PAR Locomotive Fleet - General Discussion

I have posted it before, but here is what I think the power policy is. They bought the fleet of GP40s from Conrail, or whomever leased them to Conrail. The best went right into service. Some were repaired as time permitted. The worst were designated as parts units. As a unit failed, its condition was evaluated. If it was too far gone, then it was used for parts. This even saved having to buy parts from EMD, or an aftermarket supplier.

Now GP cores are real expensive, since they have not been produced in quantity since the early 1980s. This has forced some to be sent out for rebuild, since all of the parts units have been picked over. Leasers have been picked up too.

Leasing may be sustainable if the terms are alright. Maybe the leasing company does the heavy repairs. This could eliminate much of the expense of running Waterville.

Re the pix of UP3280 - what is the function of the upside-down desk drawer on the roof? Is this a home made cover for dynamic brake vents? Not a matter of life and death, just curiosity.

PBM

It's covering the exhaust stack. When a unit is out of service for a long period of time, it's standard procedure to cover the exhaust stack(s) in order to keep out water, snow, debris, etc. Generally this is done with trash bags and duct tape, but in this case they seem to be using that wooden apparatus.

Engineer Spike wrote:I have posted it before, but here is what I think the power policy is. They bought the fleet of GP40s from Conrail, or whomever leased them to Conrail. The best went right into service. Some were repaired as time permitted. The worst were designated as parts units. As a unit failed, its condition was evaluated. If it was too far gone, then it was used for parts. This even saved having to buy parts from EMD, or an aftermarket supplier.

Now GP cores are real expensive, since they have not been produced in quantity since the early 1980s. This has forced some to be sent out for rebuild, since all of the parts units have been picked over. Leasers have been picked up too.

Leasing may be sustainable if the terms are alright. Maybe the leasing company does the heavy repairs. This could eliminate much of the expense of running Waterville.

Does leasing the same old models of Geeps honestly change the long-term situation much? They're still over-reliant on an evolutionary dead-end that's past its tipping point of no return on maintenance expense and is rapidly disappearing from the rosters of everyone but the shortlines that traditionally subsist on fourth-hand breadcrumbs. P&W has aggressively purged theirs and is now a majority- Dash 8 fleet. They've got 3 original GP40's, 2 original GP38's, and 4 considerably more parts-plentiful early-80's vintage GP38-2's...that roster overturning dramatically in the last few years with the purge still ongoing. CMQR, the newest-retooled fleet in New England, has zero. Since G&W took over NECR's and CSOR's Geeps have largely been scrambled out of New England to much smaller G&W shortlines with the corporate mothership taking over fleet assignment decisions and assigning based on who's got the best chances to sustain themselves on what engines. Even on the lease side PAR's strategy is getting well out-of-step with all their leaner Class II and III counterparts in the region. If ancient EMD product is all Waterville is functionally equipped to maintain they've pretty thoroughly backed themselves into a corner.

I don't necessarily disagree, but it's worth pointing out that changing a traction motor or power assembly on a 1966 GP40 is exactly the same as changing a traction motor on a 1984 SD40-2. The parts are interchangeable and still readily available.

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote: P&W has aggressively purged theirs and is now a majority- Dash 8 fleet. They've got 3 original GP40's, 2 original GP38's, and 4 considerably more parts-plentiful early-80's vintage GP38-2's...that roster overturning dramatically in the last few years with the purge still ongoing.

For the record, P&W has only gotten rid of 3 GP40s in terms of EMDs. I don't think they've sold off anything other than those 3.

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote: Since G&W took over NECR's and CSOR's Geeps have largely been scrambled out of New England to much smaller G&W shortlines with the corporate mothership taking over fleet assignment decisions and assigning based on who's got the best chances to sustain themselves on what engines.

At about the time G&W took over, CSO sold off their B39-8s which were replaced with GP38s and SD40-2s. NECR and CSO use only GP38s, GP40-2s, and SD40-2s for the most part. They seem to do pretty well with them.

Off topic, but FWIW P&W got rid of the GP-40's a few years ago as they were fuel hogs. The remaining "owned" EMD's are 3 DB-equipped GP-38-2's; 1 non-DB GP-38-2; and the 2 ex-CR GP-38's.

It's worth mentioning that GP40s/GP40-2s are more fuel efficient than GP38s/GP38-2s in terms of the amount of fuel used to create the same amount of horsepower. i.e. a 40-series locomotive can translate one gallon of fuel into more horsepower than a 38-series loco can. The 40-series can create 18.2 horsepower per gallon of fuel; a 38-series loco can create 16.3 horsepower per gallon. The higher the number, the greater the fuel efficiency. (For further comparison, a Dash 8-39B can create 20.7 horsepower per gallon, handily beating the aforementioned EMDs.)

Thanks - I stand corrected. Perhaps I should have said they were less fuel-efficient the way P&W used them, which from the P&W forum was mostly Worcester locals. Regardless, off-topic.

That's absolutely correct. Using a GP40 (or for that matter a Dash 8-39B) in light duty low-speed service is going to consume more fuel than a 38.

MEC407 wrote:That's absolutely correct. Using a GP40 (or for that matter a Dash 8-39B) in light duty low-speed service is going to consume more fuel than a 38.

Supposedly MM&A detuned their -8's for lower horsepower/lower fuel consumption for exactly that reason. Light duty locals don't need 3900 ponies.

CSX has done the same with some of their Dash 8-40Bs, derating them to 2000 HP.

616 is back from Paducah. stickers on cab say "GATX OWNED"

newpylong wrote:616 is back from Paducah. stickers on cab say "GATX OWNED"

PAR - Ponies & Rentals

Arriving soon?

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