SD40-2s

[legsbluetrain]

A lot of these very common older engines are being retired according to another site.I noticed they are even more common than SD50s.Has anyone heard they are retiring a lot of SD40-2s?

[carnej1]

 I know that on a number of the Class one railroads the SD40-2 fleets are having a longer life than any of the 50 series engines. This is due to the "Forty Dash Twos" being more reliable and having lower maintenance costs than the 645 F powered locos.

 It is true that the big carriers have been steadily trading them in on new power, though....

[WSOR 3801]

UP just retired a bunch of SD40-2s in the last month or so.  Maybe a few willl make it over to the WSOR, and other smaller roads...  I read BNSF has also retired a slug of them. 

CSX seems to be holding on to theirs, and maintaining them with the goal of zero failures.  The shops are filled with blowed GEs.  CSX is also working on the SD50s, derating to 3000 hp, basically a SD40-2 with better wheelslip control.  They are classed as SD50-2s.

[Andrew Falconer]

Today I was surprised to see a pair of UNION PACIFIC SD40-2s pulling a train west on the CN.

Are they among the last operating on a Class 1?

Andrew

[WCfan]

CN has a ton of SD40-2s and SD40Rs. I see atleast one every day on the Valley Sub.

[EJE818]

CN has retired a couple of SD40 types, mainly the DM&IR SD40-3s and the ex-GCFX Gray Ghosts, as well as a couple of the wide nose versions they have and two of the WC SD40-2s. They still have a lot left from the IC, GTW and WC as well as their own versions such as the wide cab SD40-2Ws. UP and BNSF have been slowly retiring their SD40-2 fleets but no massive retirements have occured yet. Both of them have quite large fleets of SD40-2s, and UP also has the SD40T-2s. All of the class ones still have sizable rosters of SD40-2s and a lot of the ones that have been retired have found new homes such as the IC&E/DM&E and WSOR, other smaller lines and leasing companies. In general, some have been traded in for new engines, but not a really large amount of them.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

My guess is that SD40's, SD40-2's, etc. will be retired in small blocks over the next several years, not unlike GP9's in the past.  No massive retirements in one fell swoop but they will gradually disappear from the Class 1 roads and find their way to leasing companies, regionals, shortlines and a few terminal roads (see BRC and TRRA).

[espeefoamer]

BNSF runs a ton of SD40-2s,some still in Santa Fe or BN paint.Occasionally,SD40-2s can be seen on doublestack trains.

[arkansasrailfan]

UP still runs them on all trains except coal, and when I'm at school, I will usually see 1-8 of them per day.

[bakupolo]

I see them daily in Austin, too. Most are UP (it's their track) but UP leases a few of them too. The SD40-2s have no problem pulling auto racks up from Mexico and two of them can pull long trains.

Of course one can see almost any type of locomotive here in any one day.

 

Interestingly, I see a genset almost every day too, going North from San Antonio. I kinda thought they were switchers.

[route_rock]

  BN doesnt really retire them. We sell them to Furbie (FURX) and then lease them back.You notice we hold onto power here at the BNSF. We have an SD-9-3 for crying out loud!!!We even had to renumber them to make room for new locomotives,and we have a few GP-9's with the angular cab raoming about.However all the B23-7's are being sent to the lease fleet post haste.

[rrboomer]

Don't forget CP, they still have aprox 200 SD40-2s in service. Still repainting them too.

[blade]

if i recall corectly i belive that either cn or cp are retiering the sd40-2's i belive they are bieng donated or at one or two to museums.actually i love the sd40-2 it is one of my favorite diesel engines.

[route_rock]

  Our yard power consists of an SD-40-2 and a gp 38. The other night that set was taken already and the other gp junkers were lost somewhere. So what do I get to switch with? You got it a one year old SD-70 ACe. Not fun in the least.Granted I could have puled the yard around but pinning the cars ws a pain in the rear.

[sanvtoman]

NS still uses high hood units in Toledo as switch units. I think they are numbered 3100 or so and up. Some are former Southern units i think.

[J. Edgar]

theres so many SD-40's out there i doubt my children (who range from 20 to 3) will be missing them....heres a unit in Owosso MI around 1993...the TSBY was contracted to rebuild this one and others...the day i took this shot there was 3 more under load tests parked outside behind 4 TSBY units either to dampen the sound or keep prying eyes away...point is they're still being rebuilt and will be around long after im gone

 

[Stevo3751]

If it's true, it will take serveral years for the Class 1s to trade them all in because there are still a lot left.

