CSX owns an old GE U36B, CSXT 7764, also known as MCVX 7764. Apparently, it is used for fire department and SWAT training...but (and I have been trying to find this out for years with no luck) is she operational? This unit is not on the formal service roster (I am assuming), as 7764 is on the roster as a C40-8W. However, on the other hand, the radiators are present, intact, and not plated over, and the stack, fuel tank, and everything else is still there. This unit LOOKS like a fully functioning locomotive, aside from the fact that she is very clean. Here's hoping...
Photo on RRPA here: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=682733
The unit is owned by the Massachusetts Call/Volunteer Firefighters Assoc and there are also other pieces of rail equipment also used for training. I doubt if the engine is capable of running. The RRT on the nose is Rapid Response Team.
IIRC, CSXT also has some other non-operational units in Florida that are used for their own training....
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
I would say that I am fairly certain that this locomotive is operational just by looking at it. It has a MU cable on the front which is almost always missing or removed when a locomotive is sold. All the air hoses are still there. The speedometer cable is there, along with the air reservoir and piping. The CSX logo still hasn't been painted. The number boards are still there and the windows are not cracked or boarded up. It is also rust free, clean, and a great paint job. This actually looks like a really decent locomotive that was probably completely overhauled probably less than 5 years ago.
You don't spend that time and money on a locomotive just to get rid of it. If I had to guess, I would say that it is leased to the firefighters association through CSX which is probably why CSX hasn't been painted out yet. With the tank car behind it I would imagine they use the tank car for firefighters training. They probably have several other tank cars used for hazmat training. They probably use the locomotive to move these cars around the yard. The locomotive doesn't have a scratch on it which rules out some sort of training with dozens of fireman climbing all over it with sledgehammers and axes.
Check out this lash up of U36B's http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=294314&nseq=0 I have never even heard of this railroad.
Very astute observations, Thomas. The only compelling argument I have against her being operational is that I have never seen a photo of this unit in which she is clearly operating. (headlights on, smoke from the stack, etc.) It would really be something to discover an unmolested, fully operational U-Boat in CSX paint! (Anyone know if this unit is ex-SBD, ex-CR, or ex-Auto Train?)
TTI (Transkentucky Transportation) is a railroad owned by CSX, and most, if not all, of their motive power is ex-CSX. Several of the recently retired Dash Sevens went to TTI instead of the Waycross graveyard, which makes me happy.
This unit is intact mechanically but is not operational and hasn't been for several years. It was the load test unit at the Waycross,GA shops before joining the MCVX fleet. It was the first unit painted at Waycross when the paint booth was reopened after having long been closed.
Bryan Jones
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