Question: Why no new 4-axle units?

At least you didnt get GMD-1s with Beltpack. Thats annoying.

2spot wrote:At least you didnt get GMD-1s with Beltpack. Thats annoying.

Our GMD-1's aren't equipped with beltpack. The only Beltpack engines we have are the 7000 and 7200 GP9's. I would rather have a pair of GMD-1's than road power for switching though.

I know, Tyler. I'm just kidding you. I'll stop bugging you about the GMD-1s here and that other forum.

2spot wrote:I know, Tyler. I'm just kidding you. I'll stop bugging you about the GMD-1s here and that other forum.

Except for the narrow cab doors, the GMD-1's are good engines, and now that I've lost some weight I can finally fit through the doors lol.

EMD six axle units would also be too costly to repair if you derail one while switching. The 4 axle GP's are better for tight industrial curves. Lighter too which makes them easier for a crane to lift off the ground.

Since this zombie thread has reactivated, I figured I will add a comment I posted to another thread:

MEC407 wrote:20-30 years from now, things may change. The 38-2s and 40-2s will be truly ancient and it won't make sense to keep rebuilding them. They'll get passed down to the shortlines (or scrapped), and the big roads will have no choice but to buy something new.

Since remanufacturers basically reuse the trucks and frame (everything above the frame, and some parts below, on a Green Goat is new), and since GE and EMD obviously have frame casting capability, I wonder if they can market a line of standard 4 axle frames and trucks to the remanfuacturers (who then add drives, controls, motors, batteries, tanks, blowers, sheet metal, whatever they add now) - perhaps traction motors sold separately. I see this being a nice niche market which would be not as involved as producing and marketing such things as the GP20. Maybe the price differential now between a used GP9 frame and a new 4-axle frame is too high, but as those used frames wear out and are scrapped...