[csxengineer98]

they will slowly faid them off the rosters as the EPA clean air restrictions get tighter and tighter as time rolls on...

the major railroads getting tax breaks to buy new engins that are lower emistions engins and ones that get better fuel milage becouse of the "green" movement they will either be rebuilt with emistions equipment to meet the newer emistions standerds (which could cost more in the long run then to just buy new "clean" power from EMD GE and the new comers to the market that make gensets and other low emistions power)... its all about the bottom line when it comes to anything with the carriers..and when the expeces of upgradeing..fuel costs.. and they have made purches of what they think is a is the magic number of new units on the proporty to fill the power needs..you will see more and more of them being retired... 

csx engineer 

[MILW205]

theres so many SD-40's out there i doubt my children (who range from 20 to 3) will be missing them....heres a unit in Owosso MI around 1993...the TSBY was contracted to rebuild this one and others...the day i took this shot there was 3 more under load tests parked outside behind 4 TSBY units either to dampen the sound or keep prying eyes away...point is they're still being rebuilt and will be around long after im gone

 

 

Today's SD40-2's are yesterday's F-units.  Someday, we'll all be chasing around the last of 'em.

[wctransfer]

Someday for me is everyday. Today I caught a good amount of them that I didn't have on my roster yet. Im not going to wait till' the last minute to really appreciate them.

Alec

[SD60M]

  Our yard power consists of an SD-40-2 and a gp 38. The other night that set was taken already and the other gp junkers were lost somewhere. So what do I get to switch with? You got it a one year old SD-70 ACe. Not fun in the least.Granted I could have puled the yard around but pinning the cars ws a pain in the rear.

Was that a trimmer job by chance? From what i have seen BNSF Tennessee Yard uses a SD40-2 and GP38-2 for trimmers and one SD40-2 is a UNPATCHED BN whiteface! I got a tour from a friend that works for them. Any way getting back to SD40's BNSF uses alot around here on the Thayer South and Birmingham Subs on all trains but coal, alot are FURX but some are still BNSF.

[crpulse]

The SD40-2s wil be here a while. UP and BNSF use them for their "surge fleets", and with the expected increase in freight traffic I doubt EMD and GE will be able to build them fast enough to replace such a large fleet and keep up with demand created by the increased traffic.

[WP 3020]

I don't know how many BNSF had at their peak but I do know Youpee had more (well over 1,000) SD40-2s than any RR after the CN&W mergover. Anything in the 3000 series was a dynamic brake equipped SD40-2. I thought I remember hearing they had nearly or just over half the entire production. But they (wishful thinking Youpee fans) and I could be wrong.

[route_rock]

  No the jobs were flat switch jobs. To us a trimmer job is something in a hump yard. Back n Galesburg the trimmer jobs were remote SD 40-2 ( some were SF motors and some nitpicker is going to go all postal cause it isnt a 40 well to us it is )

  I got to run a 40 on the BWWLAU the other night!! Was great even though it was hot as hell and when we got off we looked like a steam crew lol.Had it an SD60 and a GP60M in the old warbonnet scheme. When I gave her hte gas going through boulder we looked like a triple headed steam consist not diesels. SO I had a ball with that all the way to cheyenne. That Gp60 was the worst, clouds and clouds of smoke whenever youd advance the throttle and on grades my goodnes they were all puring it out.

[fredswain]

What makes an engine a good one to use for switching? In other words why was an SD70 bad?

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

What makes an engine a good one to use for switching? In other words why was an SD70 bad?

I'm not an engineer so I'm just guessing.  I would think that the ability to load quickly is a major factor since that's needed for kicking cars when flat switching.

[trainfan1221]

The SD40-2 is a classic locomotive and it is a shame it is rapidly disappearing from the landscape.  And the ones that are left seem to be used as pushers or just simply never in the lead anymore. I know as time goes on the new standards will assure that this will never be seen again.

[WCfan]

What makes an engine a good one to use for switching? In other words why was an SD70 bad?

If I where an engineer I don't think I'd like a SD70 for switching because of the very long hood. You can't see very well around it. For an SD70ACe, you have the large radiator that in somewhat in your way. That's my guess

.

[EJE818]

Some places simply can't handle the size or weight of SD70s wihotu a derailment happening. That is one problem with newer engines, they can be too big for certain branch line and yard service. I would expect SD40-2s and GP38-2s to be assigned to these services until a new smaller engine is released.

[route_rock]

  You guys hit the nail on the head. The 70s are slow to load. When i want to kick I want to kick NOW lol.

 Same thing with ust giving a light pin.come out to notch two on a 40 and your going to start moving right now. On the 70 ace its like a darned old GE, gotta mail the request back to the plant for power. It just slows the operation is all.

  Not to mention the fact of why I like 40's is I grew up with them. SO I prefer them (unless its hot out then give me  a comfort cab lol)