Last time I was in the Chicago area (Christmas) my aunt told me that she had seen a TV show out there saying that the MP36’s can’t be used on the UP west line (Chicago-Elburn) because some of the bridges near the city can’t support it’s weight.
My question is what is Metra going to do for power when the F40’s wear out? Are they going to spend the money on another new locomotive design, or try to get the bridges strengthened for the MP36? Personally I would like to see the MP36 on the UP west since that is the main line I railfan on while I’m there.
The UP West line isn’t the problem (think about it–that’s one of the busiest freight lines in the country, with stack trains and coal trains; it wouldn’t have any problem with those new units!). It’s the other two lines, Northwest and North, that have the bridges that couldn’t take them. As these lines use power interchangably, UP wouldn’t keep one set of power for the west line and another bigger fleet for the other two.
Over the past several years, some of these bridges have been replaced. There are still plenty more to go. We’d probably see more new units delivered for service on the BNSF line, with the newest F40s (the “Winnebagos”) being cascaded over to UP service if necessary. Bridge replacement, however, is probably inevitable somewhere along the line–keep in mind that these older bridges are no picnic for the people traversing the streets beneath them, either.
[banghead] Metra looked at the GE P42 (et al) units back a few years and as I recall even borrowed a few Amtrak units for a few days of tests and found they did not have the accelleration to be suitable in keeping the grueling commuter schedules. When I ride on Metra occassionally I will sometines pass the time keeping score as to how good they are on the BNSF line in keeping to their schedules and believe me, they are REALLY, REALLY GOOD as they are seldom more than one minute over or under schedule and usually RIGHT ON THE MONEY. The old saying “you can set your watch by those trains” really holds true on the Metra BNSF line out to Aurora.
Metra’s F-40s just came out of overhaule (or so i hear). They will last another 10 years from now. And where did you hear that the new locos where too heavy? If those brides can carry fully loaded frieghts the can sure hold the loco!
Yea, the F40 will last for 10 more years, but what about after that? They won’t last forever…
I think it’s more an issue of density than actual weight. A couple freight cars may weigh the same as the locomotive, but distribute it over a larger area.
If the F40’s were about to just die on the tracks, using the Geeps might make sense, but I don’t think that many of them (the GP’s) will be around in 10 years. I also doubt that Metra would replace old power with older power[:o)][:I]
Light bridges are indeed the issue, and this issue goes back to steam days. Keep in mind that the North Line is virtually passenger-only and has been that way for decades, freight moves on the New Line. Any through freight on the Northwest Line picks up the Northwest Line at Deval, which avoids the lighter bridges.
As mentioned above, Metra can buy time by re-equipping other lines first and re-assign the newer F40’s to the UP lines, but the bridges (mostly in Chicago) will need to be rebuilt.
IIRC, the P42 was removed from the GE catalog prior to the Tier IIcompliance issues due to the fact that the cab didn’t meet new crashworthiness standards. GE is designing an EVOLUTION series passenger unit with updated safety features and there is a conceptual drawing online. This is a four axle unit with a monocoque body like the Genesis, but the nose looks different.