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  • SDP45's

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SDP45's

Discussion relating to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, the Erie, and the resulting 1960 merger creating the Erie Lackawanna. Visit the Erie Lackawanna Historical Society at http://www.erielackhs.org/.

Moderator: blockline4180

SDP45's

  by GN 599
 
Today a had the pleasure of running the EL 3657. Okay its MRL 332, and mated with our RCO engine but that counts, sort of. To the untrained eye it looks like a SD45-2, as you all know that is not so. When I was walking out the back door, inside the door jamb is grey, paint with maroon and yellow stripes. This obviously is how I knew its lineage. I noticed the very long fuel tank and remembered that the EL bought SDP45's without steam generators for the larger fuel tank. I thought maybe the MRL modified it as it has a SD45-2 radiator/fan arrangement. By doing some sluething on George Elwoods handy fallen flags railroad site. I found lots of pics of it, wrecked too! I guess the EL did the work on it after a wreck. Does anyone know when, where or any specifics on its wreck. Maybe how much of the original locomotive they used. The carbody looked destroyed. Anyway I thought I would share my first EL SDP45 experience and I must say she is one big mutha! :P Seems like a neat motor with an long and interesting life. What a trooper :-D

  by Tri-State Tom
 
Very fun reading GN !

And great photos there U-H....can we get any of of the unit in the MRL 332 paint scheme for 'then and now' comparison ?

  by GN 599
 
Yeah it was a nice treat for me. Its nice to know something like that is lurking around all those trash 9's. She is five minutes from my house. I gotta get some pics of it. We lit up the class lights on it. White on the front and Red on the long hood, thats the only color we could get as they took the colored lenses out of the nose class lights. :( Does anyone know how many EL SDP45's exist? Although I guess techincally its not an SDP45. What a long strange trip its been.

  by scottychaos
 
GN 599 wrote: Does anyone know how many EL SDP45's exist?
ten are accounted for:

http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychao ... Survivors/

I just added 3657 to the list! :P
I didnt have her listed before..
could someone check her stats for accuracy?

'doh..im having a problem with that table..the data runs off the end of the cell and I cant get it wrap..I will have to work on it later, no time now..
the entire string shold read:

(EL 3657) (Wrecked 11/11/73 rebuilt with SD45-2 long hood) (CR 6688) (MK 9512) (MRL 332)

thanks,
Scot

  by scottychaos
 
when it was rebuilt, was anything changed besides the longhood?
If its simply a SDP45 with a new long hood, I would still consider it a SDP45 after it was rebuilt. (and I think EL did consider it still a SDP45 after it was rebuilt..)

just because it got a SD45-2 long hood, I dont think thats enough of a change to re-classify it as a SD45-2 instead of a SDP45..

thoughts?

Scot

  by Steve Duncan
 
Actually, during the Marion Ohio wreck in 73, the 3657 plowed to a stop, damaging the front, and then a D&H U boat on the train hit its long hood, and 3667, running as a trailing unit, had its hood crushed.

3667 retained its old electrical cabinet and only needed a new hood(it even had the notched brake wheel stand), while 3657 was remanufactured into an SD45-2 from the frame up. The only thing it retained from its pre wreck carbody was the 5000 gallon fuel tank and longer frame(it is 70 feet versus 68 feet for standard SD45-2s). I call it an SDP45-2 :-D, but since it lacks the steam boiler extension on the carbody(EL did not use the feature, though), it could be called, just an SD45-2.

  by mxdata
 
A previous post above mentioned a D&H U-boat being with the units? A friend photographed the train about ten minutes before the wreck and it only had 3657 and 3667 as power.

  by GN 599
 
Half of the letters on the engineers side that say SD45-2 are missing so I took it upon myself to fill in the blanks with SDP45 with my paint crayon. So we can call it an SDP45 from now on, he he. :-D

  by dave76
 
Does it still retain the 20-645E3 prime mover.

  by BlockLine_4111
 
Did any of these ever run or assist w/pax service?

  by Steve Duncan
 
1.BlockLine_4111, they were purchased by the EL for Freight service. They were also, according to EMD builders records, SD45Ms. Which were basically SDP45s, without the steam boiler.

2.dave76, yes it retains its 20 cyl 645 prime mover. It ,and the retired (and rusted :wink:) SD45Ms 3663 and 3639 are the last ones. WC 6634 was confirmed sold to GE, and used by the IHB as temporary power(from around 2003 to 2004) with the WC marking blocked out. GECX 6634 was scrapped and cannabalied at LTE after its brief carrier as a GE leasor.
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