ERIE, Pa. — The Erie Times-News reports that GE Transportation will end locomotive production at its Lawrence Park, Pa., plant by the end of 2018. The newspaper cites a GE representative saying that all locomotive production will shift for For...
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2017/07/27-erie-ends
Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine
Sad news, but ever since the Texas plant opened a lot of people have been waiting for the other shoe to drop... And with the new deal to build a locomotive plant in India I wonder how long the Texas plant will be "competitive"?
The local news claims they will still do R&D and prototype development in Erie, along with the Grove City PA engine plant.
What was the rationale behind building the Ft.Worth plant? No unions, be next to their favorite customer? (BNSF)?
No unions, lower corporate and property taxes. Business goes where it's made most welcome.
Also, there's an oversupply of locomotives out there. The 'roads aren't going to buy what they don't need, especially with a lot of units sitting on deadlines. If you're GE and you're going to close a plant, which one do you close?
It's sad. More Rust Belt tragedy.
GE's Australian Licencee, United Group recently built two C44 ACi units (a low clearance AC4400CW with more modern electronics) for Aurizon. These were to replace two units transferred from intermodal use to short distance export coal traffic around Port Kembla.
Aurizon had just purchased two (or three) similar units from CFCL Australia, and we all thought the new units were just the purchased units being repainted.
But new they were....
I saw the second of them, Aurizon 6042 recently, both in Melbourne and later at Port Pirie on a transcontinental intermodal. I took a photo of its builder's plate. For all we know it may well be the last locomotive built in Australia.... ever.
Peter
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