AEM-7/ALP-44 status

Delivered to Morrisville today for scrapping.

CNJGeep wrote: ↑Sat May 14, 2022 9:12 am Delivered to Morrisville today for scrapping.

Got any pics of the locomotives scrapped?

Actually I found a video here of all them heading there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGk_oPj9hB4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2gBWx6ISuY

They are now heading to sims metals in Morrisville PA for scrapping, CSX has picked them up

CNJ and Everyone - To me this is a shame that these 8 motors could have had more life outside SEPTA
and been sold to another company (MBTA, MARC, Caltrain, GO Transit come to mind) for a fraction of the
cost of new motors...From the videos posted of the scrap move all eight motors look to be in reasonable
condition and thankfully had not been subject to problems such as vandalism in storage...

For those unaware NJT has a group of stored ALP44 (same type as #2308) motors that have been basically
abandoned and suffered from weather exposure and acts of vandalism...In the case of scrapping that group
of motors should actually have been the ones going to be put out of their misery...MACTRAXX

MACTRAXX wrote: ↑Mon May 16, 2022 10:06 am CNJ and Everyone - To me this is a shame that these 8 motors could have had more life outside SEPTA
and been sold to another company (MBTA, MARC, Caltrain, GO Transit come to mind) for a fraction of the
cost of new motors...From the videos posted of the scrap move all eight motors look to be in reasonable
condition and thankfully had not been subject to problems such as vandalism in storage...

For those unaware NJT has a group of stored ALP44 (same type as #2308) motors that have been basically
abandoned and suffered from weather exposure and acts of vandalism...In the case of scrapping that group
of motors should actually have been the ones going to be put out of their misery...MACTRAXX

The locomotives are old, dated technology - plain and simple!!
If MBTA , MARC, Caltrain (they did receive two Amtrak AEM-7s, IIRC) or GO Transit wanted them, they would have loaded up when Amtrak parted ways with their fleet five, six years ago. Or possibly even expressed interest in any of NJ Transit's mothballed ALP-44s.

Yes, the Septa AEM-7s might have cost a "fraction" of what a newer electric locomotive may cost, but then figure in all of the upkeep and maintenance that would be required keeping an aging locomotive up and running.

The truth is, NOBODY wanted them. You have to look at the situation through the eyes of any business. It's all about making money in the long-term.

They seemed quite tired 4 years ago when they were making their last revenue runs. I guess keeping them running when you have an underutilized fleet of Sprinters that can do maintenance work if needed sealed the deal. They served the area well for 30 years without a rebuild (20 counting the ALP-44).

MACTRAXX wrote: ↑Mon May 16, 2022 10:06 am CNJ and Everyone - To me this is a shame that these 8 motors could have had more life outside SEPTA
and been sold to another company (MBTA, MARC, Caltrain, GO Transit come to mind) for a fraction of the
cost of new motors...From the videos posted of the scrap move all eight motors look to be in reasonable
condition

They weren't. Those engines were TIRED. They couldn't even keep the three they were running on the wash trains running. Those motors don't owe anyone anything. SEPTA got their money's worth.

CNJ: I figured that you would know the condition of the 8 motors internally - they looked better than even I
expected in the videos posted of their trip to the purchaser for scrap...Wherever SEPTA stored them (Frazer?)
was the right place at least keeping them out of harm's (vandals) way...

BK: What I had thought that these 8 motors had at least some life left in them being that SEPTA used them
for the most part a single weekday round trip - and their appearance as CNJ mentions was deceiving their
internal problems...Sometimes a bargain acquisition really is not had another operator taken these motors
off of SEPTA's hands depending what upgrades that would have been necessary for them to be road-worthy...

SEPTA very much got their worth out of the seven AEM7 motors (March 1987 built basically-35 years ago...)
The ALP44 was a "gift" from ABB as I recall due to the mid 90s N5 car order problems...Hard to believe that
with the fate of the NJT ALP44 fleet that #2308 was actually the best-condition motor of that group...Gone...
MACTRAXX

Tbh Septa should've sent 2308 to a Museum but the NJT should restore one and sent it away to museum but in the end of the day they're all gonna get scrapped

And now its 2023 and SEPTA (the world's dumbest transportation agency) scrapped every one. They shoulda followed in Amtrak's footsteps by preserving ALP-44M #2308.

Here is a pic from August 9th at Simms. From what i was told, Septa had someone on site until they were all dismantled.

dreese_us wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 6:59 pm Here is a pic from August 9th at Simms. From what i was told, Septa had someone on site until they were all dismantled.

Dreese_us I hope you share the same opinion as me, which is that septa either should have kept the 2 or 3 most reliable as revenue and work locos, to get the most use out of them, and if they hadn't done that, they coulda preserved one. and of course they had to get ACS's, everything about those I hate. I wish SEPTA had taken the horns off of the AEM's and had them put on the ACS's. But alas, SEPTA is SEPTA.

-Emmett

Emmett wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 8:17 am ...septa either should have kept the 2 or 3 most reliable as revenue and work locos, to get the most use out of them...

They didn't get rid of them for random reasons. Cost effectiveness is a major , if not the top, consideration. Basically, they did get the most use out of them, and now retention is not good business. This is an organization that runs 40+ year old equipment in revenue service. If they are retiring stuff, I'd venture it is safe to say that it doesn't make much sense (money or safety) to retain them.

true. But then why didn't they rebuild to get a few more years out of them as a reserve Push pull fleet (with ACS-64's as primary fleet). I know that obviously cost effectiveness is the most important but that would have extended their life by a few years (with the AEM-7AC rebuild of Amtrak as considerable proof of that). Another idea could have been using one part of the units, the classic horns, on the ACS-64's. I mean, imagine a septa acs coming down the rails with an 80's built K5LA on it instead of the not so great sounding hybrid K5LA's. That would have let them scrap the rest of the units (which would be the valuable parts: pantographs, electrical components, scrap metal, etc.