I had heard that the larger CAT engines didn’t work in locomotives, I liken it to the failed Sulzer experiment that I had also heard didn’t go well. Apparently in this case they didn’t adapt well to the environment a locomotive has to endure. Granted I never read much in Trains about these after the initial stories, heard elsewhere.
Part of the reason the CAT 3600 series engines didn’t get any traction (pun intended) with the RRs was their insistence on the RRs using their independent franchise maintenance companies as the point of contact between the RRs and the manufacturer. The RRs greatly prefer dealing directly with the manufacturer.
Returning to the original post, are there any exteral changes to the unit, similar to Pacific Harbor Line’s MPI MP20C-3’s, rebuilt from SD40’s?
externally from the few photos posted online sofar there appear to be virtually no major external differences in the KCSM SD22ECO’s and the SD40-2’s they were rebuilt from. Probably the biggest change is the paint. The same goes for the GP22ECO’s rebuilt from GP40-2’s.
Really the only units you are likely to see a major physical difference in are those rebuilt from early generation GP units, such as EMDX demo #7102 which was rebuilt from a GP9 and has an extensively redesigned longhood to be able to accommodate the new components.
Bryan Jones
NOTE: I realize this Thread is a little old (2009) but some of the information and materials previously discussed are relevant to the current times. So I opted to continue the Thread…Hoping that the additional information would be of interest currently…
While looking around YouTube.com, specifically at some of the videos of Kansas City Southern de Mexico videos, I began to see a number of KCS deM units in the ‘Belle’ paint scheme.
The major difference to the expected "Belle"paint scheme; was an addition to the rear of the long hood, which was about a 2/3’s views of a globe of the world added. This seems to be strictly on the Mexican Railroad Operated Units(?)
Upon closer inspection, on the rear of the Cab side was the type notation of ‘GP22ECO’. {obviously, a rebuild designation]. and on the long hood at around the area of the handrail height was another notation for ‘710 re-power’.
Elsewhere in this Thread is a notation that apparently EMD is looking to rebuild a group of about 300 of type of 710 engine equipped units.
I wonder how many of these units have gone to the KCS de M Railroad? The seem to start with a number of 2400, but I have been unable to find any reference to the number that the KCS de M is planning to buy or how many the KCS is going to get, if any? It looks at a glance to be the perfect type of unit to use on the the Mexican side, as observing from the various videos I’ve seen the track and ROW seem to be pretty ‘scruffy’ and a ‘B’ (2axle) Trucked Units seem to be able to negatiate the tight radius curves and the track structure(?) in Mexico.
Do any Posters have any counts on numbers for these units going into service in
Take a look at the following link for the KCS and KCSdeM section of “The Diesel Shop”. From the looks of it, they have a very active 710ECO repowering program aimed at both the US and Mexico.