A few months ago I spotted CSXT SD60I 8724 in New Mexico. This is around the time all of CSX’s SD60s were sold to LTEX. So this naturally piqued my interest and I have been tracking it online ever since. Somehow it is still active as a CSX locomotive and I am curious if there is any reason in particular that this one has stuck around?
It's quite probable that the SD60 in question carries CSX colors with only an LTEX patch for identification. CSX power that was sold to Progress Rail has a similar appearance.
She's still CSX property.
She's also not unique. While at the end of last year it was believed the entire group was being eliminated and being sold to LTEX, that actually didn't take place. Only a portion of the fleet went.
While significantly reduced, CSX still rosters 21 SD60's (3 active), 23 SD60I's (4 active), and 24 SD60M's (12 active). Only approximately 4 SD60's, 10 SD60I's, and 6 SD60M's went and I don't believe there's been any further SD60 retirements in 2018 now that Harrison is gone.
Probably not going to be sticking around for a lot longer, but they seem to be taking retirements a bit slower and more cautiously now, rather than the wholesale eliminations that were happening earlier.
As an update, she's now retired.
According to the CSX Locomotives Facebook page, the massive SD60 purge has now happened within the past week. All remaining 21 SD60's are gone, all SD60I's are retired with all but one of the 23 survivors already sold (The 23rd, which incidentally is the #8724, will follow shortly), and 14 of 24 SD60M's are now disposed of.
Assuming internet reports are accurate, these not only are retired, but already sold (Except for the #8724, which while now retired, is still CSX property). So no reprieve will be coming like last time when reports had the entire SD60 family being retired en masse, but ultimately only modest numbers went. The 10 SD60M survivors are for third rail work in the NYC area, with four of those currently in service.
And 144 of the 148 SD50-2's on the roster also went, including the last B&O unit that had long been belived in the railfan community to be going to Baltimore and preservation upon retirement. She's going along with 125 other SD50-2's to Larry's Truck and Electric, an organization that typically purchases SD's to part out.
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