Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the operations of MTA MetroNorth Railroad including west of Hudson operations and discussion of CtDOT sponsored rail operations such as Shore Line East and the Springfield to New Haven Hartford Line

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, nomis, FL9AC, Jeff Smith

 #1251799  by runningwithscalpels
 
Where else do you think they service them? When all but a handful of their service either originates or terminates in New Haven do you really think they're going to service them in Stamford??
 #1252232  by Backshophoss
 
When the M-8's are cleared for the 25kv wire,the former SLE equipment will startup the NHV-Hartford
commuter service.
ConnDOT should consider sticking a SLE set on the Waterbury Branch,seem to have better luck
then the BL20G mini sets! :wink:
 #1252278  by DutchRailnut
 
Right now after 3 years in revenue service, not one M-8 has been tested on 25Kv or with ACSES signaling , so those hoping to see M-8's on SLE may just as well give up.
add to that that M-8's can not be used at New London and New Haven line can't keep up with demand, makes operations east of New haven nothing but a pipe dream.
 #1252348  by NH2060
 
Oh ye of little faith, Dutch! :-P

Keep in mid we're not even 3 months into 2014 and the 2016 start up date for NHHS could mean anywhere between January 1st or December 31st so there's still time for certain things to be figured out. New London is slated to get a set of high level platforms coinciding with the construction and opening of the Coast Guard museum so even if bridge plates are needed between the doors and the platforms (hopefully not, but regardless) the cars will be able to be used on New London trains. And considering how much CT has paid for these cars (including the apparatus, etc. to allow the cars to run on 25kv) it would be a waste of time and money to not use them for that purpose. Not that CT could just cut their losses and say "forget it", but still. I don't think any of us who have been tracking the M-8s' progress have expected any serious testing on SLE to begin until most if not all cars were delivered. Had there not been so many problems and delays over the past few years I'm sure there would have done the SLE testing by now.
 #1252352  by DutchRailnut
 
keep on dreaming, there won't be cars available for SLE mark my words.
 #1252621  by Tadman
 
Related question - when CDOT leased, then bought, the Gennies, did they consider some used F40's? That was about the time that there was a glut of used Amtrak F40's on the market, and it would've meant parts commonality to the SLE GP40 fleet.
 #1252630  by DutchRailnut
 
no, the F40's were not usable without extensive overhauls, and it is problem getting them upto EPA specifications.
The Amtrak F40's only had the parasitic HEP and would have had to be rebuild with separate HEP and main engine upgrades.
The 6 Genesis went in immediate service on Metro North and only later were released for SLE pool when Bl20gh's came online.
 #1252837  by F-line to Dudley via Park
 
The MBTA's F40PH "Screamers" are identical to Amtrak's in having no dedicated HEP. Loud, smelly diesel-guzzlers they are. There's no aftermarket left for those except low-rent excursion carriers, shortlines that don't care about pulling freight with a cowl unit if the damn thing just works, and commuter rail lend-lease where somebody takes them on ultra short-term to run into the ground then discard. That's not CDOT. They need something rehabbable and game for another 10 years of service, not 2. More good-condition Geeps such as the MBTA's pending dispersals, for instance.

The P40's likely have a lot of life left in them with GE targeting its HSP-46 -platform drop-in upgrade kits at early-1990's makes like the Gennies and F59PH/PHI's. Those are the kinds of aftermarket locos that can get remade to modern standards and greatly extended service life. Taking late-1970's tech like an F40 (even from the slightly more modern 1980's and early-90's production runs) and trying to overhaul it means creating some unholy Frankenstein vehicle. It's just not worth it. It's a nearly 40-year-old make. Its time has passed, like the F10's of 10-15 years ago. So, increasingly, are passenger-class Geeps. The ones with recent or pending rebuilds will be kicking around a good while longer, but there are no longer enough parts left to take the most worn out of Geeps still in daily commuter service and put them through a 3rd or 4th extended life. The passenger aftermarket's going to drift to the 15-years-newer design and much more easily modifiable F59's and Gennies...especially when the glut of to-be-replaced Amtrak and state-owned Amtrak surplus starts hitting the market.


Good-condition Geep rehabs in the short-term, "kit"-upgraded Gennies in the mid/longer-term is probably how CDOT's going to most easily feed its escalating power needs when NHHS hits full-blast frequencies and other non-NHL/SLE service expansions like increased branch frequencies, New Milford extension, or Hartford-Waterbury enter the picture.
 #1423216  by Jeff Smith
 
From the "Unofficial MNRR" FB page and our own Dutch:
From a very reliable source, someone got wise at ConnDOT, 6694/6695/6698 all tied together in NHV with NREX reporting marks (overhaul finally ?)
 #1423350  by NaugyRR
 
I can see why they're giving the contract five years, that's a pretty extensive overhaul laid out in the bid spec
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