Aborted late locomotive order

Late in its independent existence, Conrail supposedly ordered an interesting selection of locomotives: 20-odd (the numbers 21 and 26 have been mentioned) EMD GP60M, and a sample of four GE AC4400-- these orders were canceled, and apparently replaced by the SD80MAC order (delivered January 1996).
Does anyone remember details about this episode, or have an exact reference for it (I'm sure I read about it at the time in some magazine, but can't remember which or which issue)?
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This came up on the Yahoo "LocoNotes" group recently.

Allen Hazen wrote:Late in its independent existence, Conrail supposedly ordered an interesting selection of locomotives: 20-odd (the numbers 21 and 26 have been mentioned) EMD GP60M, and a sample of four GE AC4400-- these orders were canceled, and apparently replaced by the SD80MAC order (delivered January 1996).
Does anyone remember details about this episode, or have an exact reference for it (I'm sure I read about it at the time in some magazine, but can't remember which or which issue)?
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This came up on the Yahoo "LocoNotes" group recently.

I remember the talk but I don't remember the details. I don't think I have anything at home that would help answer your question either.
Noel Weaver

Noel Weaver--
Thanks anyway! Maybe someone else will know something...
(There are some details-- not exact dates and not references-- in recent "Loconotes" postings.)
I know of one other canceled Conrail locomotive order (for B30-7 some time in the 1977-1981 period): somebody should come up with a list to inspire model railroaders interested in an "alternative history" Conrail roster!

I have no firsthand knowledge of the order Allen mentioned; however the following is a quote from pages 7 and 8 of Issue 101 of Extra 2200 South: "Conrail has placed test and evaluation orders with both GM and GE for AC locomotives, ordering four SD70MAC-1's and four AC4400CW's respectively, for delivery in late 1994. They have also ordered 26 GP60M-1's and 36 C40-8W's."

When the sd80MAC were new and first in Allentown,Pa. we were up in the cab looking them over for our run and the road forman said they were built to CSX specifications,if that helps.

SD70MACs, you mean? The second order of SD80MACs were converted to SD70MACs by request from CSX (who were going to take over the locos at the split-up)

Thanks for the clarification. All this time i did not know the CSX had them changed to 70 MAC's. They were neat locomotives.

I my self remember reading something about Conrail looking into ordering EMD GP60M's with the wide Cabs and I think GP60B's in a Trains Magazine in the mid 90's but don't remember the month.

scharnhorst wrote:I my self remember reading something about Conrail looking into ordering EMD GP60M's with the wide Cabs and I think GP60B's in a Trains Magazine in the mid 90's but don't remember the month.

That has to be what is mentioned in the first post in this thread...
Apparently the very last order of SD40-2s and GP40-2s were also cancelled.

The order of 30 SD80MACs started out as another order of 30 SD60Ms. It was all driven by the amount of money the Conrail board approved. When Conrail began looking at testing ACs, they converted 4 of that order to SD70MACs, and to offset the added per-unit costs of the 4, they 'cheapened' the remaining 26 of the order, down to 4-axle GP60Ms. Before this was executed, they converted the monies set aside for the 30 SD60Ms to 21 SD80MACs, and the additional 9 SD80MACs were leased under a separate deal.

I keep hearing about the test AC4400 units, but Im not sure whether that was simply an internal desire to test both builders, and not an actual order. Given that CR never did buy AC traction GEs later on, I often question the validity of an actual order.

Of course, the second order of 30 SD80MACs was later converted to 24 SD70s for NS and 15 SD70MACS for CSX, built to those railroad's specs. That split was due to the 58/42% purchase factors and lower per-unit cost for the DC units. The order of 30 SD80MACs would have been split into 16 for NS, and 14 for CSX, but the lower cost of SD70MACs compared to SD80MACs allowed CSX to eeek out one more unit, and the lower cost of DC traction allowed NS to expand their 16 to 24 and stay within the budgeted monies.

Kevin, thanks very much for the real deal. So sad that CSX has sent all but 2 to Mexico. NS has 'em tearing up rails in their PA coalfields, the creep (and occasional resulting bucking) is incredible. The modern SD45..

So there is some reality to that Conrail GP60M Athearn is making in HO Scale?

Kevin D--
Thanks! Do you remember exact dates?
As for the AC44... It got reported in the press, so there must have been some talk beyond an internal "Gee it would be nice to compare...," but it may not have been a formal order. I can't remember the dates, but it would have been very, very early in AC44 production: maybe about the same time as the three unit order from U.P.
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The news item Jay Potter quoted (about the order for 4xSD70MAC-I, 4xAC4400CW, 26xGP60M-I and 36xC40-8W, the AC units for deliverry in "late 1994") is in "Extra 2200 South" issue 101. The nominal date of this issue is October-December 1993, but since the cover photo (of a CNW C44-9W) is dated 30 December 1993, it was probably actually printed a bit later. ... The next issue reports the change of the EMD part of the order to SD80MAC. The first three production AC44 (CSX 1-3, née 9100-9102) were (according to a table of recent deliveries in a slightly later "E2200S") delivered in August 1994, with the next batch in October: so, if the original plan for "late 1994" delievery had gone ahead, Conrail would have had some of the very first AC44.

Don't in fact some of the oldest AC4400CWs (belonging to UP now, of either SP or C&NW heritage) have the same style of digital desktops as the Conrail C40-8Ws (ie similar to this: http://krugtales.50megs.com/rrpictale/c ... RR8397.jpg)?

Wouldn't there have been some sort of recordation with the ICC/STB about this? I've been digging through the STB site and haven't found anything.