F40C-Sold unit locations?

I heard that Helm sold their F40C's....can any one confirm this, and who bought them?

The last few days on trainorders.com there have been reports of an ex Utah Railway F45 getting restored to GN paint. In one of the photos were radiator and dynamic brake grills from an F40C applied to the unit. When someone asked if these were indeed F40C parts, below was the reply unfortunatly

"Correct on the call on grill work from a Metra F40C. The F40C's were being scrapped at Metro-East at the same time that the UTAH 9013 was purchased and presented an opportunity to acquire them to facilitate an authentic GN restoration with proper grill work."

This came up a month or so ago, though I can't remember if it was on this forum or any others I periodically check out. Satellite imagery taken shortly after Helm got the F40Cs shows them to be pretty visible within their facilities in downstate IL, but current imagery doesn't. Seems they were pretty eager to wash their hands of that fleet and begin parting them out. I hope someone there is kicking themselves for doing so, as a number of commuter agencies around the country could have picked up several of those with some of the stimulus money which is going out. Oh well, it's Helm's loss.

It appears that the 611, 614, and the 610 at NRE-Dixmoor are the only three left, unless Helm set any aside. There were rumors that the 610 was "next to be cut up" sometime last fall, but as of last Thursday it's still there, and plainly visible from the northbound lanes of I-57.

I thought 611 / 614 were just running?

Well the HEP on 610 is dead, so hopefully one or both of the others will eventually be preserved.

bones wrote:I thought 611 / 614 were just running?

They are, only the 610 is at NRE.

byte wrote:There were rumors that the 610 was "next to be cut up" sometime last fall, but as of last Thursday it's still there, and plainly visible from the northbound lanes of I-57.

I am on my way back from Florida and will be heading north on I-57 on Friday. Is Dixmor south or north of the I-80 interchange. If I go there, can I get a shot of the old girl from public property? 610/50 is my "City of Wood Dale".

F40CFan wrote:

byte wrote:There were rumors that the 610 was "next to be cut up" sometime last fall, but as of last Thursday it's still there, and plainly visible from the northbound lanes of I-57.

I am on my way back from Florida and will be heading north on I-57 on Friday. Is Dixmor south or north of the I-80 interchange. If I go there, can I get a shot of the old girl from public property? 610/50 is my "City of Wood Dale".

A Bing search for NRE in Dixmoor gives an address of 14400 South Robey Street, Dixmoor, IL 60426. Going north on I-57, Dixmoor is about 5 miles north of I-80, so your likely best bet is to get off at Rte. 83 (147th St.) to get there. Not sure if you'll be able to get a decent shot of 610 from public property...

Thanks, I might give it a go.

mrconductor55 wrote:Well the HEP on 610 is dead, so hopefully one or both of the others will eventually be preserved.

When you say the HEP is dead, what do you mean? What exactly is the HEP in the first place? Also, does anyone know is Helm set any C's aside, or did indeed scrap all of them?

HEP = Head End Power, which is an electrical generation system inside every Metra unit that taps into the main generator and pulls electricity from it for use in keeping the lights and HVAC on in the cars. The 610's HEP unit blew up [more accurately, it was an electrical fire which caused a lot of smoke that made the evening news] during rush hour some years back, while the F40Cs were in the midst of being retired. Similar instances have happened on the MP36s and F40PHs and they were repaired afterward, but since the 610 was slated for replacement anyway they didn't bother fixing the unit and it was immediately retired and sold to NRE.

If someone wanted to preserve and operate an F40C and the 610 was available for the right price, the dead HEP would probably not be a deterrent from a museum purchasing it (IF the unit can still safely move itself under its own power). Most museums that operate trains use older (non-HEP equipped) coaches with opening windows and are "more fun" for most museum visitors (kids) than a HEP equipped car with sealed windows.

Thanks for explaining that - so did helm get (or end up with) all of the remaining 12?

Yes. All are almost certainly scrapped at this point. It's know for sure that at least some were scrapped because a group cosmetically restoring an F45 out west got two of the upper long hood grilles for their unit, as its originals were corroded beyond repair. Recent satellite imagery of the Helm Leasing site in East St. Louis shows little evidence of any F40Cs.

First of all I never knew why 610 was separated from the group, I guess if it hadn't failed then it would have gone with the others to Helm? I wonder if Metra is obtaining parts from NRE for 611 and 614 and that's why it hasn't been scrapped.

Here's something interesting. Some pictures on rrpicturearchives have photographs of F40Cs in storage at a location near Kansas City, instead of East St. Louis. The photos are several years old but it's possible that the Helm group was split up:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=377907
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... x?id=94877
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=377909

MSN maps birds eye view shows about five F40C's plus the F45 at East St. Louis, in pieces:
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v ... &encType=1

These were most likely scrapped but that leaves some unaccounted for, especially if some ended up in Kansas City.

Also, here is the link to the restored (sort of) F45:
http://www.izaakwaltoninn.com

F40c611fan wrote:When you say the HEP is dead, what do you mean? What exactly is the HEP in the first place?

Actually, HEP or Head-End Power is an alternator that supplies hotel power to the passenger consist for heating/AC, lighting, PA, door controls, etc. On Metra locomotives, the HEP alternator is connected directly to the drive shaft of the prime mover. This is why the engines run constantly at run 8, or full throttle. The MPs have a newer alternator that requires a minimum of run 3.

Other commuter locomotives have a separate HEP motor/alternator set that is independent of the prime mover.