SD26 and SD39 status

Today at Rigby yard I happened to catch the 690 the 621 and the 643 all in the same consist with a gp40 assembled and looking like they where about to leave with a train to up north. I have some pictures and a video if people want to see them.

Heres some pictures of the 621 and 643 and 690 at Rigby today Jan 1st

guilford88panam wrote:Today at Rigby yard I happened to catch the 690 the 621 and the 643 all in the same consist with a gp40 assembled and looking like they where about to leave with a train to up north. I have some pictures and a video if people want to see them.

Those three units often work as a team, and as a team, they are near worthless!

Last i heard, the 690 drops it's load constantly and the 643 and 621 don't load above 10mph reliably, and even when they do, they dont make transition. It's sad, considering those three units should be the best pullers on the property, when in fact, they are the worst.

But seeing SD26's on a mainline railroad in 2009 is cool anyhow....

whats wrong with them?

tom18287 wrote:whats wrong with them?

Who knows, but the lack of any parts to fix any problems, even if they took the time to diagnose them means they will not be fixed anytime soon.

NV290 wrote:Those three units often work as a team, and as a team, they are near worthless!

Last i heard, the 690 drops it's load constantly and the 643 and 621 don't load above 10mph reliably, and even when they do, they dont make transition. It's sad, considering those three units should be the best pullers on the property, when in fact, they are the worst.

But seeing SD26's on a mainline railroad in 2009 is cool anyhow....

Yeah it is pretty cool.....lol and yes they are not the most reliable, but they are what around 40 years old now? Originally they where sd24s. The first build date was july 1958 for the first sd24. Then in the early 70's I think they where made into sd26s sooooo they are pretty damn old, so we cant expect them to be like PAR's gp40-2lws...lol

The GP35s are even older, if you consider that they were never upgraded the way the SD24s were. The SD24s received a lot of upgrades to bring them up to mid-'70s standards, whereas the GP35s are all pretty much original, dating back to 1963. Those units, from what I hear, are gutless wonders and no longer make transition either.

Guilford's S.O.P. has always been to obtain motive power as inexpensively as is humanly possible, maintain it absolutely minimally, and run it until it dies. In some ways it makes sense, but it definitely isn't conducive to getting trains over the road in a timely fashion. Which has never been their forte even when they've had halfway decent power available to them.

Yeah those 35's are nice for railfans but have been rebuilt (Minimally) several times by Guilford. They try to keep them close to Waterville incase they croak.

I'm a new member from Illinois and former Illinois Terminal employee. I remember when ITC's SD39 arrived on the property and always have had an affection for them. Only 690 (formerly ITC 2301) survives as a real SD39. (Another survives as an SD-40M-2; one as a BNSF slug).

I'm interested in any news concerning the 690. May 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of it's arrival on the IT and I'm considering a trip to Maine (or wherever 690 happens to be) to document its survival. Any updates (location, status, condition etc.) would be appreciated. I'd hoped to get approval for an on-board cab video for the Illinois Terminal's historical society ("Illinois Traction Society"), but doubt that it's likely or even possible. Posting of any photos or videos (YouTube or other similar websites) would be appreciated by me and other IT fans.

Regards.

Run this URL http://photos.nerail.org/search/

In the first block under "Simple Search", type in 690
You will get dozens of photos of the trains with the 690 in the consist.
Sometimes it will be leading, but often times not.

Dick

I should have mentioned to be sure and scroll down for the captian below the photos.
Enjoy.

Dick

MEC407 wrote:The GP35s are even older, if you consider that they were never upgraded the way the SD24s were. The SD24s received a lot of upgrades to bring them up to mid-'70s standards, whereas the GP35s are all pretty much original, dating back to 1963. Those units, from what I hear, are gutless wonders and no longer make transition either.

Guilford's S.O.P. has always been to obtain motive power as inexpensively as is humanly possible, maintain it absolutely minimally, and run it until it dies. In some ways it makes sense, but it definitely isn't conducive to getting trains over the road in a timely fashion. Which has never been their forte even when they've had halfway decent power available to them.

Lol you definitely have a point there.

Dick H wrote:Run this URL http://photos.nerail.org/search/

In the first block under "Simple Search", type in 690
You will get dozens of photos of the trains with the 690 in the consist.
Sometimes it will be leading, but often times not.

Dick

Thanks, Dick. I've explored most of the rail photo websites Google brings up when searching SD39 etc. Any and all comments, advice and information is appreciated.

Why has Pan Am allowed their six axle fleet to fall apart while they are so strapped for power. Isnt maintaining your own fleet of power cheaper than leasing?

KSmitty wrote:Why has Pan Am allowed their six axle fleet to fall apart while they are so strapped for power. Isnt maintaining your own fleet of power cheaper than leasing?

Their philosophy, at least from the late '80s / early '90s onward, has been to standardize on four axle locomotives, based on the [theoretical] ability of those units to "go anywhere and do anything." Hence, they sold off most of their six axle locomotives and added more GP40s. The recent trend of adding leased six-axle locomotives is purely based on the severe lack of power and the need for something, anything, to pull a train. I suspect that Norfolk Southern's increasing influence also may have had something to do with it.

As has been stated in other threads, the Helm SD40-2s are being leased with terms that are very affordable to Pan Am -- perhaps even "free" in exchange for storing them when they aren't needed, according to a couple of sources. Class I railroads are dumping SD40-2s like hot potatoes, and leasing companies such as Helm are overflowing with them. Helm has to pay money to store these units at various yards around the country; it stands to reason that Helm, being almost as desperate as Pan Am, would be willing to work out a deal that benefits both parties.