Tyler, actually there is still a handful of spartan cab CN SD40-2s left. The 5378 was down here recently.(as in a 2 or 3 weeks).
Alec
nanaimo73 wrote: Lord Atmo wrote: GP35- i was not aware any ex-CNW ones were still around. i would not have a problem with seeing one be preserved Are DMVW still operating their 324, 325 and 326, which were CNW 800s ?
Lord Atmo wrote: GP35- i was not aware any ex-CNW ones were still around. i would not have a problem with seeing one be preserved
GP35- i was not aware any ex-CNW ones were still around. i would not have a problem with seeing one be preserved
Are DMVW still operating their 324, 325 and 326, which were CNW 800s ?
that is a good question. i wasnt aware of those units at all. i couldnt find any pictures of them on rrpicturearchives. so i dont know their status i'm afraid
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
Lord Atmo wrote:the merger was fine. but they didnt need to kill off all of CNW's locomotives. you dont see CN having problems with WC, GTW, DMIR, and IC power getting lost all the time. UP could've afforded to keep an SD40-2 around. heck, they seem to have no problems keeping those GE scrap heaps running
the merger was fine. but they didnt need to kill off all of CNW's locomotives. you dont see CN having problems with WC, GTW, DMIR, and IC power getting lost all the time. UP could've afforded to keep an SD40-2 around. heck, they seem to have no problems keeping those GE scrap heaps running
The only reason CN keeps that old junk around is because they are too cheap to spend money on new power. They are finally buying new power these past few years because the SD40(-2)'s are literally falling apart. Our SD40-2's are junk and I hope they scrap every last one of them once the new SD70M-2's and ES44DC's arrive. BTW, the only CN SD40-2's(not counting the GTW, IC, DMIR, WC and BCOL units) left have the safety cabs, all of CN's spartan cab SD40's have been retired.
well see, i thought and discussed what to preserve and run excursions on. and the SD40-2 has the least problems. but IRM would probably be able to afford the costs of running it. heck, they can afford to run that BN U30C after all. but the problems i've found with the others are:
GP30- well to be honest, i'm just not into GP30s. they look rather weird to me. and i was hoping for something a tad more modernGP35- i was not aware any ex-CNW ones were still around. i would not have a problem with seeing one be preservedGP40- after connie, NYC, and PC ran them to death, they were less than useful on the CNW. it could only give IRM a bigger headache. plus wouldnt you rather see a GP40 in NYC paint?GP50/SD50- i've heard these had a lot of problems. mainly overworking the 645s in them. so they wouldnt be effective to run at IRMSD60- same as the SD50, but just less problematic. i've heard the CNW ones had the most problems out of all the SD60s because they were the first ever made. then SOO line got an improved batch when they placed their order (speaking of SD60s, i wonder if i'll ever see UP 2201 again... that was an awesome day)SD45- all of the ones without db's were sold and modified into SD40-3s. several of them are still running in SP paint. i'd actually enjoy seeing those. and the other ones would be better off in the colors of the roads they were on before CNW. while there are several SD45s i'd rather see at museums, i know it's only right that we get one in SLSF and ATSF colors before we see a CNW or even WC SD45 SD38-2- those don't represent CNW very well. and i also dont see UP giving them up any time soon. as they have proven very useful in the massive yard that is Proviso.
now as for the SD40s, i would not be opposed to preserving one or a GP35. as long as they'd be in the OY scheme and not the oelwein scheme or the older streamliner scheme like 1518 is. and there's 4160 still fading away in janesville. actually there are GP7s and GP9s all over the place
but this will take lots of planning and i haven't yet figured everything out. i intend to wait about 20 years or so because it wont be long before UP starts getting rid of the SD40-2s. and then the leasers, regionals, shortlines, etc will probably start running them because of how useful they have been proven to be.
