NYSW SD70M Official Thread (Please Read)

[tomjohn]

Should be for three more years when the orginal trust expires. The NYSW does not want any of the three back. When I caught 4050/4054 together last week, 4054 looked to have more oil on it than in it.

If the N. Y. S. & W. RR doesn't want the their SD70's back,how about letting the N.Y. S. & W. RR receive them back? Return to respectful builder/lessor? I think that is correct thing to do....

Tom

[Noel Weaver]

Should be for three more years when the orginal trust expires. The NYSW does not want any of the three back. When I caught 4050/4054 together last week, 4054 looked to have more oil on it than in it.

If the N. Y. S. & W. RR doesn't want the their SD70's back,how about letting the N.Y. S. & W. RR receive them back? Return to respectful builder/lessor? I think that is correct thing to do....

Tom

It is not necessary to return them, the Susquehanna is a business and it
does not answer to railfans.
Noel Weaver

[lvrr325]

I'm still not sure what the suggestion is?

Chances are the lease stipulates they only be returned to the lessor in operable condition. Since the lessor is either a bank, or another railroad (NS/CSX?), they need not ever return to NYS&W territory to be returned to that company or it's agent. They may have to contract out repairs to the engines, but again that depends on the terms of the lease. Odds are, someone will get a bargain on three fairly new, very worn out and abused locomotives.

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Status of this topic is "MERGED". Yet another SD-70 post merged

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=41056

[scottychaos]

There were a few posts on the NYSW yahoo forum indicating the SD70's have perhaps been "sold" to the Florida East Coast.
but details are unclear.

Is NYSW selling the SD70's?
or is perhaps just the lessee changing?
the units moving from the I&O to the FEC, but still owned by NYSW?

anyone know?

thanks,
Scot

[SGLX1202]

it was my understanding from those posts that there is a connection between the 2 railroads and they are being re-assigned to the FEC. Could be completely wrong since i havent been following the posts too closely.

but still owned by the Susie Q. and still 3 years i believe on the lease to I&O.

steve g

[GOLDEN-ARM]

For what it's worth, the I&O, which was leasing the locos, is part of RailAmerica, which is now, in a roundabout way, owner of the FEC as well. Power swaps, transfers and relocations quite common between "sister" roads, under ALL of the shortline holdings operators. "Asset utilization", often the buzzword used, to describe the seemingly random trades of locos, between various operations in the same corporate folder........

[kingfish]

I am looking into this by talking with certain "RA" folks and our legal counsel.

Cheers,

kingfish

[lvrr325]

Per Trains magazine FEC is owned by the same group which owns Rail America. They just replaced the FEC president with an RA guy.

Given FEC runs high speed mainline freight, the SD70s make sense down there, they just bought some new SDs not that long ago - the ones in the Alaska RR style paint. And they've been known to buy used before, too, they have a number of former UP SD40-2's.

[rrfoose]

From what I've heard, the SD70Ms have been run into the ground. I would think FEC would need more reliable locomotives than this! Maybe a rebuild and repainting are in order?

[Tadman]

I would wait til we hear from kingfish - he's the motive power guy at NYSW, (I think that's his job) and he probably knows best the condition and suitability of the 70's. I don't mean to snub the prior post, but we have a good source here we shouldn't drive off with rumors.

[Steve F45]

i agree. But the amont of posts on yahoo regarding this are abound. People saying that all 3 loco's are in the Wheeling and lake eries's webster shops getting prepped. For what? who knows. But several posters acted like they knew for sure that they were headed for FEC to be overhauled and painted in FEC livery and in exhange I&O got 6 sd40-2's.

kinda sucks as i was hoping maybe just maybe i'de get to see them on home rails just once. Missed it when they were originally here.

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Not sure how mentioning Kingfish is going to help/hurt the parties involved in the SD-70s. RailAmerica will move them, and the only inspection they will receive, will be the one the class-1 interchange railroad(s) give them, to assure suitability for interchange. NYS&W won't have the ability to "object" to the condition of the locos, until the lease expires, isn't renewed, and the locos are inspected and prepared by the lessor, to be returned at that time. Speculations about the documented state of disrepair of the locos at this time seems pointless, as far as the NYS&W would be concerned. The condition at their return (if that happens) is the only thing that matters. Regards

[Noel Weaver]

I am not saying that the SD-70's will or will not go to the Florida East
Coast but in order for this to happen some things will have to occur.
Cab air conditioning is a must on the FEC, all of their engines are so
equipped and they are not used as leaders without this in working order.
They will also need to be equipped with FEC cab signals and automatic
train control.
The FEC shop at New Smyrna Beach can most likely do the above work
and whatever else that is needed to make them the reliable engines that
the FEC needs to accomplish their on time performance which is probably
the best in the industry.
As for three SD-70's replacing six SD-40-2's, not on the Florida East Coast
although with present levels of business, they can operate with a little less
power, there are two rock trains that are not operating as the building
business stinks right now.
Noel Weaver

[Steve F45]

there are several new pictures of sd70m 4054 pounding the rails in Ohio still.