Does anyone know what some railroads did with their recked or retired locomotives. Did the have some sort of a dead or scrap line. Would like to hear some feed back.
ShaunCN[:)]
Many times, the units got rebuilt, and often with parts from other ex-locos. I know that the Southern traded in many of its first-generation Alco RS’s when it purchased new GP-35’s, and those Geeps ended up riding on the old Alco trucks. Now you know I just gotta have me one of those! Also, some of the Norfolk & Western’s Alco C-630’s got their trucks replaced by sets off of old FM Trainmasters (inherited from its merger with Virginian). An NW SD-45 was wrecked while in Reading rails, and the Reading rebuilt it with a conventional low short nose… which was unique for an NW SD-45. Just about anything is possible. I think there are some modern motive-power leasing companies that recondition old retired locomotives, and I bet they’d have a yard full of decrepit castoffs.
I heard some railroads turn their wrecked locos in cabless units and placing them in the middle of a consist. It mainly happens when the front end and cabare damaged but the drive components are still intact. I guess it is a lot cheaper than replacing the cab and all of it’s parts and still being able to utilize the loco.
I suspect most of the steamers went to the scrap yard. Survivors went to a museum
or public display.
UP rebuilt one or two and some are out there for rail fan trips.
And Wabash. Many of the TM’s were turned into slug, Conrail and CSX also turned some of thier older locomotives into slugs.
Slugs have no engine, just traction motors (and sometimes dynamic brakes, sometimes fuel tanks to supply the "mother). and weight. Some of the CSX slugs (ex-GP30) have cabs and control stands.
Wrecked locomotives are taken to a major shop (one the UP Jenks Shop in N Little Rock, AR) and if possible are rebuilt. It is common to see a line outside a major shop of engines waiting their turn to be rebuilt. Another alternative is that the engines may be so badly damaged that they are cut up for scrap or salvage to rebuild other engines.
Retired engines are either sold as scrap or sold to a rebuilder that takes the engines, refurbishes them and leases them to other railroads and shortlines (sometimes even back to the same railroad that sold them the old engine.)
Dave H.
Plenty of steam engines were scrapped–as the transition from steam to diesel occurred during World War II, lots of steamers were cut up to be turned into tanks and rifles and other war materiel, replaced by first-generation diesels. Many sat on deadlines for years, waiting to be scrapped. Some were donated to parks as static displays, a handful were placed in the hands of railfans with significant resources, many of which became the seed of modern railroad museums.
In Sacramento, a lot of old steam engines were “retired” unceremoniously at the California State Fair, which staged deliberate head-on collisions of old steam engines–an exciting display, to be sure, but one that most railfans tend to react to with horror…
Interesting (perhaps sad) situation has developed.
According to a post next door at the TRAiNS Forum, METRA in Chicago has retired the F40Cs. These are the units that resemble modified FP45s with corrugated grills.
Rumor has it that they may be headed for the scrapper. Hopefully at least one will be preserved or purchased.
You can see wrecked and/or retired locomotives at most major shops. It all depends on the age and condition of a locomotive wether it will be rebuilt, sold, parted out and/or scrapped. Usually if there is major frame damage the unit is history. If it is an antique (real old) its chances of survival are slim to none with even a minor failure or wreck.
Here’s one place a lot of retired locomotives go: Larry’s Truck and Electric (Locomotive Scrapper and Reseller) http://www.trainweb.org/lfnwfan/html/Larry’s.htm
Remember there is a pretty big resale market in Switcher and small HP locomotive for shortline/regional rail use (Not sure what’s gonna happen 2 decades from now when all that’s available from the big boys is used SD70ACes and EVO ES44ACs… they won’t exactly replace SW1001s too well).
Also note that Locomotive frames and trucks, if not damaged, can and will be reused, even if the rest of the locomotive is scrapped - witness Railpower’s new Green Goat, which is based on a GP9 frame (heck, even EMD got into the reuse concept via trade in for trucks and traction motors - witness the GP15-1, among other models).
Depending on the pride of the railway, wrecked or damaged units might be put on a track behind a building and hidden with other rolling stock. Some railways were very sensitive about pictures being taken of damaged stuff.
The final disposition of the units would depend on how repairable it was and the cost of repairing vs buying a new unit. Also considered was how tight the road was for locomotives – if SD40s are being disposed of, any small defect is an excuse to scrap an SD40.
Locos that were merely old might be put on a siding, possibly with stacks covered and water drained. If there was upturn in business, they might be un-retired.
Where do you go to buy locomotives??[}:)][:-,]
Try these companies CSXMU…
http://www.trains-trams-trolleys.com - Have a Alco S4, Cape Cod RR listed for 25,000.00, or best offer[:D]
http://www.railserve.com/Equipment/Manufacturers/ - lists all kinds off equipment makers, resellers, overhaulers, etc.
These are some other website that specialize in selling locomotives and rolling stock:
In regards to Jetrock’s post about the scrapping of steam engines in WWII, I actually believe that a lot of older engines that would have been scrapped got a new lease on life due to the increased demand placed on the railroads at that time. Of course, afterwards, with the renewed hopes of the postwar era and the demands of the war gone, the railroads went into dieselization with full force and it’s at this time that most steamers were scrapped.
The big CSX shop here in Huntington has a line of locos awaiting service. Saw one a couple months ago that had the cab roof smashed in, like it rolled sideways off the track or something. Right behind it was a brand spanking new SD70MAC (I think), still with demonstrater paint scheme. My guess is that was the replacement, since the damaged engine was the same type. As of a month ago they still had a loco with Chessie System colors sitting out there in the open. A couple you can tell were canniballized. They also have a deadline track for some old passenger cars, a postal car, and what I believe is an Alco RS-2 with a green and white paint scheme. They’ve been there long enough to have serious weeds growing around them, so I guess they’re in no hurry to do anything with them.
Steam engines were mostly hauled to huge scrap yards and cut up. First the owners would strip the engines of anything usable, i.e., lights, then sent off. There would be trains made up entirely of loco after loco, like a funeral march. Very heartbreaking [:(][:(]
I also heard a handful of steam engines were converted to boilers for heating large buildings. Love to see one of those!
Earler there was a comment about one day only having used higher horsepower locos, such as old SD70ACes and EVO ES44ACs. These units may be powerful, and in 20 years they may be abundant. But there is one thing they will never be . Light.
These units are monsters. There are some places where no one would dare take on of these. They could roll the rail, or find every defect in the yard trackage, especially on brance lines. However, an older geep, or even a small switcher, might be able to negotiate old yard or industrail trackage with a little more peace of mind. Small switchers will always have some places where you just can’t run anything else.
Usually some retired locos will go to railroad museums in different parts of the country, others may be scrapped for parts and then the excess materail melted down and used for something else.