In another magazine, there was a news items about six GE N de M (National Railways of Mexico) E60s that were scrapped last summer in Utica, NY.
Does anyone know the background here? Were they built for Mexico, but never shipped there because...?
Thx, MP
The E60's were built for a proposed land-bridge route across the Isthmus of Tehauntepec. Shortly after the locomotives were built, oil prices sank (Mexico was a sizable exported at the time) and the railroad itself never got built.
So they were stored all this time and not sold to another railroad?
baberuth73 So they were stored all this time and not sold to another railroad?
Not many potential buyers, there's very little electrified line in North America. Amtrak got rid of the ones they had, so they probably wouldn't want them. These may even be the same ones.
They were purchased for the main line from Cuidad Jarez to Mexico City, which was to be electrified throughout. Only a portion was completed. Limited electric operations were started over the heavy grades on the middle portion of the line by FNM the national raiload of Mexico. 25 GE E60C locomotives were delivered with options on another batch. Very early on they had two bad accidents which destroyed several of the new electric locomotives. Shortly thereafter the money for the project ran out and the electrics were stored and replaced with diesels, not all of the new electrics saw service before being stored. A few of the Mexican electrics had been sold in the US, Deseret Western and Black Mesa & Lake Powell each bought some. A few are still for sale, and some have been scrapped.
The tale of the NdeM E60C's definitely sounds similar to that of the PRR L6a's that sat incomplete at Altoona for years before being scrapped.
beaulieu They were purchased for the main line from Cuidad Jarez to Mexico City, which was to be electrified throughout. Only a portion was completed. Limited electric operations were started over the heavy grades on the middle portion of the line by FNM the national raiload of Mexico
My memory on this is vague but didn't the electrification stop and the existing freight electrified line have CAT clearance problems (too low for double stacks, auto racks, etc??). Was it not the decision of the US RRs that bought FNM to scrap the electrification because of this problem. *(something about support hangers could not be raised enough and new poles would be required???). Someone who knows more please fill in. Also isn't the present commuter traffic out of Mexico City still electrified???
blue streak 1beaulieu They were purchased for the main line from Cuidad Jarez to Mexico City, which was to be electrified throughout. Only a portion was completed. Limited electric operations were started over the heavy grades on the middle portion of the line by FNM the national raiload of Mexico My memory on this is vague but didn't the electrification stop and the existing freight electrified line have CAT clearance problems (too low for double stacks, auto racks, etc??). Was it not the decision of the US RRs that bought FNM to scrap the electrification because of this problem. *(something about support hangers could not be raised enough and new poles would be required???). Someone who knows more please fill in. Also isn't the present commuter traffic out of Mexico City still electrified???
TFM took down the wire, I don't know about the poles. The decision was made before KCS had acquired complete control of TFM. It is just my opinion but with only a small section in the middle electrified (one subdivision worth), there was no way TFM could either justify expanding the electrification or continue using the one section that was electrified. The clearance problems for doublestack are probably true, as when construction was started there were hardly any doublestacks operating anywhere.
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