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Max Ephraim, Jr. (1918-2001) was an American railroad mechanical engineer who played a significant role in the transition from steam-powered to diesel-electric locomotives during the 1950s.
Max Ephraim was born to Max and Margaret at Washington Park Hospital on October 15, 1918 and raised on the South Side (Chicago) along with two brothers. His father was Jewish and his mother Irish, and he experienced the discrimination common to both groups at the time. He graduated from Harper High School in February 1936. Ephraim attended “Illinois Institute of Technology” and graduated first in his mechanical engineering class and second in the entire Class of 1939 —all while editing the school newspaper, playing intramural sports, participating in the Rho Delta Rho fraternity, working two jobs to pay his way through school, and within 3 ½ years. Max received offers from Pullman-Standard, American Air Filter, and Electro-Motive Corporation.
Ephraim started his career at the Electro-Motive Corporation of General Motors on Monday June 12, 1939, just a few days after closing out his student days at IIT. He was assigned as a draftsman, the entry position for a mechanical engineer, at a monthly wage of $125.00. Initially he was with the Power Product section where diesel-electric generators were designed as stand-by power for clients such as telephone companies. He later worked with Richard Dilworth and Martin P Blomberg in developing and improving EMD's diesel-electric locomotives. As he became financially stable with EMD, he and Audrey were married on Nov 22, 1941.
During World War II, Ephraim accepted a commission with the US Navy in 1943. His initial assignment was at the Navy installation in Mechanicsburg PA. For sea duty, he was assigned to the Pacific Theater as an engineering officer aboard the USS PCE-843, a 185-foot Patrol Craft Escort of the corvette type that was laid down on 25 June 1943 and delivered to the US Navy on Jan 30, 1944 by Pullman-Standard.
Ephraim returned to EMD where he was assigned as project manager for the NW5. The NW5 was an early concept road-switcher, and was used to switch passenger cars at major passenger stations such as Chicago's Union Station. After the NW5, he headed development of the Branch Line locomotives – BL1 and BL2. The BL models were intended to address the shortcomings of a car body style locomotive. They provided superior visibility to their car body styled counterparts, while also eliminating the requirement to be turned around for a return trip on the same rail. Electro-Motive subsequently mothballed the BL2 and replaced it with the GP7.
In 1955, Ephraim became the locomotive section engineer. In 1959, he led a team in the development of turbocharger for the EMD 567 engine and was promoted to assistant chief engineer. In 1973, just as the Dash 2 series of diesel-electric locomotives were moving tonnage across the land, he became the chief engineer. He retired from EMD in 1983.
After his retirement from EMD, Ephraim became chairman of the board of Modern Process Equipment, Inc. (MPE) of Chicago, Illinois, a family owned firm managed by his sons.
In 1989, Ephraim's wife suffered a stroke. She recovered and he became her primary caregiver. She died in 1999. Ephraim died on September 16, 2001, of kidney failure at the age of 82.
Ephraim was elected a fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and was honored with the Professional Achievement Award from the Illinois Institute of Technology. The Max Ephraim, Jr. Conference Room at the McCormick Tribune Campus Center on The Illinois Institute of Technology campus is named in his honor. Endowed Max Ephraim scholarships have been established at IIT and Evangel University.
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.
The EMD E5 is a 2,000-horsepower (1,500 kW), A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation, and its corporate successor, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of La Grange, Illinois, and produced exclusively for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and its subsidiaries, during 1940 and 1941. The E5 was distinguished from the otherwise very similar E3, E4 and E6 by being clad in polished stainless steel to match the Burlington's Zephyr trains. It also featured unique small grill-like ornamentation on both sides of the upper headlight. Like the other models in the E-series, the E5 had a sloping “slant nose” and it was equipped with two headlights — a regular stationary headlight above a gyrating Mars signal light. The E5 was the sixth in the EMD E-unit series.
The EMD E6 was a 2,000-horsepower (1,500 kW), A1A-A1A, streamlined passenger train locomotive manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation, and its corporate successor, General Motors Electro-Motive Division, of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, E6A, was manufactured from November 1939 to September 1942; 91 were produced. The booster version, E6B, was manufactured from April 1940 to February 1942; 26 were produced. The 2,000-horsepower (1,500 kW) was achieved by putting two 1,000-horsepower (750 kW), 12-cylinder, model 567 engines in the engine compartment. Each engine drove its own electrical generator to power the traction motors. The E6 was the seventh model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.
The EMD BL2 is a model of diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD). A total of 58 units were built between 1947 and 1949. The BL2 was not very successful, as it was unreliable and occupied a gap between carbody and hood units, which resulted in it suffering from the drawbacks of both designs. However, lessons learned from the BL2 were incorporated into EMD's next design, the GP7.
