NS 7294 South(SD70ACu), BNSF 4710(Warbonnet scheme) and BNSF 6702(ES44C4) lead the loaded 674 sand train across 5th Street Interlocking in Clinton, IA on the CP Davenport Sub. 10/27/16 CSX 4547 North leading CP train 472 across the 5th Street Interlocking in Clinton, IA on the CP Davenport Subdivision. Unit is in the "How Tomorrow Moves" paint scheme. 10/27/16
I agree with Mike's analogy. If you had caught these in the Northeast, I'd say you got a Horn Pout, Rainbow Trout, and a Yellow Perch in the top photo. The bottom photo leads with a Bluegill, but I don't think you'd find Redfish or Red Snapper that far north or in fresh water.
Good one, Hank. Buddy, that Warbonnet paint looks about as good as any I have seen lately. I sure wish BNSF would paint a few of them back in that great scheme. Nice work !
I'm always curious about the actual costs of such shop work. Does anyone have some solid dollar numbers?
I can't give any exact dollar figures, but it must be worth their while since new locomotives now cost in the millions. So they take some used (and fully amortized) UP SD9043ACs (710-engined convertibles that were never converted to 265s), give them a general overhaul, upgrade the electricals and electronics, a new isolated cab, and voila! The equivalent of a new SD70ACe. A lot of railroads opt for that sort of option simply because the price of a new locomotive is just sky high. And I'm quite sure there's a good tax write-off somewhere in there (the expense of rebuilding motive power, mainly, I suppose). The same basically happened in many railroads when used SD40s and SD40-2s were scooped up, rebuilt and upgraded. CN did a lot of that (buying back SD40s that served CN for years, then went far and wide - like to KCS and others, before returning home). Some of those upgraded SD40s (SD40-3s) are now operating on the Quebec-Gatineau railway that runs through here on the old CP line. A generation before that, it was GP7s and GP9s that got the treatment (Illinois Central, for one, comes to mind). There are substantial savings in doing it that way.
Yup. Exactly. It's just tat I never seem to see a price tag, to get an idea of those savings. Curiosity....
Back in the 90's when I was involved in the rebuild industry, a 40 to 40-2 upgrade with a frame off overhaul, (a class 1 in RR terms) would run in the 250,000 to 350,000 range. A lot depended on the original condition, what needed to be rebuilt or replaced and desired options. At the time, I believe a new 70MAC was about 1 - 1.2 mil? So, getting a NICE 40-2 was a very nice option, cost wise.