What's out there?

b&m 1566 wrote:Yeah you’re telling Me.; 95 engines doesn't seem a whole lot for a railroad of there size. How many engines more could Guilford use? Does anyone know if the GP9's are still in good operating standards, or are they just barely holding together?

I'm sure they could easily use at least 10 more GP40-2s, if not more. If they were to move up to "modern" motive power such as SD70s or the like, the reliability/availability rates would be much higher, which would allow them to move the same tonnage with fewer units. For instance, 10 SD70M-2s could replace 20 of Guilford's old GP40s, in terms of hauling ability, and the new units would also be more reliable and more fuel efficient. 10 SD70ACes could replace 30 GP40s. You get the picture. But most likely Guilford would keep those GP40s and use them for locals and switching, which would allow them to retire the GP9s and GP35s. Of course, this also assumes that Guilford would maintain their branches and industrial tracks to a standard that would support the weight of the GP40s. None of the above is likely to happen.

As far as the GP9s are concerned, I'm not exactly sure. Most of them are in service and seem to run alright, but I don't know what their availability stats are compared to other units on the roster. Some of them -- 45, 51, 52, and 77 -- were rebuilt by B&M in the '70s, and theoretically ought to be in better shape. But your guess is as good as mine.

There are no restrictions

mick wrote:There are no restrictions for GP-40's on any branches or industrial tracks.

Hmmm. I thought the Madison Branch was limited to smaller units. I'm pretty sure I heard that somewhere... but maybe it was just a rumor.

I had an ST ETT from the late '90s, which I can't seem to find at the moment, and I'm 99% certain that I remember seeing something about GP40s and U23Bs being prohibited somewhere.

MEC407 wrote:I'm sure they could easily use at least 10 more GP40-2s, if not more. If they were to move up to "modern" motive power such as SD70s or the like, the reliability/availability rates would be much higher, which would allow them to move the same tonnage with fewer units. For instance, 10 SD70M-2s could replace 20 of Guilford's old GP40s, in terms of hauling ability, and the new units would also be more reliable and more fuel efficient. 10 SD70ACes could replace 30 GP40s. You get the picture.

Yes I get the picture, but I do agree with you; I don't see it happening in the foreseeable future.

If you're referring to the passenger coaches that Guilford uses for their business train, those coaches have built-in electric generators for lights, air conditioning, etc.

Oh, ok, didn't know about that. That's nice that GRS has the technology to make their so-called passenger cars so that way they won't have to be pulled by a P42 or even an AEM7! They can still run with their GP40s or any of their other GRS engines.

But if they ever made their way to Grand Central just to make a visit, then they would still have to be pulled by an underruning third-rail P32ACDM.

MEC 407, you are correct

Isn't most of Guilford's track age 10mph anyways? I believe it was in one of these posts (somewhere on here) that Guilford's crew receives a daily report about track conditions and what speed they can go for that day. It turns out to be 10 mph everyday; at least for the NH main line if I understand correctly.

10-25 is pretty typical for District 1. District 2 used to be the same way before the big Downeaster upgrade. Ahhh... it was so much easier to chase trains back in those days! Now the freights roar through town at 40mph and there's no hope of keeping up with them.

WAPO canned at allens ave. in portland the other day. Isnt it 12 hours of work before they can? Well I dont think it takes 12 hours to get from Waterville to Portland, unless of course your on Guilford

Where does Guilford store there wreck train; if they have one? I have seen pictures of a wreck train in Guilford's paint but there was no date on it. I had heard a little while back that it's still the same wreck train that the B&M used; is this true? How old is it? I was also told that there was no wreck train and if such and incident occurred where they would need one, they would have to use a wreck train from another railroad...?

Actually they do have wreck train equipment, and they have more than one set. It is a mix of B&M and MEC equipment. Some of it is stored at Waterville and some of it is stored at either East Deerfield or North Billerica (can't remember). They certainly have enough equipment to clean up most wrecks on their own. In fact, they have loaned their equipment to other railroads on occasion.

Would there wreck trains also be used for the MBTA? Or does the MBTA have there own wreck train? What about Amtrak's Downeaster?
I just hope we never see a wreck train used on a passenger train. Bad enough seeing a freight train all mangled (especially if its hazard material).

I was in Iron Horse Park a week or to ago and saw an old Guilford coach sitting in the area where it looks as though they still do small scraping jobs. All the windows were broken on it but my question is: was this part of there business train or did Gilford at one time show interest in passenger service?