IL SUB-DIVISION

Lately all I have heard and seen through the IL sub-division, in the past few weeks about I don't know seen 3, and heard about 10 while at home or around, and most of them have been other service engines, UP mainly, and a few HLCX, CSX short on engines?

cifn2 wrote:Lately all I have heard and seen through the IL sub-division, in the past few weeks about I don't know seen 3, and heard about 10 while at home or around, and most of them have been other service engines, UP mainly, and a few HLCX, CSX short on engines?

I don't know about that subdivision; but on the former Conrail lines from Avon to Buffalo, we have had almost all foreign power for the last month or so. UP units seem to be prelevant; and not new units, either. HLCX and other leasing-company units have always been common since split; but the preponderence of UP power over CSX units is something new.

Is the UP leasing motive power to CSX? I don't know.

most of the UP units I saw were the patriotic ones, with the flag waving on the side. Aren't these newly painted units?

That's the paint scheme used on the newest order of GEs. Maybe EMDs as well; I don't recall.

I don't think it's being used on the repainted SPs and CNW units.

Here on my leg of CSX we're seeing more old UP power than new stuff...not necessarily ancient, but stuff that's 4-6 years old and frequently with issues or outright mechanical problems. One train I had last week had two UPs and a CSX unit...one of the UPs had a major leak in the cooling-water tank and had to be taken offline. Another had four of six traction motors cut out for ground-fault interrupt problems...flashover, I guess.

I didn't get the build date of the GE with the cooling-system leak; but the EMD with the ground-fault problem was a 2002 SD70, DC, without any electronic controls. Both were pretty ragged.

Which is why I believe they're being leased. It seems like it's power the UP has decided it can spare.

I heard the lead engine being the UP 5589 did a search on Google and found this picture... these are newer looking UP engines. UP running other folks power right now alot?

http://www.shoeysrailpics.com/Archives/ ... imerks.htm

Illinois Sub comes through Olney, Il. and alot of UP engines leading lately. I have a short video of a two UP engines heading for St. Louis. It was taken 7-16-2006.

heard the UP-8321 as a lead engine went through about 0400 hours this morning. I looked it up. A nice looking loco!

Also my father said he was along the tracks east of Flora and saw an engine pulling a snow plow, not the rotary type just the big plow, Saturday morning, He said the flipped the switch went across the rail then went back and re-posititioned the switch. I heard him on the scanner he was a Q I don't remember what the number was, but he was a work train, he put it on the 4th track in the Flora yard and tied down, and a PTI Cecil I think was picking him up.