GMTX GP38 #2081 in Pond?

Why didnt they lease from LT&E they have repowered GP38s with new paint jobs and not looking like a war torn engine like the GMTX.

I suspect they don't need dynamics for anything out east. The island is fairly flat.

Old/worn out = cheap. gp10 blew a traction motor and it went to scrap instead of being fixed. SW's haven't been painted in what, 10 years? I can't imagine they're in serious financial trouble, they just seem content to get by with what they have, which is aging and i'd imagine getting a bit worn. A little more power would allow more maintenance time. calverton, brookhaven, WM opening a new facility in LIC... There's plenty of growth on the not-distant horizon.

MNRR lets CSX & P&W use SD60s. NYA doesn't really need anything that big though. Maybe for the stone trains out east, but everything in queens/brooklyn is a lot of switching and shuffling of cars. I could see a gp38 switching around the yard and maspeth... i can't imagine an SD60 being used for that. It might not even get around some of the curves.

Besides, they have 4 already, without dynamics. no need to train mech. staff on something they're not familiar with already.

The big SD's have large fuel tanks that just might be too wide to clear the 3rd rail,3 axle trucks don't like the "sharp" turns into "Industry" tracks.
Some of the "Industry" tracks haven't been touched by a track gang in years(decades?)
Last thing NY+A wants to do is get the Landloard (LIRR) mad.

well I could see not wantin the 6 axle units for wear & weight reasons but still think they shoulda went wit a liiiiiiiittle more HP. Over on the CSX board there's a post about a rail train that came down to FREMONT last week, could that & the new loco's have anythin to do with the expected increase in traffic from the new float bridges bein used?

The next "step" up would be a GP 40/49/50 or a dash-8-40b,there is not any excess hi-horsepower 4 axle units
in any of the lease fleets from what I seen/heard of.

For years,PC/Conrail would not allow 6 axle power (except E-8/9's)in 3rd rail territory,sometimes due to pilot plows/
fuel tank size/weight. after the Conrail "split" and D+H/CP was awarded freight rights into Oak point,
D+H/CP modified some SD-40's to run in MNR territory,not sure if CSX did the same thing or stuck with 4 axle power.

CSX eventually went to sd60s & sd40-2s. At first it was all ex CR b23's, then csx b36-7s and the occasional gp40-2. These days once in awhile there'll be a gp38-2. I believe the only time one of the oak point gensets came over was a work train last summer.

Rail train? I'd imagine that was for LIRR & not freight related.

NYAR is in bad need of power period. Their trains are getting substantially longer, and if you see some of the things they're doing to their engines, you'd wonder why they haven't already brought in back ups.

Isn't one of the SW1001s dead, or something like that?


The power is needed, a Leaser SD40-2 would be nice but not happening.


Also why doesn't anacostia buy engines instead of leasing them?

I wonder how much ASC plays as a factor in their shortage of power, and how expensive it is to install. Leasers can trail but it's an investment to make them truly useful east of city limits, given how NYA usually runs 2 units per train (presumably in part so units don't need to be turned to come back west).

From what I understand amtrak/mnrr's signal requirements might be different than lirr's - though P&W hasn't hesitated to send 'new' units down here as trailing units until the signal package is installed, and they seem to equip their units pretty quickly (their sd60s are leasors, though i'm pretty sure I've seen at least one leading already, and they've only had them a few weeks).

I haven't seen 106 in awhile. 101/105 I saw working in fresh pond Saturday morning. 2 MP15's were at maspeth yesterday, a job that used to be the domain of at least one sw. they still have that sw1200 too, but it is well beyond dead and the last time I saw it, was partially pushed off the southernmost stub track in the west end of fresh pond. I suspect it'll be sent out and come back as a genset, whenever that project actually happens (assuming the city or WM or whoever doesn't pull funding).

The use of this new leaser in the yard will probably free up the 1500s for more road use. I can't see them bringing that thing on the road as a trailing unit unless one of the Engineers want's to show it off (wink wink nudge nudge). Plus they'll have to deal with LIRR to get it cleared for mainline use east of Jamaica and that could be a PITA.

Found a video of her sister unit, 601

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QmNu3kjVMc

sounds like a roots blown 645 to me (Non Turbo). She probably is herself

Some leasing companies may have provisions not allowing the needed modifications for ASC/cab signal installation,
even if the equipment is set up in easy to remove "modules",then waiting for LIRR mech to OK/seal it for use.
Figure on the leasers stuck in trail only use except around Freshpond,Bushwick and BayRidge areas.

Backshop wrote:

The big SD's have large fuel tanks that just might be too wide to clear the 3rd rail,3 axle trucks don't like the "sharp" turns into "Industry" tracks.
Some of the "Industry" tracks haven't been touched by a track gang in years(decades?)
Last thing NY+A wants to do is get the Landloard (LIRR) mad.

This isn't totally true. Supposedly the LIRR cleared the CP SD40-2's to the 2001 or 2001 Riverhead railroad festival to be on display. Back in the good days of cheap fuel CP Rail used to let NYA drill with the engs in the yard. They were really a pleasure and just as quick as the small switch engines.

I have seen pictures of the "modified" D+H/CP SD-40-2's used on the Fresh Pond runs,notched pilots and smaller fuel tanks,
the P+W SD-60's have a larger fuel tank that would foul 3rd rails,they were ex-UP, any of "big" power used by BNSF/UP out west
would foul 3rd rails,same is true of CSX/NS "big" power.

Please tell me someone got pics of the CPsd40-2's on LIRR? I know it's a long shot but someone had to see this! =)