I am only 17, so it’s ironic that I’m writing this, but…in the good old days. My Dad and I go out to Maupin each year to View railfan and fly-fish.In 2007, all of the trains were lead by patched cascade green, or orange SD40-2s, and C44-9Ws, a few warrbonnets, and GP60s in blue and yellow. We missed 2008, and came back last summer. All I saw were Orange C44-9Ws, AC4400CWs, ES44Acs, and the occasional warbonnet. I’ve heard of rail-fans experiencing such disappearances, but never has it happened to me. My children will probably think of the 40-2s the same way I think of Fs. Is this the end of the line for the old engines on class Is. Secondly, does anyone else want to share there memories of favorite locomotives disappearing from the railroads? It must have happened before, I’d like to hear about it.
Nothing lasts forever, so we all have our favorites that have disappeared, including entire railroads (Erie Lackawanna and Monon in my case). Recent disappearances include TR sets (cow-calf) and C424’s on BRC and E8/E9’s on Burlington suburban trains. Earlier disappearances are R2’s and Joes on the South Shore. As you get older, you accept that change is inevitable and your favorites will vanish or become quite rare. I currently live near Clearing Yard and I’m still fascinated by BRC, even without cow-calf sets and Alcos.
I miss the MLWs…especially the sound of them idling…they had that peculiar rattle, coughing, and wheezing sound that almost made them seem alive, like steam. I’m also partial to the SD40 locomotives…back in the 70s and 80s they were everywhere up here…well…except CP’s Shortline and the CN Sherbrooke/Berlin divisions where the MLWs ruled.
It is now the beginning of an end of an era for the SD40-2 model for the 1st class railroads. They started working for the railroads in the 1972 era and the last were built in 1984 for Canadian railroads according to the order sheets. This makes the older units almost forty years old and the rest of the units at least thirty years old. They will be rebuilt into new ECO units in some cases, but don’t expect them to continue on mainline first class railroads since the regulations now will make them useless unless they are rebuilt with new engines and computer controller Tier II or III software. That is the reason we are seeing so many of the new models since they meet the later regulations. We lost our SD40-2’s in California last year and the UP is using SD70M’s on many of the local and work trains. The GP-38’s seem to be used locally for industry switching but they are on a short rope also. I read the UP is having some of the SD60M’s rebuilt into the new ECO 3000 HP units with computer controlled software and they will be
its very depressing indeed…thankfully i live where we have an ic&e yard where 90% of their units in the yard are 40-2s. as stated…watch and photograph as much as you can as they are disappearing fast
It might be that they think about diesels like we think about steam. It’s possible that electrification or fuel cells could replace diesel engines. The locomotives that were as common as dirt and pretty much ignorable 35 years ago were the GP9s and RS11s that seemed to be in every little yard everywhere. They have just about vanished completely.
Back in the day I lived next to the Chicago and Northwestern North Line, even commuted on it for a summer job downtown and to get to school. Do I regret not taking photos of the F-7’s and E-8’s on the push-pull commuter trains. Not really. There are so many photos and models of those things, and I saw them every day.
One time the Alan Pegler’s Flying Scotsman came flying through the North Line. The one regret is that I took a (blurred picture) of it --should have just stood back and experienced it instead of squinted at it through a viewfinder.
My big regret is that when I moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 1982, there were these tall-hooded short switch engines in Milwaukee Road colors. Must have been F-M’s with those tall OP diesel engines in them. Those engines, the Milwaukee Road, and the track in question are long gone. Should have gotten some pictures of those relative rarities, but who knew?
These days we get the odd SD-40-2 on the Wisconsin and Southern. But the SD-40-2 is well documented by better photographers than me, so I guess I don’t worry.
An SD 40 in Madison:
And rarer in Madison, an E8 and FM “Erie-built”:
Well, the SD 40-2’s were so common in Altoona when I was a student at PSU-Altoona during the late '80’s. So common, some of us spent more time chasing the helper SD45-2’s.
I now drive by Enola Yard at least twice per day to and from work, and while you still see a few SD40-2’s, I do not usually see them in the road sets with the new first line power. I do not recall the last time I saw a 40-2 as the lead unit on a big mainline freight train.
Now, when I see them, they’re usually in a storage line or occasionally idling at the sand area. Where they go and when they go–I don’t know.
John
UP has de-rated a number of SD40-2’s to 2000 HP (UPY 800 series) for hump and pulldown duties, BRC hump pushers consist of SD40/slug sets with the slugs having been cut down from SD40/SD40-2’s, I’ve seen BNSF SD40-2’s as pulldown engines at Barstow, etc.
I believe the SD40-2F’s for CP were the last 40-series built, in 1988.
I skipped the other variations when I looked up the last units and only listed the standard
SD40-2 model. You are right about the 25 SD40-2F’s being new in 1988.
| Order # | Built | Serial #s | Type | Road | Numbers | Qty. | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C469: | 11.88 to 12.88 | A4806-A4830 | SD40-2F | CP | 9000-9024 | 25 | . |
At least 1 SD40-2 will be running indefinitely, C&NW 6847. It’s been preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union. And It has some contemporaneous running mates, Wisconsin Central SD-45 7525 and Burlington Northern U30C 5383.
It’s a certainty that their time is coming to an end when museums are started to accept them. CNW 6847 was my dream donation, with WC 7525 behind my second-biggest desire. IRM has my whole past showcased 
It’s ironic to see that the first ever donated SD40-2 was CNW. It’s almost too good to be true.
But I feel that at least 2 more should find homes in museums. SOO Line 6617 and the former KCS 637, the first and last SD40-2s ever built. 6617 is also the last remaining SOO SD40-2 still running in SOO paint.
But this is true about SD40-2s dying of of class 1s. But it is, by no means, the end of their era. Being reliable machines, I would expect to see them filter down into regionals and shortlines and live another few years. Norfolk Southern is rebuilding a LOT of theirs and I heard somewhere UP is doing a rebuild program for a few of their own.
CNW #6847 was not the first SD40-2 to be donated to a museum. UP donated a former MoPac SD40-2 to a museum in Barstow,CA in late 2005 or early 2006. The unit was UP #9950, atleast at the time of retirement.
Bryan Jones
I remember that now. What’s a MOP unit doing all the way in CA? 
Are they gonna paint it blue again?
It’s on display at the Barstow station, on a disconnected track next to the Beep. It’s on display in full UP colors and will probably stay that way. I would guess that the lack of dynamic brakes contributed to an early retirement, which made it a likely candidate for display.
Rumors of the impending demise of SD40-2s are greatly exaggerated. The UP has just authorized a rebuilding program for SD40-2s at North Little Rock shops. It is unclear exactly what form the rebuilding will take. Thirty units are to be done in 2010. Some of the units allocated to the program were already retired and awaiting sale. Also some former C&NW units are listed for the program.
I guess UP’s rebuilding of SD40-2s could be similar to NS’s rebuilding of SD50s into SD40Es at Juantia.