Here's a cool catch from Friday. This one can by my house and just had to chase it about 15mi to get the video. I think you'll see why. Hope you enjoy! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nice catch. Looks like they cleaned out Alliance Yard with that train: there was a little of everything on it.
Better than 36,000 horsepower for that little string of empties? Wonder how many of those locomotives were actually running?
Those CSX locomotives were built at the GE plant located about 25 miles south of where the photo was taken. They are either being towed dead in consist or isolated in the consist to the owner. Since the GE plant is located on the former GC&SF main south of Justin, TX (now known as GE Lead), BNSF handles delivery of new locomotives out of Fort Worth.
Yes, the plant opened in late 2012. Currently BNSF tests the locomotives in pairs along the Fort Worth Sub from Metro Jct to Haslet, so it's common to see them running light power during daylight hours Monday through Friday. GE has been constructing their own tracks parallel to the main just north of the plant so I'm not sure how much longer that will last.
For while GE was building locomotives in the former MLW plant in Montreal. Alstom (ex-CN Point St Charles shops) also did some for GE, as well as for EMD. It all depends on the sales load vs. plant capacity.
I'm enjoying seeing shiny new locomotives being tested in the interim, as evidenced by this photo from last Friday just a little South of Metro Jct. which is 2mi from my house. I'll continue to post new sets as I see them. Drove by the plant on Monday and there was another CSX pair sitting on the siding and one CN parked on another. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I guess I could have been more clear with my comment. The new track runs to south Justin, so you'll definitely be able to continue chasing the new locomotives as they are tested, just not necessarily as close to home. My lament over the prospect of testing changing over to a dedicated track has to do with the likelihood that GE will operate the locomotives during testing, not BNSF. That will be a loss of one conductor and two engineer positions for Alliance. Whatever happens, please, by all means keep those photos coming.
I would think GE personnel are operating the locomotives now. I assume the locomotives are owned by GE until testing has been completed successfully and the locomotives accepted by the customer, and the final paperwork is signed. Until then, GE engineers qualified on that segment of BNSF line probably are operating them. Also I'm sure that the cabs and equipment compartments will be crowded with trained test personnel, including the engineers themselves. It's possible that GE has contracted with Alliance for engineers when needed. Though the Conductor position would be the GE Test Manager, with full responsibility for the locomotive and conducting the tests.
There are no GE engineers qualified on the territory that I am aware of. The crew is composed of an engineer and conductor on the head end and another engineer and a GE test person on the rear. The conductor and engineers are supplied by BNSF. When testing on the trailing unit is complete, the conductor and tester swap ends and the consist travels in the opposite direction with the conductor on the new head end and the tester on the rear. The test itself consists of using the dynamic brake on the trailing locomotive to control train speed at specific speeds for specified distances. Just looking at the test track under construction I don't see enough room to perform the test as it is now (the new track is about four miles long) but maybe I'm wrong. I suppose it's a simple matter of reconfiguring the test once the requirement for a class one rules-qualified crew is eliminated.
