Pan Am's Heritage Locomotives

That was ostensibly the reason why Union Pacific started the heritage unit craze in the first place. And apparently it had to do with being able to charge royalties to model train manufacturers who were using the logos of UP's various predecessor roads. Much was written about it in the trade and railfan press at the time.

MEC407 wrote:That was ostensibly the reason why Union Pacific started the heritage unit craze in the first place. And apparently it had to do with being able to charge royalties to model train manufacturers who were using the logos of UP's various predecessor roads. Much was written about it in the trade and railfan press at the time.

Exactly! And thats why NS did theres, and why BNSF is painting covered hoppers for predecessors. Its all about trademarks and royalties. Its a simple way to keep those trademarks alive and well. As much as they might like to play it up. Its not for crew morale, its not for fans. Its for trademark protection. Sure there are some other, probably cheaper, ways but this gives them good publicity and gets the job done.

daylight4449 wrote:True... But if the thing can't run and make you money, cut it up and part it out. You've got a number of SD40s that still need paint... So one could serve as a newcomer for the Maine Central crown. The problem here is that the GP9s are beat to hell, and you can't keep going back to fix a shrinking minority class of engines when you have the bread and butter engines (SD40s, GP40s and GP38s) to fix, repaint and keep running.

2 SD40's that need paint, obviously the GP40's need PAR paint, but most have a decent coat of paint. Also paint and mechanical aren't necessarily the same people, so units needing paint has little to do with units needing repair. There are no GP38's left on the roster. 6 GP9's (72/77 active the other 4 DOA) and the rest are GP40's (55 or so) and SD40s (20), thanks to Bill for the data everymonth! That said, I see your point. But the thing is that there is X amount already put into them, and right now that cost outweighs their value in scrap...So for now the 52/72/77 aren't going anywhere. Especially because 72/77 have been pretty good performers with little down time over the last couple years...Accountants are an unsentimental bunch. If it made more sense to make razor blades than to put diesel in the tank we'd be talking about how they cut 'em up...

According to Bill Gingrich's GRS roster:

#52 has been OOS since Sept. 2012.

#72 in Guilford Gray is in yard service in Waterville. It would be nice if they painted it into a heritage unit.

SWEET:

http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=211578" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ED2 at So. Deerfield
ED2 local with the ST77 arriving at S.Deerfield, Mass.

Photographed by Matt Baj Jr., October 7, 2013.
Added to the photo archive by Matt Baj, October 7, 2013.
Railroad: Pan Am Railways.

Wow, I thought it was just a show piece. This came thru Wiggenville headed west back last month. It was third out of a 4 engine string and wouldn't you know it my camera was in the house. It must have been heading to WRJ for the show. Looked real good,got to love the Minuteman.

Where or what is Wiggenville?

newpylong wrote:Where or what is Wiggenville?

It's south side of lowell.

ED2 had the 77 lead south today. Here's acouple shots from the chase.

^Thanks for the pics! Beautiful.

Great video by "atholfam" of 77 in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKAelQMkryE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

52 is deadlined.......

Not me, although I'm in the video at South Deerfield in the red shirt.

Reader#108 wrote:52 is deadlined.......

It has been bouncing around back and forth between the deadline and the roundhouse as of late.

690 wrote:

Reader#108 wrote:52 is deadlined.......

It has been bouncing around back and forth between the deadline and the roundhouse as of late.

I was told it has been parted out internally but the shell is to be preserved. Maybe it will go on display somewhere or replace the 470...

CN9634 wrote:I was told it has been parted out internally but the shell is to be preserved. Maybe it will go on display somewhere or replace the 470...

I don't know how much time/money/effort they want to put into it at this point, but they could always take the guts out of 72 (which is still running, I believe?) and put them into 52.

Again, though, this is an example of the challenges and pitfalls of trying to operate locomotives that are almost 60 years old, and why it's risky to spend thousands of dollars on a paint job when the mechanical and electrical components have exceeded their expected service lives by decades.

If they decide to do more heritage units at some point down the road — and I very much hope that they will — it would be VERY wise for them to consider using a couple of the 300s instead of using more GP9s. I won't go into the details of why it's a good idea since I've already talked about them ad nauseam in previous pages of this thread, but if anyone at Billerica or Waterville is reading this, please give it some thought.