wsor switchers

[lurch9]

7/3/08 one of the MP's in what looked like painted-over MILW orange-and-black was shuffling cars on 2 legs of the Darien wye [viewed from NB I-43 at mile marker 14.  I have only seen 6-axle power on that line once, and I cross it every day going to work.  IIRC it's pretty light rail.

[fuzzybroken]

WSOR also has a yard at North Milwaukee, though it's used more for car storage, run-arounds (CN Saukville Sub trains and WSOR Plymouth Sub trains have to switch directions here), and transloading than for switching!  I have a couple pages of photos of North Milwaukee that can show more:
North Milwaukee 1 • North Milwaukee 2

I'd imagine that the MP15s will be painted essentially in WSOR's standard paint scheme, though the grey stripe will probably be lower.  Also remember that these are ACs, so they have the mini-tunnel motor radiators, on the side, so the hood end is smooth, though I don't know whether they'll put the chevrons on the hood end or the cab end -- got windows to deal with on the cab end!
 

[WSOR 3801]

Markesan and Ripon (Seneca lead) also have 4-axle restrictions.  IIRC, the last time a SD40-2 went to Seneca, 6 axles on the ground.  75 lb rail on mulch. 

Would be nice to get the switchers going, with the other power that has been going down lately.  More SD40s would be nice as well.  The last two picked up from the UP scrap sale seem to run nicely. 

[WICT613]

 

  The WSOR will be using the switch engines for the Milwaukee, Janesville and Madison yards. They bought the MP15AC's to free up other engines from yard service so they can be better used on the road. With rail traffic continuosly picking up, the WSOR is constanly short of power. But i wouldn't get your hopes up on seeing the MP's venturing to far from the yards with the exeption of being used on spurs that have a four axle restictions around the Madison and Milwaukee areas. I think the only times you'll see them on the road is when they're beeing moved between terminals for servicing, (fueling, sanding, and brake shoe changing).

  I wouldn't bee serprised though if the WSOR, sometime in the near future, went out and bought some more SD40-2's or some more GP38's. With all the new buisness coming and the train sizes increase, and the talk of the Mineral Point line being put back in from Monroe to Shullsburg, the need for more horsepower is imminent.

WSOR Yard Dog 

WICT613

  

[mudchicken]

Light rail and sharp curves, formerly served by some of the small power (now gone) may also be a mitigating factor. GP38's and the six axle stuff are he11 on backtracks, especially backtracks with restrictive geometry. 

[WSOR 3801]

The MP15ACs have small fuel tanks (1100 gallons), so they may not wander too far from Janesville and Horicon, where the fueling facilities are. Should give power to switch in the yard while the bigger power is out on the road. I have a feeling a Mayville turn is not out of the question for these. Also, some spots are restricted to 4-axle power, so the switchers can go there just fine.

GP38-2s are expensive these days. SD40-2s often go for the same price, or cheaper. The bigger roads are buying GPs after getting rid of them, after realizing they need smaller power for some jobs.

[Noah Hofrichter]

The WSOR has three major yards at Horicon, Janesville, and Madison. Not gigantic or anything, but they all do need regular switching. So far that job has been handled by pretty much any power that can be found, but the theory I've heard behind the MP15ACs are that they'll be used in pairs at the three yards. But because the MP15s were originally designed as being able to go out on the road, I wouldn't be suprised if the WSOR ends up using them on some of the branch lines from time to time.

Personally (and this is just my opinion) I think the WSOR would have been better off picking up some more GP38s (ones that actually work upon arrival though, not more Mexi-junk). The GP38s that they already have seem to work pretty well in yard service, and they can easily be put on road trains too. Besides, the WSOR had two SW1200s and a NW2 in the past that were supposed to be used for yard service, and they ended up selling those because they didn't work out the way the railroad wanted them to....

It will be kind of neat to see former MILW MP15s in WSOR Red and Grey though. I'm kind of interested to see how they paint them.

Noah

[AlcoRS11Nut]

why in the world would the wsor need switchers? do they even have a yard to use them in or are they just buying them for cheap helper locomotives?  If they are getting the MP15s are they going to be in the hok or hoj or any others i would like to get some pics of them when they venture on by. are they going to be painted in the wsor scheme i would assume so.  So does anybody know about any inside info on the wsor projects???

 

Yes the WSOR has a yard not a huge yard like Bailey Yard by anymeans, but they do have a yard...maybe more then one. I am not a expert on the WSOR, but I would also assume the MP15's would be use in the yard or on a local. 

[wisandsouthernkid]

why in the world would the wsor need switchers? do they even have a yard to use them in or are they just buying them for cheap helper locomotives?  If they are getting the MP15s are they going to be in the hok or hoj or any others i would like to get some pics of them when they venture on by. are they going to be painted in the wsor scheme i would assume so.  So does anybody know about any inside info on the wsor projects???