Large locomotives

What is going to happen when the locomotives of today turn twenty years old? I do not think shortlines can easily buy them. The Reading and Northern is at the limit with the length of the SD50's and a SD70 is two feet longer. So will a special market for shortlines and regionals develop?

http://trainiaxindex.cjb.net/
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The "rebuild" market is already well underway! Rebuiders will take various EMD GP and GE B units and rebuild them for the shortline market.

Don't be surprised to see rebuilt versions of former rebuilt units!

Wheel trucks and beds last a long time. The replacement of prime movers, electrical components and various technological upgrades will keep these units in productive service and in the repurchace market for years to come!

ACLfan

heck, most of the units i work on at CN are much older than i am [23 i am]

nickleinonen wrote:heck, most of the units i work on at CN are much older than i am [23 i am]

Some of the SD-40's the IC has have "born on" dates of the very early 70s. They were horses in their time but lack of proper maintenance has taken its toll.

i've seem some dataplates on some of the older yard units we have and they have original build dates back in the 50-60's... they've been reman'd back in the 70's and again in the early 90's... old scrap though, but still ticking..

jg greenwood wrote: some of the SD-40's the IC has have "born on" dates of the very early 70s. They were horses in their time but lack of proper maintenance has taken its toll.

You mean one of the ex-GM&O SD40's built in 1966 would have a "born on" date of 1970, for example? That is weird.

Those GP9's and GP7's as well as SW's will be around for a long time with many rebuilds.

This is a good OP question that I myself have thought about - where are all the SD90ACs and AC4400s and their ilk gonna go when they are pushed off the Class I by the SD250Plasmas and MagD99000s?
Yeah, one may be planted in front of Canadian Northern Pacific Santa X's Headquarters, but will there be remanufacturers who chop these SDs down to size (GP size, I'd say) for Jimmy Wilson's descendants or the Morristown & Raritan Central? Derate them to 3000HP or less, can't really strip out any environment controls, though, and cut 6 metres or more from the frame (and get that axle loading down). Hmmm, "chopped and channeled" EMDs...
Eventually, the entire supply of GP7s and GP9s will be converted into Green Goats, Kids, Rams, Ewes, and Llamas, and the next generation of shortlines (meaning any line not providing a direct path from one intermodal yard to another) are gonna need something (No, NOT Baldwins, no matter what SMS says) that doesn't need 155lb/yd rail to run on...(er, how heavy rail will we need when we go from the 286 rail car crisis to the 310 rail car crisis again?)