Railroad Forums 

  • How many surviving E60s?

  • Discussion of General Electric locomotive technology. Current official information can be found here: www.getransportation.com.
Discussion of General Electric locomotive technology. Current official information can be found here: www.getransportation.com.

Moderators: MEC407, AMTK84

 #523993  by Btkspot89
 
I just wanted to confirm that the last surviving "original" E-60 is 958 which is in our URHS collection, is this true? Also how many other variants of the E-60 are there?
Thanks,
Brian

 #524010  by Jtgshu
 
Im pretty sure its the RR Museum of Pennsyvania has the Amtrak 603.

That one and the 958 are the 2 remaining Amtrak E60s.

There are several other E60s that were used for freight - one for a coal mine in Texas and others for a Mexico electrification project which never really worked.

Wikipedia actually has a pretty good article on the various types of E60s and their status.
 #524038  by amtrakhogger
 
The Black Mesa and Lake Powell RR uses a freight variant of the E60 with
a single cab in addition to several NdeM E60's purchased secondhand.

 #524275  by Allen Hazen
 
Don't have my reference sources handy (I think there was an article in "Railfan and Railroad" a few years back, an earlier "Extra 2200 South" coverr story, and a bit in an early 1990s edition of Kalmbach's "Contemporary Diesel Spotter's Guide"), but...
---The GE locomotives built for the failed Mexican electrification project were visually similar (not quite identical) to Amtrak's E60
---Several of these units have been brought to the U.S. for use on western mining railroads (other than the BM&LP)
---I ***think*** some of the Amtrak E60 were modified (regeared?) for use on one or another western mining railroad
---I ***think*** BM&LP has supplemented (replaced?) its original, single-cab, E60 units with twin-cab units, either ex-Amtrak or ex-Mexico

Sorry to be so vague. If I have a chance to check I'll post what I learn later.

 #524311  by Allen Hazen
 
Found two of my references.

"Extra 2200 South" issue 79 (cover date April-June 1983; published October 1983) has color photos of four E60 locomotives, in two body styles. The Amtrak E60 had large, trapezoidal, windshields (only a narrow strip between the right and left windshields) and number boards below the windows. The later Mexican (& DWR) units had smaller rectangular windshields, and the number boards mounted above them. ... The four units shown are:
(1) NdeM EA001 (first of 39 units for Mexico, built in 8/1982 but delivery delayed for financial reasons-- "E2200S" sais that delivery of the 39 was to finish in early 1984)
(2) Deseret Western WFU2 (one of two units built for this Colorado mine operation in 8/1982: GE serial # 43145,43147 -- I don't see any differences between them and the Mexican unit)
(3) Navajo Mine LDE20, one of two ex-Amtrak units (966 and 968) purchased for this New Mexico mining operation in 10/1982
(4) New Jersey Transit 967, one of ten Amtrak (958-963, 967, 971-973) units leased by NJT in 9/1983.

"Railfan and Railroad" for September 2003 (20 years later! I m getting old!) has an article on the Deseret Western. At that stage, in addition to its original pair of E60, the DWR had purchased EA031 (in use) and EA035 (for parts). The article ends with a box on the history of the Mexican fleet: EA005-EA008, EA024 and EA025 had been retired in 1994/1995 after wrecks and the rest stored when post-privatization TFM shut down the electrification. TFM traded most of them in to GE for new AC44 diesels, and in 1999 the Black Mesa & Lake Powell bought EA004, 022, 023, 032, 034, 036, 038 and 039 to supplement their original six freight E60: there's a photo, dated May 2003, showing two of them trailing two of the original BM&LP units on a train.

I don't think I have seen anything in print with more recent information.

 #524346  by Btkspot89
 
Thats what I thought.. I heard some went out to Mexico and some went west for mining operations just wasn't too sure. As for my baby 958(yes thats me with her in my avatar) she will sadly never run again :( We do plan on repainting her and make her look clean again

 #524647  by Allen Hazen
 
I don't think any ex-Amtrak E60 went to Mexico: NdeM bought new locomotives for the electrification. I don't know if the two for Navajo Mine were the only ones to go west.

Slight update: the 2006 edition of the locomotive rosters book by Kerr (pub. by DP-LTA) does not have an entry for Navajo Mine, lists the Deseret Western as having three E-60 (two original, one ex-Mexico) and lists BM&LP as having nine: their six original (single-cab) units and three former Mexican units: leaving the question of what happened to the other five Mexican units they bought.

---

I'm glad one of the Amtrak units has been preserved by the URHS and will be repainted (what colors? Amtrak? NJTransit? Tuscan red with gold pinstripes (grin!)?)! ... I think I like the E-44's styling better, but it's good both types have been saved!

 #525111  by Jtgshu
 
Mexico E60s spotted in NY State heading to Canada maybe

Thread in NY State Railfan forum

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=50610

 #526103  by lvrr325
 
Per other boards, these units went from storage in Texas, via CN/IC to Montreal in late 2006 and early 2007, the last arriving by April 2007. They first appeared in New York southbound leaving Canada, apparent destination Utica NY, possibly for scrap (!).


The units are seven of the 10 that Mexico retained after privatizing their railways and later sold to a dealer in the US. This particular group was never placed in service and has been in perpetual storage since 1983 - anyone need a brand new 1983 locomotive, cheap?
 #550726  by Trainmanal4243
 
Eight of the NdeM E60 electric locomotives came to the end of the line in Utica, NY and Quebec this spring. The sacrilege of these E60s was that they were never used in revenue service in their 25 year life. Units EA011, 014, 015,016,019 & 029 were disassembled in Utica and 013 and 018 in Quebec. I use the term disassembled because under the sheet metal shell the locomotives were a rolling supply of new unused electrical switchgear, transformers, compressors and control stands, one on each end of the unit. Inside the gasket sealed electrical cabinets and switch gear cabinets were hundreds of moister absorbent bags that were put in by GE when they were built in 1983. Everything was in mint, as new condition in the cabinets.

A Mexican Oil company actually bought the E60s for the Traction Motors and electrical switchgear. The Susquehanna Loco & Car (RMDI) got the trucks, air brake equipment and Misc. items that can be used on locomotives. Any one need a pantograph assembly?

Al Gorney
dcp_banks of relay cabinents,compressor.4736.jpg
 #550761  by pennsy
 
Sad to see E-60's being scrapped. However, add E-60 # 951 to the list of survivors. Mine, in HO gauge is well lubricated and in great running condition, and will remain so.
 #551811  by Btkspot89
 
958 is in bad shape both inside and out. Not to mention all the traction motor wires that have been cut for the copper. We don't know what we are going to do with it. I personally would love to see 958 get all the graffiti off it and get its NJT colors flying again. Sure they might have not have been the best locomotives the world has seen. As some of you may know towards the end of their career in NJT there would be 2 people in the cab! this would be the engineer and a mechanic because they kept breaking down. Oh well we will just need to see what the future holds for 958.