by the 1930's, the diesel electric started to move into where theyervice were seen as clean and modern and very popular with passengers. after what were two, they made inroads onto mainline freight service. they all but replaced the steam locomotives. this is what they look like in the first generation. they were revolutionary. not only did they reduce maintenance and criticize, they were also much easier on the track. when we think of a steam locomotive, we think of the big steam rise going back-and-forth. cool to watch puts a lot of strain on the track. these were much gentler on the track. that was looked unfavorably by the railroads. we are looking at the front. it looks identical on the rear end as well. that was a big advantage. they were built to operate equally well in either direction. a steam engine could work in reverse in terms of the power. the problem was it was hard for the crew to see backing up. they were not designed to run full steam reverse. with the diesel locomotive, you can go either way. so that was a big advantage as well. this does not have the cow catcher tha