Pan Am's Heritage Locomotives

Did the 77 have any work done to her while she was in the shop? I know in the past, most locos that have been painted had just been through substantial servicing or rebuilding...
Just a curiosity...it'll be interesting to see how long the 1st gens will march on.

b&m 1566 wrote:

MCER401 wrote:This is a LOCKED post from 16 months ago where this exact scenario was being discussed. It's very interesting to read back through it. Also amazing to see how the whole idea seemed so crazy just over a year ago that the thread was LOCKED just for talking about it.

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 55&t=70888

Yeah, I have a little bitterness for it being locked.

I unlocked it and merged it with this thread.

P42....They don't do any rebuilding...They will slap a coat of paint on it and send it out unless it desperatly needs a part..
I 've had engines that had globs of grease painted over or old news papers that were stuffed in a hole to keep the cold air out....In the case of the 77, they may have changed filters and cleaned the motor,compressor room and floors as well as
other internal parts and the cab...They certainly did a beautiful job on the outside which shows that the employees at Waterville can do good work when given the tools and the opportunity to do it...If onother company is paying for it, they can do excellent work...The problem with P/A is that they are so short on power that they have to get it serviced and get it out the door as well as taking parts from othe engines to get one running.....MEC 407; ...I like your new profile but I miss the hat!

Tim,
there was an article in one of their clippers, back a few issues now --> http://www.guilfordrail.com/xpress/2009q4.pdf <--, that said that they were rebuilding/overhauling locomotives and then painting them dip blue. I'm sure thats what P42 was referring to. The issue is almost 2 years old, so I don't know if the practice still holds true today.

Quite an interesting article, now that I'm completely OT, thats talks about how they actually purchased remanufactured parts and had everything lined up before hand so the unit would only be down long enough to swap out engine blocks. Says that units will be put in service for 30 days to essentially test the rebuild, and then will be repainted dip-blue.

Back on topic...Based on that, I would say no overhaul for the 77, since it went to the shop and never served 30 days testing before being painted...

Oh, and ditto on the new picture, its pretty sweet R.T.!

<pokes hornet's nest> Maybe it's now got an FP9 engine in it. </poke>

Hi Ksmitty!....I know the article and I won't get going on what would propbably come under a different post just to say that
the rebuilding they talked about was nothing more that replacing worn bearings...Believe me I went through it with the chief mechanical officer at one time saying that the needed more than just bearings,i.e; new oil rings,injectors needed cleaning or replacing, electrical work and etc. not to mention overhauling the cabs and toilets...His responce was due to money and
being short on power,that they were only doing bearings and paint...This is why I argued that the 200's and 600's would have been good power with a complete overhaul... I have literally, with now lie or exageration, seen mechanics walking around the shops at Waterville looking for a nut and bolt to finish a repair so they could get an engine running for me to take west.
When you look at the 77,it's true testimony as to the type of work they can do.. The only engines that get a complete going over and washing are ones being used for the OCS train.

ME again!....If they are doing something different that I missed,than I stand corrected and I apoligize...I hate to sound like
doom and gloom all the time. Especially after seeing the 77...I seem to base everything on the past...There could be a new beginning!

b&m 1566 wrote:Yeah, I have a little bitterness for it being locked.

I'll take your wink to mean your statement is tongue-in-cheek. I hope no one takes talking about trains that seriously...

As for Pan Am Railways "proving me wrong," they can continue with examples like this all day long, I won't kick! More heritage units and I get proven wrong about something... Think about it... Everyone gets what they want!

-otto-

Otto Vondrak wrote:

b&m 1566 wrote:Yeah, I have a little bitterness for it being locked.

I'll take your wink to mean your statement is tongue-in-cheek. I hope no one takes talking about trains that seriously...

As for Pan Am Railways "proving me wrong," they can continue with examples like this all day long, I won't kick! More heritage units and I get proven wrong about something... Think about it... Everyone gets what they want!

-otto-

Agreed. First, CSX in Old Orchard, and now Pan Am heritage. How could this get any better!

I examined 77s paint pretty thoroughly and it was a great job. But one look at 613 and I could see the shortcuts. Could still see the top of an old number just above the Pan Am. Must have ran out of sand paper on that door.

Mike

Otto Vondrak wrote:

b&m 1566 wrote:Yeah, I have a little bitterness for it being locked.

I'll take your wink to mean your statement is tongue-in-cheek. I hope no one takes talking about trains that seriously...

As for Pan Am Railways "proving me wrong," they can continue with examples like this all day long, I won't kick! More heritage units and I get proven wrong about something... Think about it... Everyone gets what they want!

-otto-

Just giving you a hard time, after all we've "gotta" have some fun!

I found a picture of the Maine central heritage unit











I kid... I kid...

Very nice... but why does it have the Boise Cascade logo?

Now that dirt would not be found on the OCS engines!

Some of the discussion here and elsewhere throughout railroad.net (to include via PM) has centered on the question, "How did they do this after all these years?".

The short answer is people. The heart and soul of the Maine Central and perhaps in some ways the Boston & Maine lives on. Although there are only a few left now who worked on the railroad prior to GTI these great railroaders survived the changes and the strife and made sure that for the most part the Maine Central and the Boston & Maine soldiered on. In some ways this was easier to do because of the lack of consolidation within the system. Sure the companies were "merged" under one operating entity but this "merger" in some ways merely papered over cultural and operational differences that have survived through the years.

Broader trends like fleet standardization, modernization, facilities rationalization, new capital investment and all manner of other changes and uniformities that would be a standard part of a merger with a Class I never happenned. In the process something did happen (or for that matter didn't happen) that we have been watching all along. The Maine Central and the Boston & Maine never really truly disappeared. We've been watching a railroad (or railroads) that are operating the same (or similar) equipment, running the same shops, using the same yards, and having almost the same culture that they had the day GTI took over. Sure things are different now in other ways but GTIs near complete lack of across the board standardization and rationalization has actually perpetuated historical corporate cultures.

What we saw when ST 77 pulled into Freeport this weekend wasn't something new or different. It was the old soldier who refused to die.

GTI and now PAR have lived off the old models at least in part because major aspects of the business simply haven't changed. With the exception of the end of branchline business (which isn't entirely the case in Maine) we are seeing a railroad today that has been frozen in time since well before the takeover by GTI. How far back in time they are frozen is tough to say exactly but in some places and in some circumstances you might be able to make the case that the MEC and the B&M never really moved on from the 1960's perhaps the late 1970's at best.

How does this explain the heritage locomotives? In short GTI had less turnover because the skills of the people who were running the railroad when they took over have remained relevant because change has been far slower in coming to PAR than it has been elsewhere in national Class I railroads. As such it is still important to have people who understand and now the peculiarities of the physical plant. Had there been a complete renewal their knowledge would have become irrelevant. Instead these individuals are now indispensable. They also happen to remember where the plans are for all the old paint schemes.