Hello,
All three pictures by Mr Mark Llanuza. Picture of rebuild :
With the rebuilds going on the two(?) remaining F40C's are back in action:
And to bring this full circle:
"The year 1990 RTA was rebuilding some of the F40'c so being short on power they used Metra E-8's during the summer on Metra's west line.Here's a rush hour train crossing the Fox river in Elgin "
The original F40's replaced the E8's.
CC
The first 15 rebuilds are operating on the Milwaukee Line. One (the 109) has just been assigned to Heritage Corridor, last train out in the morning and first one back in the afternoon. BNSF will start receiving theirs in late July to Mid-August. Another quick spot item is the window in the cab door. It's now a small square "porthole" with rounded corners rather than the original large window that opened by dropping down inside the door.
Someone recently told me the easiest way to identify the newly rebuilt units from the un-rebuilt ones is that the recently rebuilt ones have traditional locomotive snow plows installed but un-rebuilt ones do not and have a "flat plate" on the nose of the unit at the coupler. Easy, but I've not seen any rebuilt ones on the BNSF line....at least not yet.
Some of the rebuilds are already back in service. They have a small Progress Rail rebuilder's plate just under the cab to indicate their status.
I just saw a Metra F-40 today, behind 2 CN units inbound on a freight to Paducah on the PAL off the Edgewood cut-off. Apparantly they are coming down the old IC. Mayfield can be accessed via the PAL, from either the CSX or IC, depending whether they come from the east are west. Perhaps they use both routes.
They are being labeled F40PH-3 according to the manufactures plate on the side and Railroad.net forums has some pictures of them after rebuild. I have yet to see any actual pictures of the rebuilding going on. They stayed with the Metra Blue and Red (orange). Railroad.net even has a comprehensive list of what is on the property currently and what is out at rebuild and when they have returned. Hope this helps.
robscaboose I live in Terre Haute IN & have seen several South bound Metra units go by Haley Towe. I was wonder why & now I know. But why not send them south on the IC main?.
I live in Terre Haute IN & have seen several South bound Metra units go by Haley Towe. I was wonder why & now I know. But why not send them south on the IC main?.
If the previous poster is correct, and the units are being rebuilt at Mayfield KY, not Paducah, they are possibly routing them down the CSX to Madisonville KY, and then the P&L takes them west to Mayfield.
They are completely rebuilt at Progress Rail's Mayfield, KY plant. The rebuilt designation is F40PH-3. The original engine is updated to the latest emissions certification level. All new wiring and piping. Dash 2 control system is replaced by EM2000 system supplied by EMD. Still retain the Delco Head End Generator, gearbox, and driveshaft off the accessory end of the prime mover. Paint scheme is the same, although subtle differences in cab windows.
Yes, I'm feeling rather dated over this too. I was one of two EMD Instructors who taught the first F40PH-2 classes at EMD as they were being built. Typical EMD locomotive, ran 30+ years with great reliability, now coming around for another 30 perhaps.
Ok thanks.
The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
bubbajustin What are the F40PH being re-built into? And is Metra itself doing it?
What are the F40PH being re-built into? And is Metra itself doing it?
I am also wondering if the rebuilt units will stick with the original paint schemes or come back with the newer scheme introduced on the MP units?
Will these units still have 645 prime movers? I know Progress Rail is doing a lot of repowering with CAT diesels (which makes sense as CAT owns them)..
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
Ya, im going to miss the old ones. There probably going to come back with K5LA and Electronic bells. I did some research and found out that they are completely rebuilding from the trucks up. This is also Progress Rail first passenger rebuild, they had to completely gut the first unit they got from Metra just to see what they were working with.
Colin
Gee, now I really do feel old! I remember when the first F40PH's was brought in to Metra service--it was so nice to get one of the F40's instead of the extremely worn F7's and E8's.
I went to metrarail dot com, Metra's website, and couldn't find a durn thing, not even in press releases.
Maybe someone will have better luck or insight than I.
Here's the general contact info. but I don't know if it will do you any good:
Please direct correspondence to:Metra Passenger Services547 W. JacksonChicago, IL 60661(312) 322-6777 - Weekdays 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
FWIW you might get more responses if you posted your question in "Transit," which includes commuter trains.
Good luck! al
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.