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Big surprise at Janesville today!

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  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Aurora, IL
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Big surprise at Janesville today!
Posted by eolafan on Friday, February 8, 2008 6:47 PM

While traveling in Janesville, WI today on business I took a few minutes before departing to visit the Wisconsin Southern yards and engine facility there to see what was going on.  Imagine my shock to see two old former FNM (Mexican) GP38-2 units in terrible condition sitting dead (with batteries out and cab windows broken) in the yard!  The photo below is of a very similar unit (same series) to the ones I saw. The units I saw were numbers 9290 and 9272 and had sub lettering JTPX (anybody know what that indicates?). I assume they have brought these units in as a parts supply for other operable units, can anybody confirm this?

Eolafan (a.k.a. Jim)
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: Reedsburg WI (near Wisconsin Dells)
  • 3,370 posts
Posted by Noah Hofrichter on Friday, February 8, 2008 8:22 PM

The WSOR aquired 5 of those "mexi-wrex" I believe. I was told the idea is to make them into three good units. From the ones I saw though, that'll take a heck of a lot of work, as they are real junkers! One apparently showed up with the cab doors welded shut, as it didn't have a floor...

Noah

  • Member since
    March 2002
  • From: Spring, TX
  • 334 posts
Posted by nordique72 on Friday, February 8, 2008 8:22 PM

JTPX stands for Joseph Transportation Partners- the units are now the property of the WSOR and have been on property since November. They have acquired 9272, 9290, 9254, 9291, 9214 and 9251 from JTPX- plans are (allegedly) to create a trio of working GP38-2s out of the hulks of these six wrecks.

My shots of the Mexi-wrecks can be found at my Flickr site-

http://flickr.com/photos/nordique72/2055855395/

 

  • Member since
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Posted by packers97 on Saturday, February 9, 2008 8:29 AM
What is the heritage of these units?  I see the small fuel tanks and wonder.....
Question: In the history of the human race what single thing is responsible for more destruction and death than any other? Answer: Organized religion.
  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: Where it's cold.
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Posted by doghouse on Saturday, February 9, 2008 11:10 AM
 eolafan wrote:

While traveling in Janesville, WI today on business I took a few minutes before departing to visit the Wisconsin Southern yards and engine facility there to see what was going on.  Imagine my shock to see two old former FNM (Mexican) GP38-2 units in terrible condition sitting dead (with batteries out and cab windows broken) in the yard!  The photo below is of a very similar unit (same series) to the ones I saw. The units I saw were numbers 9290 and 9272 and had sub lettering JTPX (anybody know what that indicates?). I assume they have brought these units in as a parts supply for other operable units, can anybody confirm this?

Do you have any background info on this picture?  What a wonderful old train station.  I didn't know Oaxaca had one.   

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Aurora, IL
  • 4,515 posts
Posted by eolafan on Saturday, February 9, 2008 11:45 AM
No, sorry...I borrowed it from Railpictures.net in order to show an example of what I saw in Janesville yesterday.  I believe the picture depicts the unit in a small Mexican station but that's about all I know of the details.
Eolafan (a.k.a. Jim)
  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: Where it's cold.
  • 555 posts
Posted by doghouse on Saturday, February 9, 2008 11:57 AM

 

  It's like a station out of general casting, all the way down to the dog.  

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