Hello All
While at a project at the Airport Industrial Park south of Philly I found a pair of loco’s hiding behind a clump of trees in a parking lot. The gauges and inside looks like it’s been kept up. The other loco is a B30-7.
I only had my cell phone and will have to return with a better camera. They also have a 45 toner at the entrance but had cars parked in front of it.
Really interesting. I’ve never heard of an SD 20-2 before. I’ll probably need to try and find that airport park.
A prototype kitbash: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SD20-2
Thanks for the link Maxman
It easy to find. Exit I-95 at Route 420. (exit 9) and go east.
Follow Route 420 about 1/10th mile to the first light (route 291) Turn Left.
Route 291 north about a quarter mile to the first light and turn right. (there is a wawa store on the corner)
You’ll see a bar called coaches to the left almost right away. Turn just before it.
Enter the park if it’s open (guard gate off hours) After entering the gate turn left and start looking at about 400 feet to the left. Here’s a google earth link that shows the loco’s in the center of the screen.
Thanks for the directions, HamltBlue.
The next time I’m up in the area, I’ll try to look for them.
Going to try to get there today with my Canon T2i. Hopefully the security gate is open. [swg]
The gates were open when I returned with my DSLR to get some more pics including the 5552 and 45 tonner. I took about 120 or so pics for those interested in details.
They are in raw format and will have to be cleaned and converted.
I’ll start a new thread with them when I do. Here’s a couple in the mean time. The large file sizes are available in photobucket.
Here’s a pic inside one of the trucks of the B unit… I don’t know what they’re supposed to look like but seems to me the traction motor is gone.
It looks like thieves made off with the number boards on 5552. And one of the rear ditch lights.
In the late-'70s B&O needed some 2000hp six-axle hump switchers but didn’t want to expend the monies on SD38-2s which was EMD’s current catalog offering. So they took a half-dozen or so SD35s, swapped a non-turbocharged 645 for the 567, upgraded the electronics to dash two standards and, in essence, got an SD38-2. They labeled their’s SD20-2s.
I thought that unit 2402 . . . . . . . . . . and one other but I can’t recall the number off-hand . . . . . . . . . . was sold to the Ohio Central . . . . . . . . . . at least I think it was the Ohio Central.
A few years back there was a conversion article on this in one of the hobby magazines. This article kinda struck my interest because I have a half-dozen or so N-Scale SD35s which I originally purchased for SDP35 conversion and I figure that this would have been a good conversion for my (freelance) Seaboard and Western Virginia Railway.
I posted a bunch more photo’s on my photobucket account. The link to the album with about 55 images is at the bottom of this post.
Here you see the bell has been removed
A pic inside one of the trucks. Traction motor is gone.
Pic with cab door open.
Bell, traction motor, number boards, and a ditch light missing?
Are the units still in service, or are they for static display?
Both units are at what i hear is a CSX training facility. The cabs look like they’re in good shape but these aren’t going anywhere on their own.
Hmm, a training facility in an industrial park next to an airport.
I can see how that would work, but I think it would make more sence if it was close to a railyard or other facility (unless thare’s something I’m missing on the Google satalite view)
Mabe I am missing something…
Hmm, a doubting thomas [^o)]
Go to google maps or google earth and paste this in the location window
It will take you right to the loco’s
39.866371,-75.291611
You can follow the tracks right into the center of philly.
Hold on, I already saw the Google Earth satalite immages, and I ain’t doubting the fact that they are there.
I;m saying that it seems kind of odd, having some training units in what looks to be an area with no real railroad facilities (unless one of those buildings belong to CSX)
A google search and other responses to these pics have said that it was an EX conrail training facility that now belongs to csx. During the day the garage doors of building W and O have tracks entering with multiple railcars and a couple of small switchers inside. Here’s a complex map.
http://www.castlewayproperties.com/complexmap.html
This whitcomb loco is outside and is the smoke break area of the building.
O.K., I see now. It is an ex-Conrail training facility, now belonging to CSX.
I take it that it’s a safe guess that all of the tracks are part of the training facility?
I can see the makings of an HO scale switching layout from it now. Thanks for clearing it up, and Thanks for the map.
I’ve seen what looks like students aound rolling stock with note books in the past.
I’m not sure all of the tracks are part of the facility. On the top of the google earth link above the 2 loco’s there is a relatively fresh balasted track. If you follow that south you’ll hit several freight yards including a shipping dock and refinery (I think Sunoco). The yards appear to be loaded with rolling stock.