangor & Aroostook, Boston & Maine, Rock Island, Missouri Pacific,
Florida East Coast, and the Western Maryland.

The BL stands for Branch Line. The BL1 an 2 had a streamlined carbody design due to their connections to the F units.
However this caused for a lack of an exterior walkway which resulted in engineers still having trouble seeing
ground crewmen. The Chicago & Eastern Illinois would purchase the demonstrater BL1 unit and would be the only
railroad that rostered a BL1. The others had BL2s. While the BL2 failed only from a sales perspective, they were
by no means bad locomotives. And EMD wasn't done with the branchlines yet. And in 1949, EMD revealed a new branchline
locomotive. The GP7. This diesel was the BL2, perfected and would be the final nail in the coffin for steam.
The GP7 and GP9 would be EMDs best sellers. Today a number of BL2s have been preserved. Some even still operate.
This variation is of the Monons BL2's. I chose number 36 because thats the HO model I own.