Conrail U36Bs

What became of the quartet of U36Bs that Conrail purchased in its youth?

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1929th member to join this forum

There were only four of them (2971-2974). They were disposed of in the
early 1990's although one hung on for a while at Selkirk for a portable
load box unit. It sat out behind the shop for a long time but rarely was it
started up.
Noel Weaver

So all four were scrapped it sounds like. What do you mean by "One hung on for a while at Selkirk for a portable load box unit. It sat out behind the shop for a long time but rarely was it started up.(?)"

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Some of those units went to the Quincy Bay Terminal railroad outside of Boston, renumbered in the the low 20s (22, 23, 24 and so on). That's where you could see some in action.

You are saying, Robert Paniagua, that the four U36Bs are not scrapped?

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I dont think Quincy Bay ever owned any U36B's..
they have/had 3 GE's

No. 21 GE U23B ex RBMN 2390

No. 22 GE B23-7 ex CR 1972

No. 23 GE?
(I cant find #23's history, but she is clearly another ex-conrail B23-7)

http://capecodrails.railfan.net/qbt/qbt.html
http://www.massrail.com/list_qbtc.html

before Quincy Bay, it was "Fore River"..
Fore River had a pair of B23-7's, number 101 and 102
(originally Conrail 1992 and 1980)
I cant find any info on how long Quincy or Fore has been around,
but the NE photo archive only shows the three Quincy Bay locomotives,
and the two Fore River locomotives.
if other engines (like U36B's) had been there in the past, they would likely show up in that photo archive..and they dont..
so, based on that research, I can say with 99% certanty that Fore River or Quincy Bay has never owned a U36B.

http://www.thedieselshop.us/FRVT.HTML

http://photos.nerail.org/show/?byrail:1 ... r_Railroad
http://photos.nerail.org/show/?byrail:1 ... sportation
http://photos.nerail.org/show/?byrail:1 ... y_Terminal


apparently NONE of these engines are with Quincy Bay anymore..
I saw a post that said 21 and 22 have gone to Conway Scenic,
and here is "former" QBT #23:
http://shawsheen.com/image.php?subject= ... 3_20030628

Scot

You're right, SchottyChaos, I forgot that they went to Conway Scenic, I wonder what they are doing with them now..

Robert Paniagua wrote:You're right, SchottyChaos, I forgot that they went to Conway Scenic, I wonder what they are doing with them now..

yes, but those arent the ex-Conrail U36B's..which is what this thread is about..

the trail of U36B remains cold.

Scot

It is probably safe to say that all have been scrapped, just like the C32-8s.

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Conway Scenic aquired a pair of B23-7's. The 4 Conrail U36B's are long gone and scrapped.

Bryan Jones

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust...

I know for sure 2971 was scrapped I managed to obtain one of the number boards from it before it was cut - its final resting place was Midwest Steel in Youngstown,Oh

If I recall correctly, the U36B's handled the Buffalo-NYC RoadRailer trains 1982-1984.

WDB

This is correct.

And while I'm at it, they were originally ordered for Auto-Train, right? And maybe had a passenger speed gear ratio?

I remember this (?) because I was the project manager who set up this operation for RoadRailer/Bi-Modal Corporation in 1982. Those units, may they rest in peace, did a good job keeping the RoadRailers on time.

WDB