Yeah, you are correct. On all points. The older GE's are the worst smokers. They use a four cycle diesel engine, which was always slow to load. The steps up onto them where spaced for a nine-foot tall human being and the doors into the cabs and the cabs themselves were designed for a four-footer anorexic. The newer ones aren't nearly as bad, but if you paint the things black, and the air conditioner fails they still aren't fit for human haitation in August. The EMD (General Motors) engines use a two cycle engine that loads much faster, at least the older ones did, the cabs were more normal human sized and they rode much better on lousy track. The load issue is kind of moot because of the computer software nowadays. The designers don't think the operators are smart enough to properly handle the machinery, so they build delays into the controls so that no matter how fast you pull out on the throttle, the engine only loads as fast as the computer tells it to. It is supposed to protect me from myself because i'm not responsible enough or smart enough to do the job properly. Aren't we living in a wonderful age?