The E9 is a 2,400-horsepower (1,790 kW), A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois, between April 1954 and January 1964. 100 cab-equipped A units were produced and 44 cabless booster B units, all for service in the United States. The E9 was the tenth and last model of EMD E-unit and differed from the earlier E8 as built only by the newer engines and a different, flusher-fitting mounting for the headlight glass, the latter being the only visible difference. Since some E8s were fitted with this, it is not a reliable way to distinguish the two. The E9 has two 1,200 hp (895 kW), V12 model 567C engines, each engine driving one generator to power two traction motors.
The EMC E2 was an American passenger-train diesel locomotive which as a single unit developed 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kW), from two (2) 900 horsepower (670 kW) prime movers. These locomotives were typically operated as a unit set or ; where the three unit lashup developed 5400 horsepower. This was almost the ideal horsepower required for the tonnage of a 15 - 18 car passenger train, operated over the ruling grades of virtually all of the mileage between major American cities. The units were of the A1A-A1A wheel arrangement, and manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC), later Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) of La Grange, Illinois.
EMD E-units were a line of passenger train streamliner diesel locomotives built by the General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and its predecessor the Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC). Final assembly for all E-units was in La Grange, Illinois. Production ran from May 1937, to December, 1963. The name E-units refers to the model numbers given to each successive type, which all began with E. The E originally stood for eighteen hundred horsepower, the power of the earliest model, but the letter was kept for later models of higher power.
The EMC E1 was an early passenger-train diesel locomotive developing 1,800 hp, with an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement, and manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois. They were built during 1937 and 1938 for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway for a new generation of diesel-powered streamlined trains. 8 cab-equipped lead A units and three cabless booster B units were built. The initial three locomotives were AB pairs built to haul the Santa Fe's Super Chief diesel streamliners, while the others were built as single A units to haul shorter trains. The locomotives were diesel-electrics with two 900 hp (670 kW) Winton 201-A engines each, with each engine driving its own generator to power the traction motors. The E1 was the second model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units. All Winton 201A-engined Santa Fe passenger units, including the E1s, were extensively rebuilt into the 80-class E8M engines in 1952–53. These were similar to production E8 models, but derated to 2,000 hp so as not to burn out the early traction (axle) motors.
The EMC EA/EB is an early passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built from May 16, 1937, to 1938 by Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. They were the first model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units. Each locomotive unit developed 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kW) from two 900 hp (670 kW) Winton 201-A diesel engines, driving the wheels through an electric transmission—the generator driven by each engine provided current for traction motors. The locomotives were of A1A-A1A wheel arrangement—two three-axle trucks of which only the outer two axles were powered. Six two-unit 3,600 hp (2,700 kW) locomotives were produced, each consisting of a lead cab-equipped EA A unit and a cabless booster EB B unit. They were numbered 51 through 56; the A units bore the bare number and the B units the number followed by 'X'.
The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10001 was a diesel-electric streamlined train built in 1934 by Pullman-Standard with a power system developed by General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation using a Winton 201A Diesel engine and General Electric generator, control equipment and traction motors. It was the UP's second streamliner after the M-10000, their first equipped with a diesel engine and was a longer train than its three-car predecessor. All cars were articulated—trucks were shared between each car. It was delivered on October 2, 1934, and was used for display, test and record-setting runs for the next two months before being returned to Pullman-Standard for an increase in power and capacity, following which it was placed into service as the City of Portland train. It has been nicknamed "The Banana".
The EMD NW5 was a 1,000 hp (750 kW) road switcher diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between December 1946 and February 1947.
Electro-Motive Diesel is a brand of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. Formerly a division of General Motors, EMD is now owned by Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. Electro-Motive Diesel traces its roots to the Electro-Motive Engineering Corporation, founded in 1922 and purchased by General Motors in 1930. After purchase by GM, the company was known as GM's Electro-Motive Division. In 2005, GM sold EMD to Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners, and in 2010, EMD was sold to Progress Rail. Upon the 2005 sale, the company was renamed to Electro-Motive Diesel.
The EMD GP7 is a four-axle (B-B) diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between October 1949 and May 1954.
The RS1325 is a North American locomotive model built by Electro-Motive Division, having characteristics of both a switcher and a roadswitcher. Only two units were built.
Martin Petrus Frederik Blomberg was an American engineer of Swedish origin. He became well known for the development of the truck frame for the diesel-electric locomotives of the Electro Motive Division (EMD).
The RP-210 was a streamlined 1,000 hp (750 kW) locomotive built in 1956 by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, specifically to operate with the experimental, all-aluminum Train-X coaches that were built by the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company. The model represented Baldwin's attempted entry into the lightweight passenger locomotive market, but only three of the low-slung diesel-hydraulic units were produced. The first RP-210 was built for the New York Central Railroad to power their Ohio Xplorer train between Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, and a pair was purchased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to double-end their Dan'l Webster, running between New York City and Boston.
The EMD BL20-2 is a model of diesel electric locomotive produced by Electro-Motive Diesel in 1992. The locomotives were designed as rebuilds of the EMD GP9 with the addition of new technology, including an alternator and electronics equivalent to those of the Dash 2 line of locomotives. Despite the BL prefix, these locomotives were unrelated to the earlier EMD BL2.
