HOLMAN
? 1912 B-B ? hp ? ? lbs ? lbs ? ft ? in ? ft ? in
? ft ? in 1200 VDC (later 1500 VDC)
builder..
builder number.. built.. wheel arrangement.. horsepower..
traction motors.. operational weight.. starting tractive effort.. length.. width.. wheelbase.. operational power..
As it did with steam engines, and would later do with diesels, the Tidewater
occaisionally found itself needing extra electric motive power. This situation most often found the road using Sacramento Northern 601, a large, wooden body box motor dating from the Oakland, Antioch, and Eastern Railway, predecessor to
the SN. It has been suggested by some writers and researchers that the Tidewater never used its electric motors on mainline freight trains, only in switching service. However, a photo published in the December 1956 issue of
Pacific Railway Journal shows what appears to be SN 601 hauling a freight train on the mainline beyond Modesto, clear evidence that the TS did run freight behind "juice jacks". SN 601 first came to the Tidewater during
World War I, when it was still on the roster of the Oakland, Antioch and Eastern and their engine 101. While the dates of its use are uncertain, the motor was photographed on the TS in 1916. The Tidewater even painted out the
O&AE markings, although it is unknown if any TS identification was ever applied. During World War II, the 601 and similar motor 602, were leased to the TS in exchange for TS' more powerful 106 steeplecab. During this
time, the TS, which always used trolley poles, scrapped the pantographs off of the two SN motors. The 601 went to scrap in 1948, having seen very little use as a freight motor after its war-time stint in Modesto.
Most data on the use of SN 601 by the TS is courtesy of Garth Groff and the Sacramento Northern On-Line site.
Holman Box Motor Electric Sacramento Northern 601
Tidewater Southern Railway
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