SD26 and SD39 status

KSmitty wrote:Any news on the 690?

when i said BOTH the SD26s, i meant both. the've already had engine components removed (i.e the prime mover). it definitely seems like pan am wants to see them preserved

690 is an SD39, that's why he asked. And why wouldn't they remove the prime mover? There's many parts there to keep the existing units going. I think it's more a matter of frugality rather than prepping them for a museum.

based on what my contact at pan am said, he thinks it would be a shame to see them scrapped, which is why they haven't been scrapped almost imediately after they were put on the waterville deadline

daylight4449 wrote:based on what my contact at pan am said, he thinks...

He thinks being the key, not to open an argument, but you will find that Pan Am is a company filled with many railfans. While it may be your contacts personal preference to see the locomotives preserved, I have a hard time seeing Pan Am wanting them preserved, they simply want the most on their investment. The SD26 fleet has probably been paid for in scrap value already, considering they have scrapped 33(?) already. If they really wanted them preserved they would donate them and still come out ok on the SD26 deal. They bought 35 and scrapped most just a few short years into their time with Guilford, just a guess but the mass extinction of SD26's by 1994 should have recovered most of the original investment.

And the 690, last thing I knew from contact with a gentleman out in Illinois, there were several groups interested in preserving 690 as IT 2301 (its original identity) But PAR wanted more than scrap value for a locomotive that had already been mostly parted out. Thats not wanting to see it preserved if you ask me.

But thats just my $0.02.

It might seem a little over the top, but the SD26 as a model is nearly at Smithsonian level. No road other than Santa Fe experimented with rebuilding an SD24 into an SD26. Never mind expecting them to live this far beyond the rebuild....the last one being over 30yrs. Now UP did a rebuild of their 24s into two phases. They had simply rebuilt 24s with a 645E prime mover rated for 3300hp on a 16cyl block. It was done in Omaha with only one unit being completed in 1968. They did another one in 1975 labeled as an SD24-4 rated at 2400hp on the '16. Not too successful I'm guessing.

Santa Fe's rebuilding program with their SD24s was done at a level untouched. Between 1973 and '78, they overhauled 80 SD24s into '26s. At 2650 hp, they matched the 645 and 16cyl of the UPs. However, as we all know being followers of G and now PA, SF's were the only ones to relocate the air reservoirs to the rooftops to accomodate installation of central air intake. A classic spotting feature over the years. Man, I'm glad I got my Atlas HO models a few years back! Hopefully, at least one of the real ones can be saved. They really were pieces of rolling history.

I wish New England had a nice indoor railroad museum like they have in Strasburg PA. The Sd26s are not ideal for excursion service, but it would at least be nice to have one of them stuffed and mounted...But who wants to pay to restore a "dummy" engine that will just sit outdoors? Every ten years you have to repaint. Despite the strong SF heritage...I still think they would look best preserved in Guilford Gray!

Since these units really aren't "kicking" anymore, I've changed the subject of the thread accordingly.

Hey P42,

I take it you haven't seen the LOCOMOTIVE 2010 by TRAINS. They turned an ex-SF F45 into a travelling hotel in a Great Northern Big Sky Blue scheme! Apparently, someone thought the idea would work, and the results are damn sweet looking.

The SD26 would look good in either scheme, but I'm partial to the ST.

Are there any updated photos of the 621,643 at Waterville? I understand they are "white lined".

Tim Mullins wrote:Are there any updated photos of the 621,643 at Waterville? I understand they are "white lined".

There's photos around from a couple months back on nerail showing the units are already in the cannibalizing process. Missing middle axles, missing headlamps, y'know the beginning of the downfall.

Here's the links
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?20100 ... 6&BOOL=ANY
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?20100 ... 6&BOOL=ANY

From what I understand, they are pretty much gutted, stripped and down to the bare "corpse" of the locomotive.

I don't know for sure, but you can pretty much assume that with an 6 pack thats in the deadline for more than a few days it will be missing its center axles, the batteries, a traction motor or 2, or 3 or 4... Thats if its lucky. The 621 and 643 are probably worse off, being the oddballs they are. Course thats all just my guess based on previous reports and past whitelined 6 axles.

Edit-
Well, just went back and looked at the links, they look better than I thought they would.

As a side note here, I thought it was customary to white line both the number and railroad name on the side. And while we're at it, where does the whitelining process come from?

so they're doomed. my fellow railfans, an end of an era is upon us. an era without the SD26

daylight4449 wrote:so they're doomed. my fellow railfans, an end of an era is upon us. an era without the SD26

is it just me, or am i the only person who thinks that this sounds highly, well, confusing?

daylight4449 wrote:

daylight4449 wrote:so they're doomed. my fellow railfans, an end of an era is upon us. an era without the SD26

is it just me, or am i the only person who thinks that this sounds highly, well, confusing?

What seems confusing? I presume you mean the SD26's being scrapped, there is nothing confusing about this to me. They are old worn out beasts. With 20 "new" locomotives on the property I surprised we still see a few of the GP9's. They keep talking about being a 40 series railroad. And honestly, I really think if they repaired the dead GP40's they have at Waterville they could achieve that goal.

So in summary, the only thing I find confusing is the fact that there are still locomotives running that don't have an EMD 16-645 E3 prime mover.

The SD-26's are old and worn out,but they sure gave you a wonderfuly smooth ride....Like riding on a cloud...Like
anything else, they could and should be rebuilt and updated. You can never have enought power...One of the reasons
we spent so much time in the hotel was because there wasn't enough power..