My mom and I were driving home from Pasadena today and we drove over the east end of Englewood Yard. On the southern-most track sat a long line of UP diesels. I was thinking it couldn’t be a deadline because a bunch of them were SD60s and C40-8s. There were some SD40-2s in there as well but UP is starting to retire them already. If UP was going to put them into deadlines, they should store them at Yermo, Roseville, or maybe even Denver. Anyone know what the heck is going on?
UP is storing some of their engines. They are getting rid of the SD40-2s, and the Tunnel Motors. Also the SD45s and pretty much all their 2nd gen. units.
UP is storing alot of engines at Lloyd yard in Spring too. There were over 30 of them lined up right along Hardy St. for a couple of weeks but now they are in the back of the yard. If you drive over the yard on Cypresswood you can look down and see them about halfway across.
UP is using a tunnel motor as a switcher in Spring right now. It generally switches the SIT yard in the back so it isn’t always easy to see. Every once in a while it’ll come out in sight near the south end of the wye. It’s coupled up to 1 other engine currently. I’ve been trying to get pictures of it as I’m currently building a ridable 1.6" to the foot (1: 7-1/2 scale) SD-40T-2.
On the front side of the yard where the general classification takes place there are currently 2 SD-40’s and 1 MP15AC together as a set being used as switchers. GP-38s are pretty common too.
We have many of the SD60’s, SD60M’s, 8-40c’s and 8-40CW’s in storage lines at Roseville California the last few weeks. Does anyone know if these are being retired or just stored??
I wouldn’t be too surprised if many of them are being stored pending retirement. Most of them have reached 15 years of age and can be considered fully depreciated under current tax law.
Just when I think they’re all gone, I’ll see a C40-8, SD60, SD60M, or C40-8W in some locomotive consist pulling a train through Salt Lake City. Tunnel motors are pretty rare these days, but there’s a fair number of SD40-2s still around, although not like it was five years ago. UP’s using a remote controlled SD40-2 for a yard switcher at Roper Yard.
and think that in 40 years we’ll see ES44s Sd70s and Green Goats rusting away.