Metra to remanufacture F40's...

The rebuilds are sort of crappy, but they're NOT going to be retired. This is why I hate that Metra always has to accept the low bid. We're stuck with them anyway.

You love 179 sooooo much! I will get joyce to hook you up with that one every day Now supposedly we are or could be part of a purchase of Siemens power. So far i am not impressed with what they are showing me.

The only good thing about the old EMD's is the quick pickup at take off. That and the big side windows you can open to get a breeze, unlike the MP's whos windows are tiny and make you feel like you are in a speakeasy.

This is why you carry two bungee cords. To wire the doors open so the breeze blows through the cab, just make sure the paperwork is tied down.

Thunder wrote:This is why you carry two bungee cords. To wire the doors open so the breeze blows through the cab, just make sure the paperwork is tied down.

Doors open chopper-style like M*A*S*H?

Not related to remanufacturing but rather, modification. A question for you Rock guys to maybe ask the old(er?) heads. I was looking through some older manuals for the RTA F40’s (up to 149) and Budd cab cars (8239 and up).

I noticed that both were listed as having a 26-E brake schedule when delivered. It was an electro-pneumatic system very similar to the PS-68 that the BN E9’s and cab cars had; where it was a manual lapping valve with an electric holding position which allowed the brake cylinder pressure to be retained while charging the brake pipe simultaniously. Did this ever actually get installed on the F40’s and 8200 series cab cars? I can only remember the F40's with the regular 26. There was a set of 8200's assigned to the BN in the late 80's/early 90's and I think they either might have had 26-E or the BN guys put PS-68 on them, but I’m just wondering if 26-E was applied to the fleet as extensivly as the operators manuals implied?

A little light and fun post for a Friday. Seeing as how the current group of F40’s and 400’s will all be getting new paint around the same time, I was thinking of something.

When the 400’s were originally delivered, some were named for towns along the Milwaukee lines but the names were subsequently removed. Those names went to the group of F40’s and F40M’s currently getting rebuilt.

Some of the BN E9’s were named for towns along the BN. These included:
Berwyn, Riverside, Brookfield, Lagrange, Western Springs, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Westmont, Lisle, and Naperville. These names never made it over to the Winnebago’s though.

So seeing as how all of these units are up for new paint, was any thought ever given to naming some of the Winnebago’s for towns along the BNSF and restoring the Milwaukee lines’ town names to some of the 400s instead?

Granted, none of that will make the units any more reliable, but since they will all be getting new lettering anyway, it might add a little extra touch of class.

Personally, I vote to keep the name of my town on a Winnebago.

I may be a newbie when it comes to railroading, but I freaking love the F40PH. I mean, her loud Turbocharged V16 645E3 Diesel engine roaring at maximum RPM when standing still, and providing HEP to the train she pulls behind her. For the F40s to be torched is nothing but disappointing, but most frustrating, they replaced the old girl with the GE Genesis. One factor being EMD screwing up with that abomination they call the SD50, they could have created a Next-Gen locomotive themselves. To all the F40s that are no longer with us, Rest in Peace.

Don't forget the F59. It was no beauty queen, either in box shape nor the streamlined shape that it seems Chuck Jordan penned to look like a 1990 Pontiac minivan. But it had the 710 engine which is a massive winner. Amtrak bought 20+ of them which all went to Metra recently. Meanwhile Metra bought quite a few F40's when most carriers were buying F59's.

The Genesis won orders because GE was finally building long-term reliable motors and Amtrak wanted something "high speed" in that it had a lightweight monocoque body instead of a traditional body-on-ladder-frame. What that meant was that it went 79 like the rest of them and rusted quickly, too.

I thought the reason Amtrak went with GE units is that EMD didn't offer a 4000 HP passenger unit (the extra 1000 HP over the F40PH meant that two P40s could do the work of 3 F40PHs on many routes).

The F59PHI is a personal favorite... doesn't look like a 50 year old locomotive, even though all of them are over 20 years old....