I just saw a westbound CSX coal train going through Pittsburgh with 3 units. The 3rd/last unit looked like a B unit in that it didn’t have a cab. The unit was dark (at first I thought it was a CSX engine with the new “dark future” scheme until I didn’t see a cab on it) and it had large white numbers on one end.
I never saw anything like this and was hoping someone could tell me what this is/was.
Brian
That may have been a slug. They are modified engines that basically just have traction motors and the hoods are cut down.
Six axle slugs and boosters are quite rare. BN (with some SD40-2B’s) and ATSF (SD45B’s and SD45-2B’s) had some homebuilt C-C boosters. The only C-C slugs of which I’m aware are on BRC, BNSF (ex-BN) and CR (divided between CSX and NS).
Are there any others out there that I don’t know about?
Was it something like this- http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=33435
What was the second unit in the consist?
Some roads have rebuilt wrecked SD40-2’s and other six axle units into “boosters” or B units rather than scrap them.
No. It was as tall/high as a regular locomotive. The numbering on the side looked similar to what BN used.
Brian
Most likely it was a unit that had been wrecked,and rebuilt as a B unit.Soo Line rebuilt an SD40-2 this way,and the SP rebuilt a GE B36-7 into a B unit.BN rebuilt more than one unit like this.
CSX has some ex-BNSF (Santa Fe) SD45-2 “B” units running around. The 2 I have seen are still in Santa Fe Blue with yellow ends and have the Santa Fe lettering painted out with matching blue. The blue is a dark blue. I would say it is one of these that you saw. They are in the 7500 series.
Ed
SOO’s SD40-2B was purchased from BN for unit train power pools.
I would think that the sighting in question is an ex-BNSF (ex-ATSF) SD45-2B which was purchased by NRE and leased to CSX.
Santa Fe only had 3 SD45-B’s (Both -2 and older stock SD45) and one of those got its cab back. Good to hear one or both of the killer B’s might be/ is still around. Was it the one with the d/b blister all the way forward that was a test bed for extended range d/b’s? They spent almost their entire cabless lives on the transcon pulling stack and pig trains. Rarely ever got to Colorado. 7600’s were BN units of the same number.
mudchicken -
That’s very close to what it looked like, minus the SF lettering and adding the BN style number. I tried to get my co-workers binoculars so I could get a better look at it but by then it was already too late. Wish I could’ve had the “up close” look at it. Oh well, maybe some other time.
“Killer B’s”
Hahahaha Thats great.
Adrianspeeder
I had an idea that there were 8 ATSF SD45-2Bs (original road numbers 5510-5517, renumbered between 1998 and 2000 to BNSF 7504-7511). I saw 5515 passing through Shreveport, Louisiana in the early '90s when I lived there.
BN rebuilds-
http://archive.trainpix.com/BN/EMDRBLD/SD40-2B/7500.HTM
http://archive.trainpix.com/BN/EMDRBLD/SD40-2B/7501.HTM
http://archive.trainpix.com/BN/EMDRBLD/SD40-2B/7502.HTM
Try a
B30-7A
BN cabless units.
http://archive.trainpix.com/BN/GE/B30-7A/4003.HTM
See if this might be your mystery locomotive.
Ed
I had an ATSF SD45 B unit on a westbound train from New Castle Pa. to Willard Oh. recently. It had the DB fan on the roof of what would be the short nose on a regular unit. It arrived in New Castle with the ground relay tripped. The mechanical people reset it and pronounced it fixed. As soon as I went to the 2nd notch it tripped again and I had to use the traction motor cut out to keep it loading. I saw the unit a few more times passing through New Castle on various trains.
The ATSF actually tried moving the DB blister to the nose to get better cooling for the brakes. It worked so well in fact since the DB were not over the hot engine that when the GP60B were orderd they demandeds the blisters on the nose.
Norfolk & Western rebuilt several 6-axles into slugs. Included were Alco RSD12s and FM Trainmasters (H24-66)!! Most of these survived into NS, I would bet that there are still some out there.
Thanks for mentioning the N&W slugs cut down from Train Masters. As an aside, the N&W C630’s were the slug mothers, five (1135-1139) of which rode on trade-in Train Master trucks. I don’t think that any of the ex-NKP RSD12’s were cut down to slugs although CR did the same with ex-PRR RSD12’s and some of those went to NS.
ATSF had 2 SD45B’s (5501-5502) and 8 SD45-2B’s (5510-5517).
As I remember it (I suffer from c.r.s.) When AT&SF rebuilt the SD45-2B units, the first 2 had their dynamic brake grids in the standard location (5510,5511) but the rest of them had them mounted in the front of the hood (where the short hood would be). And I belive there were 8 SD45-2Bs in total.