Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Inspired by Pete's C39-8 and GP30 threads, I thought I'd start a thread for some of the oddities and rarities I've managed to capture on my travels. Feel free to join in! Nothing ordinary though Caveats - I know most SD45s I've seen are 'faux-45s' and rare paint schemes weren't rare 10 15 years ago...  From my very first trip, on the very first afternoon... how lucky was I to get an unpatched, Chicago and North Western AC44CW on the CEFX unit coal train chugging around Walong Siding.  Also on my first trip, a Montana Rail Link SD45-2.  Well, what a great first trip that was - here's an unpatched BN SD60M 'cyclops'...  another CNW locomotive, a C44-9W this time heading west on the Sunset Route, near red Rock Az.June 2005  DRGW Tunnel Motor, also at Red Rock Az June 2005  Little Rock Centennial commemorative paint on an SD45... lead unit too, most uncommon.  Pretty GCFX Alstom Canada leasor SD40-2, ex Canadian Pacific.  ex-MoPac SW1200 #1126, Miami Az, June 2005  unpatched DRGW GP40, Colton LA September 2005  Tucson, Cornelia and Gila Bend RR NW #52 - the only NW2 on the roster  rarest GP30s? Phelps Dodge had 9 specially built for the New Cornelia Mine at Ajo Az, I saw two of them there.  BNSF SD9-3... sixty year old vet still slogging away on the hump at Balmer Yard, Seattle May 2008  Dreyfuss GP9, Interbay Grain Terminal Seattle, ex Northern Pacific  Apalachicola Northern SW9 #711... a long way from Florida, inside Mojave Airport  RLK BL20-2, Bakersfield Ca. Only 3 of these modern switchers built on old BN GP9 frames Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted September 8, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 8, 2011 A superb collection, thankyou. A couple of points. The Phelps-Dodge GP30s were the only ones of over 900 of that type not to have MU controls. I am reminded by your pic that the DRGW GP40-2s (it's not a GP40 - look at the extended range dynamics), among the first built, arrived on Blomberg Bs rather than Ms. Whether the M wasn't yet ready, or whether Rio Grande was suspicious of the single brake cylinder each side, and its efficacy on Tennessee Pass etc I don't know. Mopac certainly knew how to make a switcher look ugly! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Super photos Dr. G-F!!! Great locations too..... Â c.1995? Â Best, Pete. Â PS I'm awaiting a new camera for my B'Day. I took my recent ones on a $84.00 Canon, I was surprised at how good they came out considering I had very little control over the exposure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 c.1995?  mostly 2003 - 2005  from 2005 onwards the variety seems to have diminshed as the recession meant the RRs laid up their older locomotives and leasors went home.  My optimal year would have been around 1995 though - a resurgent Santa Fe Super Fleet, Southern Pacific packing itself out of the dirt, 2nd generation diesels in abundance and only a few of the new GE tractors coming on stream for variety  Sadly I didn't get to the US South-West until 2003 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave1905 Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Mopac certainly knew how to make a switcher look ugly! Â Whoever bought the locomotive from the Mopac and added all that air filter stuff made the engine ugly. Not the Mopac. Â That's probably additional air filter equipment to run the engine in a the hot, dusty quarry or plant in Arizona. About the only thing the Mopac would have added was spark arrestors. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWB Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Here are Amtrak 450 and 451 painted in a scheme to match a DBAG ICE set that toured the US in 1993 in an effort to break into the high speed rail market. 450 and 451 were the only F69PH-ACs. Here is Union Pacific SD45 1, renumbered from the 3600 series as newer SD40-2s arrived. It is in Salt Lake City about 1981 and may have been in storage: Here is Amtrak 762, an ex-N&W unit used as a switcher in Los Angeles, also about 1981. It is switching the consist for the Desert Wind, which this day is operating with both an SDP40F and an F40PH. Since the SDP40Fs had only steam boilers, an F40PH was needed for the HEP power on this train. I also saw arrangements with the SDP40F closest to the train, so HEP power was cabled through the SDP40F with a jumper cable running through the front and rear doors of the unit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 oh nice pics sir! I rather like those F69PHACs, they're splendidly ugly! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 from 2005 onwards the variety seems to have diminshed as the recession meant the RRs laid up their older locomotives and leasors went home.  Some stuff from deadlines is gradually coming back, there was a post on Illinirail this morning about the BNSF GP60Bs - most of which have been laid up at Corwith, gradually cycling West towards Montana and Seattle over the past few days for example...  My optimal year would have been around 1995 though - a resurgent Santa Fe Super Fleet, Southern Pacific packing itself out of the dirt, 2nd generation diesels in abundance and only a few of the new GE tractors coming on stream for variety  Difficult one...i'd probably pick slightly later to get some BNSF power in the mix, the H1 and Warbonnet BNSF C44-9Ws and a handful of repaints, but no patches and plenty of pre-merger paint - 1997 maybe? