As I was looking over the Google map view of Union Pacific's Bailey Yard in North Platte, NE, I discovered what looks to be an F unit that is either being used as a slug or yard power. The thing that makes it weird though is that it seems to be on an extended frame similar to the SD40-2's. I was wondering if anyone has any information, pictures, or stories about this unit.
You sure you weren't looking at an E unit?
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If you type copy and past these coordinates into Google maps you can have a visual.
41.152697,-100.829249
And it is not an E unit because its too short.
Now that does look weird. Looks almost like an F unit on a flatcar.
Yes Indeed, I can't find any information online about it. But I speculate that its an F unit being used as a slug with two three axle wheel sets.
Could well be. Might be interesting to find out.
I speculate that it is an F unit being transported on a flatcar, probably for restoration. The color is surely a guide -- where are foamers when you need them?
I don't know how to find the date of record for the Google image, but it should be available. Went in and found my house on the same scan -- picture was taken before the summer (my pool still shows leaves in the corner of the deep end, and I cleaned them out around Memorial Day... so before then but not much more before... who was moving an F unit back around then?
P.S. What is the procedure for moving something that absolutely, positively can't be humped or bang-flat-switched through North Platte? That is why I think you have two locomotives with this car behind, in that particular location...
I'm not sure who was moving an F unit, but I guess you can kind of see the chains there. Now the question turns into why is it on the Hump?
My guess would be that the locomotives would be backing down the hump to spot the car carefully on one of the train consists -- "only the knuckles move" and all that.
RME
If you look at the shadows, the F unit's shadow is longer than the SD40s'. Considering that and the fact that an F unit is shorter than an SD40, I'd definitely say it's on a flatcar.
*Shorter in height. Sorry for any confusion!
NS recently purchased some F units. Could this be one of them?
baberuth73 NS recently purchased some F units. Could this be one of them?
I don't think so. I believe that those F's were shipped on their own wheels.
What you can see from the roof detail is that this is an F7, without dynamic brakes. It looks like it may have had a steam generator due to the plating over of part of the rear hatch.
So far the detective work points to a Rock Island F unit due to the red roof ...
Carolina Southern, a shortline that is currently out of service due to defective bridges, recently sold 2 or 3 F units. One was an F9B the others were cab units (F7, I think). You may have seen one of these.
BTW, there is a video on youtube of a Carolina Southern F unit on a flatcar.
I think the timeframe and facts all point to Carolina Southern, being delivered to Iowa Pacific. See this picture:
Mystery engine roof looks just like this faded color, doesn't it? Sale was apparently March 1, 2012, and the time to put it up on the car and get it to North Platte would be fully in line with what I already figured out from the other satellite imagery.
(This leaves the question of why the move would go through there... any ideas or details about probable routing?...)
Did someone possibly catch the locomotive in transit?
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&tbm=isch&tbnid=vZ7P0CKu3iiPyM:&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/45436499%40N02/favorites/%3Fview%3Dlg&docid=V5R2hR76qr-UVM&imgurl=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8308/7854614652_49cd96c298_z.jpg&w=640&h=384&ei=A8QEUaCUDYnm0QHR5oCABA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=402&vpy=195&dur=15&hovh=174&hovw=290&tx=96&ty=94&sig=104488130481411007362&page=2&tbnh=136&tbnw=268&start=18&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:33,s:0,i:190&biw=1292&bih=608
The details for the A unit all seem to match.
This opens up the question, though, of what happened to the 'other' cars, with the trucks and the B unit.
I have to wonder about the rakish angle the B unit seems to have assumed in the picture. Could those cars have been bad-ordered, and separated from the flat with the A unit for repair or attention, and this be part of why the A unit is requiring special handling?
I think I found the B unit! It's in the same Classification Yard in the lower branch of tracks. Follow towards the East from the F unit and drop down to the lower set of 10 tracks. Counting from the bottom of those 10 tracks, with the very bottom track being 1, it is in the 10th track, 8th car. Right after the Intermodals.
i too looked on google and thought it looked like a F-7 on a flat car to be delivered to a muesum or somthin
Look familiar? http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3148007
It's in Alamosa now. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3333301
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Wow, what a change of scenery- from a coastal, swampy area to snow covered mountains. Carolina Southern rostered 2 F7 cab units and a B unit. I guess the other A unit has been scrapped.
Cool find!
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Some where I've seen a video from a fan who was chasing the UP 844 on one of it's eastbound trips across western Iowa last year. There is one scene where they met a westbound manifest train that has a F unit on a flat car. From what I recall, it looked like the picture of the Carolina Southern engine
Jeff
I can't describe how sad it makes me feel to see Carolina Southern's F-units leaving SC. I live near Mullins SC which is on one end of CS's line, and used to get great pleasure watching the rag tag sets of 1st gen diesels they ran. They even have an ex Southern high nose GP-30 in as delivered severely faded paint. We in the Pee Dee and Horry County truly hope CS can get back to revenue service.
Itranes I have been following the CS saga since they shutdown. The last bit of information I have is that a committee of local folks is trying to leave the owner, Mr. Pippen, completely out of process of getting this line running again. I don't know how they could legally do that but the guy has tried to get TIGER grants and has been turned down twice. He's offered to put up 300K of his own money but that's a drop in a bucket compared to what is needed to repair the bridges plus do track upgrades. Keep us posted!
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