Thus was the beginning of the resident District Engineer concept: Electro-Motive field-service employees stationed at the customer’s shops to provide direct technical support. Hamilton’s next move was to deal with the hostility and reluctance on the part of the railroad mechanical departments to accept the new technology. A plugged gasoline line, broken spark plug, dirt in the air brake system, a brake shoe falling off, or any simple thing could result in failure.” Hamilton said, “It does not require much imagination to bring out how thin the ice was under us. The field-service people were kept very busy riding and supporting the needs of the new cars for the tense 30-day performance guarantee period. Fortunately, there were no problems on the run to Oelwein, Iowa, but Hamilton was kept busy checking the main generator’s temperature as the car handled the ruling grades on the line.Ī Northern Pacific doodlebug motorcar went into service in the last days of August 1924.īoth cars passed their performance and braking tests on the respective railroads, confirming the accuracy of the design calculations made by the Electro-Motive staff. But the general manager of the CGW elected to accompany the new gas-electric on its first trip and coupled his 85-ton business car to it. The gas-electric car and its transmission system had been rated and advertised as being capable of handling a 35-ton trailing coach, adequate for the unpowered trailer Electro-Motive offered. Right from the first run, founder Hal Hamilton’s expectation that railroads would overload the equipment was confirmed. The first Electro-Motive doodlebug motorcar to be delivered went to the Chicago Great Western in August 1924.

The pioneering doodlebug motorcar was destroyed by fire.

The breakthrough The beginning of it all: 150-hp Chicago Great Western gas-electric M-300, built in 1924, was the first railcar sold by Electro-Motive and founder H.

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