I have noticed quite a few UP SD9043 locomotives parked on the sand track in Roseville, CA. yard. Are these going to be sold, scapped or traded in? They have been there for some time now.
The whole fleet of 300+ locomotives is currently stored at various locations. They are suffering frame cracking at the point where the fuel tank attaches to the frame. Two units have had a modification done to hopefully solve the problem. If the modifications prove successful then the rest of the fleet will be modified and they will be returned to service.
Some of their fleet was being sold on Ozark Mountain Railcar. It looks like they sold, though...
Mr. Railman Some of their fleet was being sold on Ozark Mountain Railcar. It looks like they sold, though...
Mr. Railman,
What is for sale on the Ozark Mtn site appears to be a SD90MAC engine. The thread is about SD9043MAC engines. The SD90MAC engines have the 4 stroke 265 power plant that is not upgrade-able to meet the EPA emissions standards(at lest no one has offered a kit). Many of these were EMD owned and have very early electrical systems. The EMD owned units were deemed not worth upgrading the electricals or re- powering with a 710 series power plant. UP owned ones are too small of a fleet and are being sold off. SD9043MAC engines have a basic 2 stroke 710 power plant and are being kept as long as they do not have a major mechanical issue. The current frame 'sag' issue is being addressed as previously noted. If that 'fix' does not work out, then maybe they will sold off. Remember, these locomotives are already 15-20 years old!
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Yes, a month, month and a half ago, the stored 9043s were all moved from the smog track where they had been collected to the Sand track and all the Dash 9s and dash 8s were moved off to Smog. Then some of the dash 8/9s left I think sold or lease returns, but more got put back on the Sand Track. The other day I saw a Dash 8 waiting to go into the shops and a 3 window 60M that had been on the sand track for a long long time being run around the service area.
They are definitely waiting for a fix on the 9043s though.
There's a bunch stored at Missouri Valley, IA, and I think maybe at Marshalltown, IA too. I haven't been that way since last winter, so don't know but that's what I've been told. Local management has said those engines won't be coming back into service. They are going to be disposed of. No one was sorry to hear that when the news was disclosed at our last union meeting.
So now that they said they are getting rid of them, like other times, they'll probably change their minds and put them back into service.
Jeff
Do I get it right is I say this is an SD90MAC unit? Where the SD9043MAC would have a rounded section atop the engine, if the roundness has here any significance.
No the rounded back units are the 90MACs. That is a 9043.
Also, I think, though someone else here probably knows for sure that all of the "classic" EMD M cabbed 90MACs are long gone and the remaining ones all have cabs like the SD70ACes
Thanks for the info!
YoHo1975 No the rounded back units are the 90MACs. That is a 9043. Also, I think, though someone else here probably knows for sure that all of the "classic" EMD M cabbed 90MACs are long gone and the remaining ones all have cabs like the SD70ACes
McKeyNo the rounded back units are the 90MACs. That is a 9043.
To amplify slightly (Peter may care to comment, too):
The 265H engine is not as 'tall' as the 710 2-stroke, so paradoxically the locomotive carbody height over the engine is not as great for the nominally-more-powerful version.
McKey Do I get it right is I say this is an SD90MAC unit? Where the SD9043MAC would have a rounded section atop the engine, if the roundness has here any significance.
This is all from memory, so it may be a bit warped:
EMD wanted to only build 265H engine locomotives, but the prime mover still had (and still has) bugs. To not lose orders to GE, they built convertibles, still called SD90MAC. When the 265H was "ready", they designated those SD90MAC-H. Later improved models to fix some issues with the -Hs were designated SD90MAC-H as well, but had phase II cabs (like SD70ACe) and other modifications.
The SD90MAC-Hs have angled sides over the prime mover, SD90MACs do not, and look very close to SD80MACs.
The SD9043MAC was "invented" by railroads to help eliminate confusion over which "Big MAC" was in discussion.
There was a newer thread on the 9043s, but I can't seem to find it.
a little more than a week ago, one of the 9043s was off the sand track and in the shop. A fix had been tried back east. Now, some time this week all the 9043s have been pulled from the sand track. Presumably sent east for a fix.
This is very interesting news for all SD90 fans! And a clear proof that U.S. economy is recovering and is already back on track. Very much unlike the euro currency countries in Europe (outside Germany itself).
YoHo1975 There was a newer thread on the 9043s, but I can't seem to find it. a little more than a week ago, one of the 9043s was off the sand track and in the shop. A fix had been tried back east. Now, some time this week all the 9043s have been pulled from the sand track. Presumably sent east for a fix.
The SD9043AC's were being stored because of frame problems. A fix was being tested on two of them and it seems to be working out so we'll see what happens.
They all went to Stockton Yard some for movement east to be repaired, some to return to leasor and some to scrap.
As of January there were a ton of them stored in North Platte.
Editor Emeritus, This Week at Amtrak
I have been told there are a ton of them in Dunsmuir , CA too.
This might be a secondary consideration U.S. economy running on high gear but how does the 9043 fuel economy compare with the most recent models of EMD-Cat and GE?
It's competitive, that's a big reason why the Indiana Railroad leased some of this model instead of getting brand new power. They get many of the benefits for a fraction of the cost.
Their main faults rest with their electrical system, not their 710's. And with extra care, even that can be kept in check. The problems start when they're treated like their contemporaries and then their mean time between failures starts to plummet.
Has there been a fix to their frame crack issues? That was another reason they were sidelined.
The Frame crack is absolutely the only reason they were sidelined.
Sorry to raise this thread a month later without new information, but after I last posted I saw some repeats of already old info, some misinformation and confusions.
The SD9043s are not being returned to lessor or scrapped. At least not in major numbers. They are in process of getting the frame issue fixed. I would be very surprised if there are any in Dunsmir or any other west coast location.
Many were just renumbered to WP as they wait to be cycled through the shop to get their new 3000series number. The 8000s are being freed up for new units.
UP is super power short. I've seen dash 8cs and CWs along with 3 window SD60Ms and spartan SD60s going through Roseville shops and at the fuel rack. Engines that had been on the deadline for years here. In fact, a bunch of Dash8s came in from across the system over the past few weeks. UP is hurting without those 200+ 9043s.
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