I saw this on the trains news wire but don’t have a subscription. Aren’t SD90MACs just 10-15 years old? Must be a dud or something.
U.P. scrapping 6,000 HP SD90MAC units
The EMD SD90MAC series is a failure. Many of them have terrible electrical problems beyond belief, and usually occupy excess space in repair shops. UP uses alot in DPU service on coal drags, but other than that, many have been phased out. I know Canadian Pacific is not running them as heavily as they were a while ago, due to the constant failure in these units.
To make up for the terrible quality of these units, EMD produced the SD90MAC-HII series, which featured a new cab layout, and different wiring and electronics. These turned out to be even more unsuccessful that the original SD90MAC units. UP got rid of all SD90MAC-HII units that they had on their roster. As of now, they are owned by the EMD Lease Division (EMLX), and are under contract repair with the Wheeling & Lake Erie and Buffalo & Pittsburgh.
I have heard alot about the SD90MAC series being scrapped too, but it does not appear to be happening at a fast rate. That has been the rumor for two years now. Ever since EMD’s invention of the SD90MAC, things have been downhill, and GE has been at the upper hand considerably in the locomotive department. The EMD fleet also does not meet Tier II emission standards, which is another thing EMD must overcome to continue building locomotives (which I heard they have stopped doing).
The SD90MAC competitor, the GE AC6000CW, is much more successful, more reliable and crew friendly. The SD90MAC was not a good investment on UP and CP’s part, and they are paying for it now by constant repairs to the units. I am not sure what would happen to these fairly new units if they were to be retired. I could not imagine units of this size and age being scrapped, but they may wind up somewhat like LTEX or NREX, and be reworked and put on a lease line.
You are talking about the 6000 HP SD90’s NOT the SD90/43MAC’s Is that correct?
Lots of misinformation in this post, let me clarify a bit. The UP now owns 20 SD90MAC-H (6000hp locomotives) originally numbered UP 8501 - 8520 (now numbered in the 8911 - 8930 series). T
All of CSXT’s AC6000CWs will be repowered.
I am aware of CSX repowering their GE AC6000CW series (grudgingly). I am not saying that they don’t have their problems either, I am just saying that they are much more reliable, efficient and crew friendly as opposed to the SD90MAC series. I never said they were perfect. But face it, the SD90 series is not as efficient and reliable as the AC6000CW. The reason that railroads are mainly chosing to repower their AC6000CW units, is because right now, they produce more emission than necessary and take up alot of fuel. If the railroads did NOT repower these units, then that would be a pure sign that they are unsuccessful units. I do not see anyone repowering the SD90 series…unless of course, it is because one of them blew up. 
The reason for the repowering of CSXT’s AC6000CWs is that the railroad foresees a continued need to move intermodal traffic using two-unit 12,000-horsepower consists; and those units will be more easily supported in the future if they have GEVO prime movers than if they retained their 7HDL prime movers.
Not only will they be all repowered with GEVO 16s, there is a strong possibility CSX will order more AC6000s.
Some locomotive classes have gone to the scrapper very quickly.
Union Pacific’s set of Alco Century 855’s got delivered new in mid-1964, and was in the hands of scrappers by early 1971.
Through the grapevine, i heard CP worked out a deal with EMD to return their four 6,000 hp SD90’s, possibly in a trade for a maintenance deal or some SD70ACe’s (which i think would be very interesting!). As for the UP units, i guess the frames were too dissimilar to simply repower them with 710-motors. I would imagine that the electricals would also require upgrading. I could see them scrapping the locomotives, with many components being salvageable (i.e trucks), and the prime movers would likely be relatively easy to sell. Markets in China and in the marine industry seem to like the 265 engine, and it is well established in those fields.
You know darn well those engines will end up somewhere else overseas…
The Union Pacific has also started to eliminate their GE HDL diesels, they are re-powering the AC6000CWs with 16-cylinder 7FDL diesels rated at 4390hp. This makes them like the “convertable” GEs that the UP refers to as AC6044CWs. I didn’t see any advance notice on this program, but Sean Graham-White’s listing of changes to the UP fleet for July 2008 notes that 4 locomotives have been re-powered and renumbered.
Those SD90 frames would make mighty impressive road or yard slugs.
Or gensets–you could probably get a half-dozen prime movers behind the cab!
Second coming of the modular 1943 Baldwin Centipede with 8-V8 diesels under the cowl? (another short lived idea, also 6000 HP, BLW 6000 was the only one built, the rest were 3000 HP twin engine beasties)
-Seems that a large chunk of UP’s surviving SD-90 fleet (whatever flavor) is laid up at Burnham shop here in Denver in three very long lines…