really, what Happened to them
They got off the roster and not quick enough!
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
More than likely sold for scrap or sold south to Brazil or to secondhand owners.
There are not many Dash 7s still operating in the US, even with shortlines. Older EMD locomotives are the preferred power for smaller railroads and industrial operations. As pointed out, a few have been rebuilt and exported to countries such as Brazil and Columbia but most have been scrapped.
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
Can no longer trip over the documentation, but a good number of C30-7's were traded in for Dash-8's with at least their trucks being reused.
Some were still in a deadline at Waycross not very long ago. Likely all gone now.
C30-7's weren't trade-in fodder for parting out/scrapping until after Dash 8 production ended, with retirements and scrappings not starting until the late 1990's when GE was well into Dash 9 and AC production (Which utilized HiAd or radial trucks, which meant that Dash 7 trucks weren't able to be repurposed).
So you're thinking of U-Boats like U30C's, which many of Union Pacific's C40-8's reused trucks off of for an example of the practice.
Union Pacific has reused many Dash 7 frames and running gear though. They have (Had?) over 80 four axle gensets that used retired UP B23-7's and B30-7's as rebuild cores, which i believe is the greatest example of a rebuild project utilizing Dash 7's as donors for.
And another 70 or so Control Car Remote Control Locomotives (CCRCL) were rebuilt from the same models with remote control gear that can MU to any locomotive and allow it to be used as a remote control switcher by a man on the ground. Basically something like other railroads have recycled cabooses for in the past, a testament to the low resale value of even 4 axle Dash 7's.
Not much repurposing of six axle Dash 7's. If they weren't exported or managed to make it to a regional or shortline like the Minnesota Commercial, they're pretty much gone. By the time that the low emission craze hit, SD40-2's and other EMD's were viable candidates for frame recycling and reusing the running gear for 6 axle projects, offering greater parts commonality.
There were relatively few Dash 7 units rebuilt in-kind. BC Rail's C36-8M program used C30-7 cores from Conrail and possibly other RR's. The units received Dash 8 electrical systems but retained their Dash 7 outward appearance. The locomotives were sold to Helm Leasing after BCR was leased to CN. IINM, all or most of those have been retired and scrapped.
There also were a number of of C36-7s and C30-7s that were remanufactured into Super 7-C30 locomotives for FNM Mexico. Some of these may still be in service with one or more the now privatised rail operators South of the Border.
More than a few are scattered around the system.
Many are retired RCPHG4s, which were B30-7s and B36-7s with the guts ripped out and RC equipment installed. The rationale was that these "drones" would provide the RC platform, so they could make any locomotive on the system a remote without caring for another engine. These drones were basically stripped of all functional parts except the brakes, horn, bell and control/MU equipment. Thus they could lead, but they weren't slugs or anything. A few C30-7s became RCPHG6s, and a few GP40s and even an SW became EMD equivalents. Over the years, as more Geeps and SD40-2s got RC installed, the need for these drones decreased until the remainder were finally retired a few years ago.
An interesting note is that CSX even tried out this "drone" concept with flat cars. Same idea, make any locomotive a remote by MUing this flat car to it. But they had a host of issues, from being squished between heavy cuts and derailing to crew riding issues. They didn't last long, but a few can still be found around the system rusting away.
All of the drones and those flatcar drone sleds, once retired, had the RC "brains" transferred to Geeps.
An interesting form of second lives, for sure. And many continue to rust away in the weeds!
I did spot a fair number of UP's RCC cars stored at Grand Junction this past summer. They were mostly the shells of B23-7's and were numbered in the UPY 100 series. They were also painted a solid Harbor Mist Grey with red lettering. I would assume that they were retired for the same reason as CSX.
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