NS retires/sells all remaining GE Dash8-40C locomotives.

[reinhardtjh]

On March 1st Norfolk Southern announced that it had retired and sold the remaining 56 GE Dash 8-40C locomotives on it's roster.

From the NS Dash9 FaceBook and web site (http://www.nsdash9.com/):

NS has retired ALL 56 of its remaining GE Dash 8-40C locomotives. Of those, 44 were sold to LTE Rail Services (LTEX) and 12 were sold to Progress Rail.

The units going to LTEX at Lordstown, OH include: 8300, 8301, 8302, 8303, 8313, 8691, 8695, 8698, 8700, 8701, 8703, 8706, 8707, 8711, 8713, 8716, 8718, 8721, 8722, 8725, 8726, 8727, 8730, 8731, 8732, 8734, 8735, 8738, 8740, 8742, 8743, 8744, 8747, 8748, 8749, 8750, 8751, 8753, 8755, 8756, 8757, 8759, 8760, and 8762.

The units going to the Progress Rail scrapyard at Roanoke, VA include: 8689, 8705, 8709, 8714, 8715, 8720, 8724, 8733, 8736, 8741, 8752, and 8763.

Apparently the "Dash 8.5" upgrade program wasn't deemed successful.  This leaves NS with 12 Dash 8.5-40CW units numbered 8500-8511.  No telling how long they will survive.


Additionally, NS formally retired it's last 3 Southern high-hood GP38AC units.  They had been stored, but still listed as active. No disposition has been announced.

NS has retired EMD GP38AC units 2835, 2844, and 2846. These were the last three active high hood GP38AC locomotives on the NS roster, all of Southern Railway origin and built in 1971.

[johnb]

It seems that GE rebuild projects tend to fail...the Southern Pacific rebuilt 2 locos, then decided to make slugs out of rest that were slated to be rebuilt

[cjm413]

It seems that GE rebuild projects tend to fail...the Southern Pacific rebuilt 2 locos, then decided to make slugs out of rest that were slated to be rebuilt

ATSF SF30C

[reinhardtjh]

It seems that GE rebuild projects tend to fail...the Southern Pacific rebuilt 2 locos, then decided to make slugs out of rest that were slated to be rebuilt

Failure in this instance is an economic one, I believe.  The 12 Dash 8.5's seem to be running okay on NS, but word is that the cost of the conversion it not worth it.  Too much has to be replaced to make them AC units and there's not much sense in creating DC units that aren't better than the Dash9 DC units they already have and are converting to AC anyway.

The AC44C6M rebuild program is doing quite well.  18 units rebuilt in 2016 and 57 units in process and planned for 2017.  12 of the 2016 units were rebuilt at GE's Erie plant and 25 of the planned 2017 rebuilds will be done at the Ft. Worth plant.  The rest are split between NS's Roanoke and Juniata shops. (http://www.nsdash9.com/rosters/4000.html and http://www.altoonaworks.info/rebuilds/ns_ac44c6m.html)

[Spikre]

 
    and GE is putting Chinese Truck castings under the rebuilds !
   wonder how long it will be before they start Importing whole locos
   from China ?
   add the BNSF C-4 GE rebuilds,they seem to be working OK.
     Spikre
       

[Mark5]

Last time I checked, China was importing GE locos - has this changed?

[jmlaboda - RIP]

ATSF SF30C

Hugely successful with some (most?) still in use on the Minnesota Commercial and in Brazil. The MNNR also has the only SF30B that was rebuilt, though at one point Santa Fe was considering doing similar upgrades to their B23-7 units.  An agreement for GE to service their units for Santa Fe sort of killed off this idea before it got to far... a similar agreement killed Conrail's plans to upgrade the Monongahela's B23-S7s to 3000 HP.  Some were re-rated to 3000 HP but down-rated once again because of the agreement.

Most Super-7s (all types) survive with some being used in Mexico while others were sent to Brazil.  The MGA units are scattered between Arkansas - Oklahoma, New Castle Industrial and Ohio Central while one of the GE Demonstrators remains in use on the Providence & Worcester.

Keep in mind that if you see a C30-7 on a Kansas City Southern of Mexico train it is likely internally a C30-S7.  When Nacionales de Mexico ran out of rebuild fodder for their Super-7 program (which did not get finished because of the Mexican government deciding to spin off much of the country's railroads) GE provided frames and hood components to build additional units... some still running on KCSM.

GEs have been proven to be useful engines on the used market, largely because they offer huge advantages at times especially when it comes to fuel consumption.  For the most part economics, advancements in technology and the need to control exhaust emissions have lead to a lot of roads selling off their earlier hi-ad fleet (CN has bought considerable numbers of C40-8s which just goes to show that these units were still very much maintainable and of value and even Pan-Am has acquired a group of ex-CSX C40-8s, their first venture into hi-ads of any kind).  Rebuilding GEs has been more expensive (though costs may now be more comparable now that higher exhaust emissions standards are in place leading both EMD and GE and owners to develop better rebuilds).  We won't see a return of hardly any Dash-7s but Dash-8s as well as rebuilds of some earlier EMDs are on the table, making for some interesting things to happen further down the road.

Rebuilding of both EMD and GE units... "We've only just begun..."

[lock4244]

CN bought the their fleet of used C40-8 and C40-8W's for the crude surge (along with 90 fmr Oakway SD60's and four SD70ACe's demos) because they were available. The immediate need for power compelled the purchases. Since the bottom fell out of crude by rail almost as quickly as it began, many were stored until the grain started moving in the autumn. When grain levels drop, I'd expect many of the -8's to go back into storage. I do not doubt that their actual preference would have been for new units, not worn junque.

That these units have survived at all on CN's roster is remarkable given the torture all power is subjected to daily... adding fuel is considered an overhaul these days