Soo units in Syracuse

Happened to cross the bridge over CP-296 this evening and a WB with two white Soo units, elephant style, was setting out or picking up from the pocket yard, looked like a cut of NYS&W interchange ashphalt tanks right behind the units. Saw it about 5:30 PM, so they're probably in Rochester or Buffalo by now - have to think the old white scheme is fairly rare to see anymore.

lvrr325 wrote:Happened to cross the bridge over CP-296 this evening and a WB with two white Soo units, elephant style, was setting out or picking up from the pocket yard, looked like a cut of NYS&W interchange asphalt tanks right behind the units. Saw it about 5:30 PM, so they're probably in Rochester or Buffalo by now - have to think the old white scheme is fairly rare to see anymore.

It could be possable that they came up with NYS&W or anouther thought could be an early shipment of Grain to the port of Albany could have brought them in with a hand off to NYS&W in Syracuse? Them units are slowly turning solid red when there time comes to hit the paint shop during overhauls. Don't know how many are left on the road nor how many ex MILW Bandits there are.

They were on Q625. These SOO SD50's have been filtering in on Q380 or the unit grain trains lately. The grain trains go to Selkirk then to the Port of Albany by CSX. They were picking up the NYS&W interchange traffic when you saw them at the Pocket Yard.

The SOO units are out here repaying Horsepower-Hours. CP gave them to BNSF for this reason, and because BNSF owes HPHs to CSX, they turned these SOO units loose out here, hence they've been bouncing around up here for several weeks now. Shoot them while you can though...pretty soon they'll be going back to CP, and it's only a year or so until their lease is up...which will likely put an end to any SOO power showing up out this way. As for the Candy Apple Red units, they are not being repainted into this scheme. The higher numbered SD60s received the red scheme, and that's how it has stayed - since they'll be coming off their lease very soon, why repaint them?

SOO 6027 was the second unit on the Q621-12 that is heading up the St. Lawrence Subdivision now. Coincidentally, it also has the MAN 2454 Green Alco.

Scott

The SOO unit is running off hp hrs for CSX/BNSF, the MA&N unit must be headed for Carthage? or they forgot to drop it at Utica. Both are feasible.