BNSF Ordering 30 Switch Locomotives- Your thoughts?

I just got news today that BNSF will be ordering 30 Switch Locomotives. Your thoughts?

Nick,
Where were your sources?

John:

Now I hear they're ordering 30 switch locomotives. I got the information off of Railpictures.net.

http://www.railpictures.net/forums/show ... #post13467 is where I heard about it. At first it said they were ordering 30 SD70ACe's or SD70M-2's but the person who started the topic edited the post.

Does anyone know what model yet?

I would have to assume the only one on their website...
http://www.gmemd.com/en/locomotive/switcher/gp20d/

Well, now I have heard for a 2nd time that they are to be SD70ACes, 30 of them.
They may get some switchers too, but 30 ACes is the word for March 2006.

Heard the same thing for the ACE's as well there is an option to get 100 more.

Hmmm I havent heard any of this. But I wonder if we will get one of them switchers here at my job.

Worked in and out of Barstow last spring. Saw several of what appear to the EMD GP20D sitting on a spur track near diesel services. However I am the first one to admit that excpet for knowing the difference between GM and GE road power, I cannot tellyou waht they were. They were small switchers with the side windows covered in sheet metal and all the remote decals applied.

Probably one of those former Santa Fe GP-7's or 9's with the windows blanked out for RCO use only. What we need right now is road power.

Could the switchers be GreenGoat hybrids, like the ones Union Pacific and several other roads have purchased? They look extremely similar to the GP20D, especially the cab/nose.

I hope all of these thing I've heard about BNSF ACes are true. I wonder how one would look with the new logo on it. I'd guess they would be for coal trains with the SD70MACs and SD75Ms. I wouldn't mind new switchers either.

Type "BNSF SD70ACe" in Google and you'll get all sorts of results. Looks like BNSF will be getting 30 SD70ACe's.

As an engineer for BNSF I hope we dont get them. My friend who is an engineer for the UP who works just as hard of territory as I said they are not impressed with them. They have had a number of problems, hopefully just teething problems. Even the old heads who like EMD's arent impressed with them. I guess we'll see what happens.....

The GEVO's are having problems reportley as well.