Driving home from work tonight, I saw something so unusual I had to turn around and take pictures. This is the first time this train novice had seen 30-40 locomotive engines in line connected head to tail. A train of only engines.
I exitied the road and drove as close to the yard as possible. When I got closer, I realized it was actually two lines of 30-40 engines each. The lines were fully stopped and no engines were running.
The google earth coordinates are 35* 29’ 48" North and 97* 30’ 46" West and the line of engines were about 900 feet each.
Any idea whats going on? Are they off for refit or is this what it looks like when it’s time to retire. Do they typically travel, so many at a time?
I drove past this point 24 hours earlier and the chain of locomotives was not there. They are in Oklahoma City 10/5/15
I wonder if anyone else had seen this or anything similar.
What you observed are known as ‘Dead Line’. It is where locomotives are stored (serviceable) because of a downturn in business, when business picks up they will be returned to service. It is also where locomotives are stored (unservicable) pending efforts to either rebuild the locomotive or ship them out for scrapping.
Carriers business ebb and flow during the year and during some periods of the year the carrier will have power that is excess to their business requirements and will store a number of engine, only keeping operating the number they need to satisfy their business needs.
A question - a long time ago, there was an article in Model Railroader concerning the storage of new and nearly new locomotives (I’m guessing this was in the early 1980s downturn, although I find the article in the index). Anyway, these locomotives were wrapped in sheet plastic, or “cocooned” as the article called it.
Are stored locomotives cocooned nowadays?
At Binney Jct (Marysville CA). I had set up my vidio camera at a good spot to catch southbound Southern Pacific trains, but unfortunally not Union Pacific trains. This was in the period after the WP merger but before the SP merger
An eastbound UP train stopped at the junction. From my location I could only see the front of the lead locomotive.
A few minutes latter it was cleared to cross the SP line. It was then that I realized that the train was a locomotive move. (I counted more than 50) My camcorder was too close to the UP line and the view partially blocked by a signal box. It was too late to move to a better location.
Rail traffic reported to the AAR for most of the past year has been down 1%-2% consistently from a year ago. Meantime, the western railroads had capital plans to order something like over 500 Tier 3 Credit and Tier 4 4400 hp units, with smaller numbers of Tier 4 units ordered by the eastern roads and CN. The combination of lower traffic (including the precipitous coal drop off and significant crude oil drop off) and more new units with high fuel efficiency and 4400 HP is allowing the roads to move other less fuel efficient and-or lower horsepower units into their surge fleets. Northtown Yard at Minneapolis is home to probably several hundred such units at this time.
The amount of tonnage that higher horspower units can move on good infrastructure at a rapid rate is astounding compared to most other railroads around the world. Today I had the coincidental good fortune to be able to somewhat pace an eastbound CP freight between Glenwood and Belgrade, MN. The single ES44AC and two trailing SD60 motors were loping along effortlessly at 45 per with what had to be at least 8,000 feet “tied on to the drawbar”. I am sure back in the day it would have needed 4 SD40s. Less units needed per train plus a slowdown in traffic is probably generating these large locomotive-only moves.
It was a little more difficult than I expected, but these are the numbers on the side of the engines. I 10-keyed them into excel, twice to avoid entry errors and sorted to remove duplicates. The end result is 48 engine serial numbers. There were 4 more engines out there but I couldn’t get those numbers.
Didn’t notice any numbers lined through, although some of the engines look pretty old.
I’ve pasted the list straight from excel to avoid errors.
The 700 series are the first Dash 9-44CWs purchased by BNSF. They will be undergoing some sort of rebuild, probably in-kind as opposed to the ex-ATSF 600 series conversions.
The 900 series are ex-ATSF Dash 8-40CWs, and will probably be sold off or scrapped.
The 1000 and 1100 series’ are Dash 9-44CWs that were purchased by BNSF after the 700 series. They may see the same rebuild that is proposed for the 700 series.
Pretty soon all the Heritage I and Warbonnet Dash 9-44CWs will be gone from BNSF. Where has the time gone…
Glad to see a “train novice” join us, Switchback. Now that you’re hooked, I’ll let you in on a little secret: “Hooked” is putting it mildly. Once you have cinders in your veins, it’s impossible to pass anything remotely related to a flanged wheel on a rail without studying it (as I have been doing for more than 70 years). Others will think you’re nuts and they may be right but here, you’re among friends. And you will never stop learning more. Welcome.
I love watching unique train movements. I remember crossing over CSX tracks in Cumberland, MD way back, I think mid 1990’s or earlier and seeing the yard filled with nothing but locomotives. Almost crashed getting off the interstate to drive to the yard. I realized they were all GP9’s or GP20’s, most still in Chessie paint with C&O, B&O, WM, markings. All for sale or to the scrapyard. It may have been even longer ago. I think Maryland Midland bought an old B&O unit for parts.
I read somewhere than BNSF and NS were thinking about rebuilding certain engines and converting them to AC traction. Could possibly be what’s in store for the C44’s
BNSF seems to be considering a rebuild program for its older GE’s (see BNSF 616). However, they are also taking delivery of ET44C4’s and it may be a while before they decide whether to rebuild or retire their Dash-9’s.
a few years ago i seen 50 Oakway motors in two lines in creston ia. not stored but waiting then sold to NS or CN.one day looked for them and they were gone.
Where has the time gone…