Whats Going To Happen With All Of The P40'S

Irish all locomotives currently in use are compliant with all FRA standards. only new locomotives need to comply with newer standards enacted in January.
All existing equipment is automaticly grandfathered, unless a structural rebuilt is being performed. for picture of freight type P32-8 see :
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=41923

Irish Chieftain wrote:The P32-8 is not compliant with current FRA standards. Regeared, they may make good yard switchers what with their hood configuration.

That's mostly what Amtrak uses them for anyway. Every once in a while, you'll find one in service if they've got nothing else available, but frequently I'll see them in places such as Chicago just doing yard work.

Irish Chieftain wrote:WADR, all you've described is the difference between cowl units and hood units.

The question was about the styling of freight units vs. the styling of passenger units. In general and in the vast majority of cases, passenger units are of the "cowl" style, as I described. It is true that passenger units can be of the "hood" style (GP40PH, for example) but that is not very common.

The P32-8BWH is, for all intents and purposes, a freight locomotive with certain features/enhancements that make it suitable for passenger duty, hence the reason many railfans refer to them as "freight style" locomotives.

It is true that passenger units can be of the "hood" style (GP40PH, for example) but that is not very common

It is extremely common, even nowadays. "Styling" is irrelevant. Alco RS1s and RS3s, Fairbanks-Morse Trainmasters, Geeps from 7 up to 40, have been used as passenger train power. The F-units, which were sold as freight haulers despite being cowled, also were used for passenger trains. Cowl units still perform yard-switching duties nowadays. The P32-8 is not defined as a freight locomotive simply because of it being hooded, as noted. Still erroneous to make a generic assumption that a hood unit is a freight locomotive and a cowl unit is a passenger locomotive...look at Alaska RR's SD70MAC-HEP, where does that fall?

Irish Chieftain wrote:Still erroneous to make a generic assumption that a hood unit is a freight locomotive and a cowl unit is a passenger locomotive

I wasn't making that assumption. All I said was that, in terms of outward appearance, it is generally true that passenger units are of the cowl style and freight units are of the hood style.

Look at Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern -- the four largest railroads in the U.S. -- those railroads have tens of thousands of freight locomotives. How many of those freight locomotives are of the cowl variety? Less than 1%. The vast majority are of the hood variety... and therefore, I believe that it is accurate to say that, in the U.S. at least, most freight units are hood units and most passenger units are cowl units. :D

Irish Chieftain wrote:look at Alaska RR's SD70MAC-HEP, where does that fall?

I would say the same thing about the Alaska units that I said about the Amtrak P32-8BWH: it's a freight locomotive that has certain features/enhancements that make it suitable for passenger duty.

(I do not want to hit any raw nerves; sorry if I do) I thought there was one or two P40's destroyed in the 1993 Mobile Alabama crisis. With the P40's future uncertain maybe this could be modled. A string of ten vandelized P40's on a siding (what railroad is your choice) for being used for parts and movie props.

http://trainiaxindex.cjb.net/

Keep asking, keep learning :)

Ps. Could you not put the P32BH's on that siding as well?

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=37533

Were the P32-8BWH units geared for 110mph operation.

103 mph IIRC, same as the F40PH and later AMD103.

Like Mr. Madison and Mr. Dowling I used "freight style" to describe a hooded locomotive pulling an Amtrak train. I knew I made my point when I saw the next day that my question had been answered. I respect and appreciate everyone's posts.

Here goes some freight-styling with cowl units...

And here's some pax-styling with hood units on The Cardinal...

Are the GP40ph :D units still on the active roster?

Not all 'passenger' units are cowl units. Technically, ‘cowl’ units refer to locomotives in which the cowl is simply a cover over the machinery. GE’s Genesis, on the other hand, is a modern-day version of a ‘carbody’ locomotive, in which the sides and roof of the body are an integral part of the unit’s construction and provide weight-bearing support. The classic carbody-type locomotives were the EMD E and F units and the Alco PA and FA.

The development of carbody-type diesels in North America pretty much ended in the early 1960's with the demise of the E and F units in favor of the GP/SD hood locomotives. Several railroads bought passenger-equipped SDP35's and SDP40's before EMD developed the first cowl units in the mid-1960's, the passenger FP45 and its freight sister the F45. The cowl style has remained popular since then as first Amtrak and later commuter authorities desired a more streamlined look for their power. The Genesis was the first locomotive in decades to bring back carbody-type construction. I'm not sure if some new diesels like Metra's MP36's are cowl or carbody.

Jim D.

Technically, ‘cowl’ units refer to locomotives in which the cowl is simply a cover over the machinery

Full cowls are integral to locomotive structural integrity, such as with the old Es and Fs, even the SDP40F and F40PH. If they were merely "covers over the machinery", that implies that they are not secured to the carbody but with a few nuts and bolts. There is no such term as a "carbody" locomotive that I have heard—whether hooded or cowled, that is the "carbody".

Perhaps you are referring to the Genesis-series and their monocoque construction? Merely a modern version of the cowl, built far stronger than multiple-part cowls of the past.

Irish Chieftain wrote:

Technically, ‘cowl’ units refer to locomotives in which the cowl is simply a cover over the machinery

Full cowls are integral to locomotive structural integrity, such as with the old Es and Fs, even the SDP40F and F40PH. If they were merely "covers over the machinery", that implies that they are not secured to the carbody but with a few nuts and bolts. There is no such term as a "carbody" locomotive that I have heard—whether hooded or cowled, that is the "carbody".

that is incorrect to a point

Alco PA's, FA's, and EMD E and F3, F7, F9 units were of the design where the cowl was a necessary structural member. Later F units (F45, FP45, SDP40, F40C, F40PH) were not. They were simply standard SD units with a full cowl cover, their cowl is not a structural member... they had a full standard locomotive frame, which the E and early F units did not...

I assume the early GE passenger units were like this too (the U28CH, P30CH)