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWB Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 The Super Fleet era on Santa Fe was something to behold. Here's a train I caught when the 8-40BWs and GP60Bs were new: But the warbonnets lasted unpatched for quite a while into BNSF. Here's one about 2001: One of my favorite periods is when Cajon Pass had concrete ties but was still double track with a code line alongside, as above. But here's 630's sister, in Mojave, wait for it -- just yesterday. Here's a shot of the paint the early 9-44CWs got, BNSF H1. I believe the later orders in the 700s with the EMD style cab side windows got H2 when repainted. For some reason, BNSF keeps all but late dash 9s and Gevos out of Southern California -- the opinion seems to be that it's air quality issues, although UP has no such scruples, and you can see SD60Ms, SD40-2s, and all kinds of other stuff at West Colton. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Gwinnett Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I think there are air quality incentives (or penalties) in the LA basin - hence all the gensets and the preponderance of SD70Aces on local haulers. JWB might know - he's a local I think? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWB Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 All I know is what I see -- the UP runs locos in SoCal that BNSF does not. This is apparently sensitive enough that nobody seems to be talking for the record. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Gwinnett Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Odd isn't it. Apologies if earlier post didn't make sense - I whizzed past and thought it was another of Dr G-F's postings, not yours, sorry. Â I wonder if UP has seen sufficient traffic increases that its forced to use non- Tier 2 complaint locos now. Â On the other hand, i understand that PHL is sending some of its Tier-2 compliant locos to be rebuilt to tier-3 standard. For the parallel thread about gensets, i wonder if the visible differences indicate tier 2 and tier 3 locos.# Â Sorry JWB, i wasn't expecting omniscience, I just wondered if there had been discussion locally about what was what. Â With a purely modelling hat on, its good news - it means that, for example, one can now run older genesis SD70ms without feeling that you are anachronistic. Rebuild SD40-2s seem to be appearing as well, as JWB mentioned, and so on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWB Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 The one thing to keep in mind if you're bringing back older UP locos is that the up-to-the-minute livery has the lower red stripe replaced with yellow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
signalmaintainer Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 The two shots taken in Seattle are on my beat! I haven't seen 1711 in a long while -- I believe it's been mothballed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 The two shots taken in Seattle are on my beat! I haven't seen 1711 in a long while -- I believe it's been mothballed.  Aw, darn. It was a peachy locomotive.  Anyway, here's a real 'odd'. ATSF Aircraft Parts car, class Ft-66, built at Santa Fe's Topeka shops. Only six built - ATSF 90424-90429. Car was originally intended for handling C-5A Galaxy horizontal or vertical stabilizer assemblies. They're all gone now apparently. I was pretty lucky to catch this one on a westbound junker in June 05, somewhere near Tucson.   Here's another, this time the fabled San Manuel Arizona's home built 'war wagon'. Lying dumped on the smelter lead at Hayden, Az.   The San Manuel was built in 1955 and closed in 2003 and the smelter was being dismantled in 2005. I was pretty lucky then to catch the SMARRCo fleet sitting outside right at sunset. Half an hour later it would have been too dark to catch them. A mix of GP38s and GP39s.   Oddball paint scheme at Skykomish, May 2008   Handsome old GP30 at Balmer Yard, may 2008   An old REA express car, still in service (MoW) in 2008 complete with roofwalks and full height ladders... sweet   and a CB&Q 40 footer, also in MoW service and not in bad nick really...   somebody should look after this - is this a 1973 Chevrolet El Camino? I can;t tell you how disappointed I was when I started visiting the States and found that everybody didn't drive around in cars like this. Flippin' Japakoreanclones everywhere....   and finally for today, a real rarity. Only two of these awesome monsters are in existence, and only five were ever built. Ladies and Gentlemen, the mighty Goodyear F2G-1 'Super Corsair', BuNo. 88454 in Seattle's Museum of Flight. Powered by the P&W R-4360 28 cylinder radial, 3000hp of helical awesomeness.   Now that's a beast... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 True. The aviation equivalent of maximum torque steer! Â Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 ex-MoPac SW1200 #1126, Miami Az, June 2005 Â I liked the air filters on this one, so I researched More pics Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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