by Komachi
G'day, mates!
There is an Austrailian gentleman posting on the HO and N forum in regards to a new layout he's building and it has rekindled my want to build a couple of Pilbara locomotives for my layout room. I started a thread on the old railroad.net in regards to the Pilbara cabs, but I'd also like to inquire about the rebuilds the GE licensed builders (Gonain and Conmeg, I believe) did of the ALCo. Century units.
From the photos I've seen, it appears that some, like the Hamersly Iron units, retained their ALCo. carbodies with little or no modification, other than the Pilbara cabs; and the Robe River units kept their carbodies, save for the cabs (again, Pilbara cabs) and a modified cooling systems (big pipes along the roof and big blowers near the radiators in rear). The BHP units, on the other hand, seem to have been given GE carbodies along with their GE prime movers as evidenced by their "winged" radiator sections on the back, like the CM40-8(M) units.
What was the extent of these rebuilds (carbody wise, I know they have new GE prime movers and generators, etc.), were they rebuilt from the frame up, or do the GE rebuilds retain a larger percentage of their ALCo. bits than just the frame, fuel tanks and trucks? The areas just behind the cabs (I forget, that's the air filters, right?) on the BHP units look like they could be from the ALCo./MLW bodies, but they also look like those off of a C30-7, so I can't say for sure.
Here are some pics for a better idea of what I'm talking about.
BHP CM40-8/CM40-8M
http://locopage.railpage.org.au/bhp/ph_cm408m.html
Robe River CE636R
http://locopage.railpage.org.au/private/rr_c636r.html
Robe River C-636/M-636/CM40-8M
http://locopage.railpage.org.au/private/rr_c636.html
Hamersley Iron CE636-R/ME636-R
http://locopage.railpage.org.au/private/hi_3040.html
Pilbara Rail (Merger of Robe River and Hamersley Iron) rebuilds
http://locopage.railpage.org.au/bhp/ph_c636.html
Appreciate any info. you guys have on these units.
There is an Austrailian gentleman posting on the HO and N forum in regards to a new layout he's building and it has rekindled my want to build a couple of Pilbara locomotives for my layout room. I started a thread on the old railroad.net in regards to the Pilbara cabs, but I'd also like to inquire about the rebuilds the GE licensed builders (Gonain and Conmeg, I believe) did of the ALCo. Century units.
From the photos I've seen, it appears that some, like the Hamersly Iron units, retained their ALCo. carbodies with little or no modification, other than the Pilbara cabs; and the Robe River units kept their carbodies, save for the cabs (again, Pilbara cabs) and a modified cooling systems (big pipes along the roof and big blowers near the radiators in rear). The BHP units, on the other hand, seem to have been given GE carbodies along with their GE prime movers as evidenced by their "winged" radiator sections on the back, like the CM40-8(M) units.
What was the extent of these rebuilds (carbody wise, I know they have new GE prime movers and generators, etc.), were they rebuilt from the frame up, or do the GE rebuilds retain a larger percentage of their ALCo. bits than just the frame, fuel tanks and trucks? The areas just behind the cabs (I forget, that's the air filters, right?) on the BHP units look like they could be from the ALCo./MLW bodies, but they also look like those off of a C30-7, so I can't say for sure.
Here are some pics for a better idea of what I'm talking about.
BHP CM40-8/CM40-8M
http://locopage.railpage.org.au/bhp/ph_cm408m.html
Robe River CE636R
http://locopage.railpage.org.au/private/rr_c636r.html
Robe River C-636/M-636/CM40-8M
http://locopage.railpage.org.au/private/rr_c636.html
Hamersley Iron CE636-R/ME636-R
http://locopage.railpage.org.au/private/hi_3040.html
Pilbara Rail (Merger of Robe River and Hamersley Iron) rebuilds
http://locopage.railpage.org.au/bhp/ph_c636.html
Appreciate any info. you guys have on these units.
~Erik Paulson
Moderator: BNSF :: CN :: CP :: Rock Island :: Rebuilders & Small Loco Works :: Worldwide Railfan :: Western Railfan
Moderator: BNSF :: CN :: CP :: Rock Island :: Rebuilders & Small Loco Works :: Worldwide Railfan :: Western Railfan