Sunday, October 30, 2011

'the Europe of the fat noses'


You can imagine a bookshop here being mystified by a title like this and adding that it's a book about Nohabs wouldn't help!  In continental Europe, Nohabs are one of the most popular vintage diesel locomotives among enthusiasts.  According to the introduction, Cet engouement vient de leur esthétique tres particulière, apparues au tout début de l'essor de la traction diesel en Europe.  A cela s'ajoute une accoustique phénonoménale, allant du ronronnement de chat assoupi au clairon triomphant de l'echappement au huitième cran. (This passion comes from their very particular aesthetics, appearing at the beginning of the rise of diesel traction in Europe. Added to this is a phenomenal sound, from the purring of a dozing cat to triumphant trumpet exhaust in notch eight) -- how about that!

NOHAB (Nydqvist och Holm AB) was a engineering business in the city of Trollhättan, Sweden, and in the 1950s began manufacturing diesel-electric locomotives under licence from General Motors EMD.  The countries that bought the most were Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway and Hungary. 

The specifications of the locomotives in each country varied but in general they were A1A-A1A type with an EMD 567 prime mover of 1700 - 2000 hp.  This is a book of nice photos taken in each of the countries mentioned above, plus some second hand examples in places as exotic as Kosovo.   128 pages in 230 x 165 mm, colour throughout, hardcover.

We will do some more posts on these from time to time.

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