you are right about the D&RGW....with the UP, what I heard was that the UP was the stronger railroad, but the SP took control of the UP for tax reasons....and then they kept the UP branding *edit* FOUND IT!!!!! http://www.rrb.gov/pdf/bcd/bcd98-38.pdf http://utahrails.net/up/up-corp-hist.php
It's not that SP took over UP. Union Pacific definately took control of SP. But because SP was a Delaware corporation, UP changed its corporate organization from being incorporated in Utah, to being incorproated in Delaware, a state with a very relaxed corporate and tax regulations. While everything else was solidly Union Pacific, the two corporations merged under the SP corporate structure, then changed the name back to UP. Operations were not affected. UP took control of SP completely and entirely; they just used the SP name while the papers were filed in Delaware and Utah. Don Strack http://utahrails.net/
I saw something yesterday that caught my attention. It seems that UP is using dash-8s for some of the local runs in the Portland/Vancouver area, now. I saw UP 9173, a GE C40-8. It has that "modern look with the squared off fuel tank and it has the GE "wings" on the radiator, but it also has a spartan cab. Yeah, it's a GE, a six-axle, newer than about 1970, AND a UP, but I have found something else to look for when railfanning. Here's a link to a photo of the unit in question (not my photo, or I'd post it in RailImages): http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2887601
They aren't as prevalent as they used to be, I thought I had it in railimages, but I can't find it, so I'll have to upload it when I can, but I have a great shot of a Dash 8-40C coming over the NP Columbia River Bridge. It's one of my favorite images.
This is a very good thread for a long distance newbie like me (I shall subscribe), keep the pics coming. Are any of the GE C30-7's still operating (at any time post 1995). I was pleased to find a pic (I think in railimages) of a patched C&NW GP40 in a yard dated post 2000, which encouraged me to keep the P2K GP38-2 I have and do a similar job on it.
I believe all the -7's are gone. If UP still has any on their roster, they are most likely on the mothball line or dead line. A lot of of the c40-8's UP still has are in reserve power line at the Denver Burnham shops.
Just so ya know, we ran a C40-8 from Denver to Cheyenne about 10 days ago. It started as our lead unit, but didn't have a working cab signal unit, so we picked up an AC44. You might see it from time to time moving rock trains from the quarry near Laramie out to the old Kansas Pacific line near Kit Carson where they're rebuilding it. I'll dig through my logs and get a unit number in the morning.
I passed through Kit Carson a few weeks ago and was wondering what the signal heads were turned around for. Any more info on whats going on with that line?
Those signals are the new upgrades. I can't find anything official, but word is, they're converting to CTC from TWC/ABS (Track Warrants/Auto Block Signals). I'm back out in Grand Junction, so the old KP line is like a world away now.
Here's a pic of the UP9164 from back in May when it was in Minnesota. It's the Dash 8 we ran from Denver to Cheyenne back on July 10.
