Over the Weekend I was out sightseeing the columbia Gorge with the Wife. and Spent some time a Multnomah falls which in addition to its timeless natural Beauty is situated literally right next to the Union Pacific Line that runs up the Gorge (If I were an engineer, this or the ex SP&S BNSF line on the other side of the river would be where I wanted to work.) At Any rate, while there, I caught a Unit Grain Train behind two SD80/9043s. I couldn't tell which, only that they weren't H-engines. They were red with White Stripes and had CEFX reporting marks. Can anyone tell me what these are for sure and in UP leasing them or some other entity? I'm looking for an excuse to add modern EMD on my Armchari western Railroad that isn't yellow and Gray and this might be it.
They're SD90/43MAC's. Offhand, I can't remember who is leasing them; I'll have to look into that (unless somebody else posts the info first).
These are SD9043macs. They belong to CIT Finance corporation, There are 40 of them so far, 20 to Union Pacific and 20 are also leased by Canadian Pacific. So you will have a good chance of seeing some more of these! Looks like we might see some on your layout too!
The reason you're seeing them there is that they are specially equipped with dual frequency EOT devices. The canadian roads use EOT devices that operate on a different channel and so these units were leases specifically to work between Portland and the Canada. They're a common sight on the river line, sometimes accompanied by CP or even SOO power.
Interesting. I've seen UP grain trains moving on BNSF lines over the bridge and through the Vancouver Yard, I've only ever seen one CPrail headed train almost all of them have been UP power.
I think they run some of the unit grain trains out of Canada to Peavy and United Grain at Kalama WA. I've seen the CEFXs there, but not at Seattle. Not sure that means anything, though.
If you're in N-scale, Kato has announced these units in they're next run of SD90's The actual color on the units is more of a maroon than a red, quite sharp with the grey roofs and white striped fronts. I was able to catch a unit Canpotex grain train with 2 CEFX units on the point at MP 99 on the UP while shooting pictures in the gorge 2 weeks ago. I'll post it when I get some prints made, as they're in slide form currently.
