can anyone tell me how many RS-27’s, high hood GP30’s, high hood GP20’s and RSC2’s are left intact or in operating condition?
There are only 2 RS27’s left, both on the Minnisota Comerical, 316 and 318. They came from Wisconsin Central. They got them through Merger with the Green Bay and Western in 1993. One started out as a Demonstrator, and the other I THINK through the Soo Line.
Carolina Southern operates a high hood ex-Southern GP30.
this GP30 is getting restored , it will be used to haul passengers in east Tn.
Both of the Minnesota Commercial’s RS-27s were originally demos. Both Soo Line RS-27s were scrapped.
Wrong on the demo part of the GBW RS-27’s. The GBW had a total of four RS-27’s: 310 (their original unit and first RS-27 built) and 316-318 (all ex-CNW units traded in on more reliable C-425’s). The 4 CNW engines were regular ordered units, not demos. Some did see use leased out after being returned to ALCO before being resold to GBW. The demos went to UP.
John
There were 4 RS-27 Demonstrators.
Three of them were sold to the Union Pacific.
One was sold to the Pennsylvannia Railroad and it was upgraded by ALCo.
All of the RS-27 Demonstrators were most likely scrapped.
The Soo Line RS-27s have been listed as scrapped in 1984.
TRAINS did run an article on the GP30 when the GP30 was 30 years old.
Andrew
Western Pacific 2001 is a high-hood GP20 now in operating condition at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California. It was the first GP20 built by EMD, released in 1959. At that time the EMD-standard high-hood era was coming to an end and to my knowledge, most GP20s were built with the low-nose. I saw this unit over the summer and it was the sharpest piece of equipment at the museum.
Several ex-Southern high-hood GP30s were rebuilt by EMD as GP39Es for BN in 1991. They lost their high noses and given GP35-style cabs.
I think there is only one existing RSC-2 and thats Milwaukee Road #988.
A cursory look see around the net reveals that there may be as many as nine RSC-2s extant. The Milwaukee #988 is one of two former Milwaukee Road RSC-2s preserved.
There were actually five ALCO RS-27 Demonstrators. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALCO_RS-27 .
Four were sold to the Union Pacific and one was returned to ALCO and rebuilt as a C424 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. There has been an eight part feature story about the RS-27 running in The Railroad Press. This feature article just concluded in the current edition of The Railroad Press. It was written by ALCO Field Representative Chris MacDermot. His book on the RS-27s is due out soon.
Ed
Weren’t those Soo engines operated together and dubbed The Dolly Twins? Or something like that? I know they were scrapped locally, a friend of mine saw them at the scrapper in Newark, NJ.
Neither of the Minnesota Commercial RS-27s were original ALCO Demonstrators, they were however ALCO Lease locomotives for a time. The Minnesota Commercial #316 and #318 were on the Green Bay and Western with the same numbers. Green Bay and Western bought them from Precision National Corporation. Precision National bought the units from ALCO where they had been used in a small lease fleet #900-903 after being traded in by C&NW on C425s. C&NW four unit RS-27 fleet was #900-903. The original numbers of the Minnesota Commercial RS-27s #316 and #318 are C&NW 903 and C&NW 901 respectively. Is everyone clear on this now?
R. Craig Rutherford’s Diesel Shop website has some of the notes on the last two RS-27s. The site does not clearly show the time the units were ALCO Lease locomotives. There are several photos of these ALCO lease fleet RS-27s in the Chris MacDermot article.
I don’t know if it’s an RSC2 but there is a six axle RS unit,ex Pacific Great Eastern,in the railway museum in Squamish,British Columbia.[oX)]
That should be ex-PGE 561 an RSC-3.
The North Carolina Museum of Transportation has an operational high hood GP30 SOU 2601. Here are some photos I took of it in action in November 2007
http://penncentral2002.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1241535
http://penncentral2002.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1307911
http://penncentral2002.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1285242
Here is it before it took the tourists out for a ride
http://penncentral2002.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1280914
The B&O Museum also has a GP30, B&O 6944 but I don’t think it is a high hood - shown here behind CSX 9699 and next to a blue locomotive which I have no idea what it is (any info would be appreciated)
http://penncentral2002.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1192006
http://penncentral2002.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1192005
Conrail Blue GP9 is the best guess that I have.
The Railroad Press is an ALCo heavy magazine that might answer some questions. There is an ALCo RS-27 Demonstrators book coming soon.
Andrew