Check out this photo - what a beauty!! Anyone know how many they got? I’m guessing these are ex-CEFX units?
that does look sharp! did you notice on the side of the cab it says “gps equipped”? sort of how locos used to say radio equipped.
Sweet! That sure does look like a giant. Very, very sharp looking.
Well I’ll be damned, here I thought someone was trolling.
I’d heard last spring they were getting 3.
inch
Good pic and nice paint job.
Makes me proud to be a Hoosier!
The regional lines are starting quite a migration towards “super power” rather than using the older units. MRL, Iowa Interstate and now Indiana RR are upgrading.
What is the motivation for this (obviously saving $$$, but specifically how?)
ed
Yes, very sharp looking indeed. I sure would like to see WSOR get some of these.
new EPA Tier 3 of 4 or 5.(dont know for sure anymore) are on the way in 2010… could be a move to buy newer lower emissions power that might be cheeper then haveing to retro fit emissions controll systems to current power as well as a possable move get units that get better fuel economy…somewhere down the line someone crunched the numbers to come up with buy or even long turn leaseing that junk as opposed to buying some used junk from the used locomotive market…
csx engineer
I think these are still leased from CEFX, just repainted for Indiana Rail Road. Oh whoops…I’m thinking of the standard non-convertables… Never mind me![:I]
Also, could the WSOR track even handle these beasts? There was an article in TRAINS a few years back talking about how most of the WSOR tracks are still light rail because of lack of funding for heavier rail. Could this be an outdated article?
True enough on most of their branch lines but not true on others, especially in and out of Milwaukee and Chicago. About five years back I saw an ex-UP/SP six axle tunnel motor on the Slinger to Horicon branch which (at least back then) had light rail and they were using it on the line.
I highly doubt the WSOR could handle SD9043MACs, they couldn’t even handle F45s. That means FEC, MRL, Indiana and soon Iowa Interstate have recieved new engines, even though the Indiana’s aren’t brand new. I wonder what these will mean for the current engines, I would imagine Indiana could possibly return the three MRLs pulling the coal trains now to Montana.
There are only a few places on the WSOR that are 4-axle only. SD40-2s go most everywhere. Slinger to Horicon will be all 115 lb welded rail soon. Many SD70ACes have come to Horicon for paint. The track has improved quite a bit since the days of the F45s.
WOW!!! Very sharp looking!!
Where did this unit come from? Ex-UP?
The locomotives belong to CEFX leasing, and are former Dark Maroon and Silver painted units short-term leased to CP and UP. The lease to Indiana Rail Road is a long term so the locomotives are being painted in the lessee’s paint scheme.
It still looks really nice, quite a scheme on it.
It does look good
Have to agree with you guys…sharp paint scheme [8D][tup]
Just to make sure that I have this correct…SD9043. Does this designation mean that it doesn’t have the “H” engine, but instead a 4,300 horspower 710 series?
It’s too bad that EMD’s H engine had problems. So much invested and now UP is getting rid of them. I still wonder if the problems weren’t something that advancing technology might solve and would warrant keeping the H units around…at least in storage.
Yes, the 9043 has a 4300HP 16-710G3C-EC.