GP38 I know this was an old thread but I caught one of these GP38-3s down switching in Blacksburg SC on the Atlanta-Washington main line. Kind of surprised me as I had never heard of one before and my wife who was with me kidded me by saying "What...an engine YOU never heard of...?" But hey now that I cought this thread I know now. Ryan
I still haven't seen any more GP38-3's... I guess I need to look a little harder. :embarassed: Harold
Here's a photo someone bagged of 5634: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=385415 Harold
I think one of the major forces in the rebuilding program is that there are NO medium horsepower locos available from the major new loco builders, such as EMD or GE. (4000+ hp yes, 2000 hp no).
I just noticed last week that the 38-2's that run on the Lansing, MI to Jackson, MI line have been upgraded. For the past two years I have noticed mostly old Conrail paint and a few NS paint 38-2's working in pairs or triple units to pull the mix of steel coil cars and covered hopper cars. The steel is from the mill in Jackson. The hoppers hold corn/wheat/soybeans produced in the local fields and loaded at elevators in Mason and Leslie. We now have two newly painted units in the mix. I will get the numbers tonight. In reference to the need for these engines. This line is still producing revenue due to the steel mill and agricultural commodities. However, it is 80?lb sectional rail the whole way. The ballast is good. The bridges are few and on the small side. Being an ex-NYC line the construction of the larger bridges is usually cut stone abutment or concrete with wooden stringers and pillings. The physical condition of most of the rail shows the results of years of use, with dips and ridges worn into the rail. You can look down the long runs of rail and see the repetitive pattern worn into it. This means the speed on the rail is 25 mph, on a good day. There are a few switiching stops along the way each day they run this train, and they run it most days of the week. I suppose they need the smaller engines because it allows them flexibility when assigning horsepower to the lash up, it keeps the wear down on the rail and bridges and it helps the switching in the narrow confines of the yards (most of these date from the 1890-1900 era and are sized accordingly). I have seen 6 axle power on this line only once. It was December of 2004 and that was a lash up of two newer Toasters pulling a long line of steel coil cars. Of course, we are talking Norfolk Southern, so I suspect the key component in the decision process was cost.
The daily just went through, a little earlier than normal. I missed the first engine, (I think it was 3061, a GP 40-2)but the second was a rare one to see on this line. Number 7076, a GeeP Fiddy. In other news-there was a Conrail crummy (ex-NYC bay window) parked in the Jackson, MI yard last week.
I'll get some photos of what runs today. -Mark I did...I did. The *NEW* Railimages has me thrown. Here is the link to the page: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=1681 I hope it woyks! -Mark
