Conway Scenic Railroad Discussion (CSRX) - 2010

masscoastalfan wrote:Well about the gp35 not being a heritage unit, it's not like the b23 or u23 had any new England/mec connections either.

B23-7 has strong NE connections. Conrail used the 23-7's like crazy in NE for local service. They were a staple of the CR era in MA/CT.

Yes,

The U23B and Beaten 23-7 have ties to New England, but not in Northern NH. Sure, the same could be said for the FP-9's; Canadian ties, but not New England. However, they certainly looked a lot better pulling a matched passenger consist than either the GE's, the 252 or the 216 will. Last time I was up there for a Railfan's Day (2007), there were fans up there from NJ, PA and VA. When I asked what brought them all the way up there, the universal reply was that it was one of the very few places in the East, if not the country, where one could see a matched set of F's on a passenger train and three operational F's in one place. I was not happy at all when CSRR got those two refugees from a scrap pile. The money spent on them would have been much more wisely spent shopping the FP-9's and putting dynamics in them. And before anybody says "it's too expensive" or "can't be done", the San Luis & Rio Grande just took delivery of ex-MBTA FP-10 1100, which we all know used to be a GM&O F-3, and it now sports a 48" dymanic brake fan on the roof. It's also painted maroon and gold, a cross between D&RGW's first paint scheme on their FT's, and B&M. Now CSRR is getting the 252, which I have no quarrel with; it's an historic engine and should be preserved. I don't like the idea of the ST 216 up there; it's not historic for the area, and to give up the FP-9's for it borders on lunacy. Plus it will be interesting to see what kind of shape these units will be in besides a pretty paint scheme. You don't really think GTI is going to give up anything GOOD do you? Sure, the railfans will be happy for a while chasing the FP-9's on Guilford's business train, but all it will take is a change of heart at GTI and they'll get parted out and scrapped like the rest of GTI's fleet. That will be the real crime .

FP9s do have connections to New England. CN ran passenger trains into Portland on what is now the Saint Lawrence and Atlantic.

atsf sp wrote: GP35 I believe was the first turbocharged locomotive from EMD.

First turbocharged EMD was the GP20, followed by the SD24.

OK, I'd like to know where this rumor about the FP9s going to Pan Am came from. Why would they buy two locomotives for a train that they only run two or three times a year?

This is almost as implausible as the "reliably sourced" rumor of a few years ago that Pan Am was going to restore and run the 470.

Dick- Thank You very much for the info.....I could go on for months in there and still not know what most of you guys know! I will keep going back in to educate myself though. I could be mistaken, but I think you and I had a very cool conversation waiting for 7470 to come into Bartlett during Steam in the Snow...which also lived up to it's name! Anyhow, I would think that the 1943 project will be coming to an end here....wouldn't it make sense for PA to take the U-Boats and fix them to run on their system rather than the sisters? It would seem that the larger engines would be better for them than the sisters and unfortunately, the 1055 makes sense going to DSR....I looked at their webpage and they have a similar looking locomotive on it and in one mans opinion, a start up could use a switcher like 1055...

Reader#108 wrote:wouldn't it make sense for PA to take the U-Boats and fix them to run on their system rather than the sisters?

In theory, yes... but it won't happen. Pan Am disposed of their last few GE locomotives back in 2003 and they have been a 100% EMD operation ever since. They have no desire to add anything other than 645-powered EMDs to their roster.

Yikes! I didn't mean to offend anyone. I just didn't know! I don't see why DSR would want 1055. They have the 70tonner from the belfast and moosehead lake that would be perfectly capable of pulling their trains.

The 216, if original, would have a 16-567D3A 2500hp turbocharged prime mover. From what I've heard, their electrical systems can be a pain. It will be VERY interesting to see what happens to it. Two roots blowers in the place of the $$$ to maintain turbo, and if derated I bet it would run well up there. Anyway, it is interesting to see what they will do.

[quote="Wayne Hills"]Yes,

The U23B and Beaten 23-7 have ties to New England, but not in Northern NH. Sure, the same could be said for the FP-9's; Canadian ties, but not New England. However, they certainly looked a lot better pulling a matched passenger consist than either the GE's, the 252 or the 216 will. Last time I was up there for a Railfan's Day (2007), there were fans up there from NJ, PA and VA. When I asked what brought them all the way up there, the universal reply was that it was one of the very few places in the East, if not the country, where one could see a matched set of F's on a passenger train and three operational F's in one place. I was not happy at all when CSRR got those two refugees from a scrap pile. The money spent on them would have been much more wisely spent shopping the FP-9's and putting dynamics in them. And before anybody says "it's too expensive" or "can't be done", the San Luis & Rio Grande just took delivery of ex-MBTA FP-10 1100, which we all know used to be a GM&O F-3, and it now sports a 48" dymanic brake fan on the roof. It's also painted maroon and gold, a cross between D&RGW's first paint scheme on their FT's, and B&M. quote]
Actually the San Luis and Rio Grande is hgetting 2 F's that have been rebuilt like this. Both 1100 and 1114. However, the San Luis and Rio Grande is a MUCH larger company than the Conway Scenic. They are owned by a much bigger company who owns several other railroads. They have a much bigger monetary backing than CSRR does. You dont see CSRR buying SD90MAC's, Sd40-2's, and F40's like the San Luis and Rio Grande is. I think even if CSRR hadn't bought the B23 and the U boat, they wouldn't have had enough money to put dynamic breaks on the sisters. They would have to be outsourced to someplace that does major overhauls of locomotives like was done to the San Luis and Rio Grande's engines. Transit to and from the rebuild shop, plus the work itself would be very expensive.
I dont see what the big deal about the GP35 is. So it's not historical to the tracks! Who cares? I think it will be a very interesting addition to the fleet. The turbo charger issue is an interesting problem though. Those can be very annoying. I know a lot of smaller railroads don't buy engines with turbochargers because they can be problematic.

They've done well keeping 1055's turbo working...

Oh no, I have no doubt in CSRR's ability to
maintain their locomotives.

p42thedowneaster wrote:They've done well keeping 1055's turbo working...

That's because old Alco turbo's are efficient, simple, well constructed units. Later turbos,
especially EMD's are more complicated and prone to malfunctions.

masscoastalfan wrote:Oh no, I have no doubt in CSRR's ability to
maintain their locomotives.

They do a great job, look how many of them are in the dead line.

Otto Vondrak wrote:Wow, congrats to you for providing unverifiable information that might as well have been a fantasy anyway.-otto-

Otto, it looks as if the operations manager for the Conway Scenic has confirmed in a published report that they will be getting two units from Pan Am Railways.

See for yourself: http://www.conwayscenic.com/index.cfm?f ... heelreport