i am also considering looking into GP38-2s or GP15-1s. probably the latter if any. UP has done quite a bit to tyhe GP38-2s. while their modifications dont bother me (paint aside), i know several other CNW fans who dislike it and wouldnt be thrilled to see a GP38-2 in CNW paint with A/C and db's. plus we've got 2 great ALS GP38-2s that look CNW enough to make me happy
Ya, Im not sure what Atmo's obsession with SD40-2s are. They were one of the many cool spartan cabs on the CNW. The GP30s(kinda),GP35s,GP38-2s,GP40s,GP50s,SD18s,SD40s,SD45,SD38-2s and so on. I'd much rather preserve an SD40 or a GP40 than an SD40-2.
Lord Atmo, would you like to see this locomotive if it was still around ? If not, a simple "not really" will suffice.
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/cnw/cnw811ary.jpg
nordique72 wrote:but often it's SD40-2s. the problem there is they're all ex-CNW. and it just makes me so sad to see those CNWs running in UP paint. and i'm not trying to whine here or anything. i'm just being honest. and i hope this post doesnt come off as angry. all i get up here is ex-CNW power. and i don't know how to cope with that. it makes me so sad. i know some have told me to like it because "at least they're still being used and run", but i see it more as. well if you had a pet dog you loved and had fun with. then the dog got old and died, wouldnt you want the dog buried peacefully instead of stuffed and kept like furniture?You cope with it by enjoying it because these "dogs" haven't "died" yet. Are you suggesting that the UP retire all of the old CNW engines just because you don't like seeing them in UP paint- or to run with your silly dog analogy "put them to sleep and bury them"? The reason you see so many ex-CNW units is simple- it's ex-CNW territory!!! The ex-CNW SD40-2s are kept around in the Chicago/Wisconsin area because they are equipped with the old CNW cab signals- for the most part they stay close to Proviso and the midwest, although they do wander beyond that occasionally. I for one enjoy seeing the remaining ex-CNW SD40-2s on home rails still out running- that's more than I can say for the SD50s and SD60s which were returned to their lessor, and the SD45s, GP30s, and GP35s which were retired.I for one hope that the remaining ex-CNW units have a nice long life running on former CNW lines, because with all the new power the UP has been getting and the recent marshalling up of a lot of UP's other SD40-2s I begin to wonder if these units are going to be around much longer. So my advice is- enjoy it, photograph every one you see and remember- THIS IS A HOBBY.
but often it's SD40-2s. the problem there is they're all ex-CNW. and it just makes me so sad to see those CNWs running in UP paint. and i'm not trying to whine here or anything. i'm just being honest. and i hope this post doesnt come off as angry. all i get up here is ex-CNW power. and i don't know how to cope with that. it makes me so sad. i know some have told me to like it because "at least they're still being used and run", but i see it more as. well if you had a pet dog you loved and had fun with. then the dog got old and died, wouldnt you want the dog buried peacefully instead of stuffed and kept like furniture?
You cope with it by enjoying it because these "dogs" haven't "died" yet. Are you suggesting that the UP retire all of the old CNW engines just because you don't like seeing them in UP paint- or to run with your silly dog analogy "put them to sleep and bury them"?
The reason you see so many ex-CNW units is simple- it's ex-CNW territory!!! The ex-CNW SD40-2s are kept around in the Chicago/Wisconsin area because they are equipped with the old CNW cab signals- for the most part they stay close to Proviso and the midwest, although they do wander beyond that occasionally. I for one enjoy seeing the remaining ex-CNW SD40-2s on home rails still out running- that's more than I can say for the SD50s and SD60s which were returned to their lessor, and the SD45s, GP30s, and GP35s which were retired.
I for one hope that the remaining ex-CNW units have a nice long life running on former CNW lines, because with all the new power the UP has been getting and the recent marshalling up of a lot of UP's other SD40-2s I begin to wonder if these units are going to be around much longer. So my advice is- enjoy it, photograph every one you see and remember- THIS IS A HOBBY.
i tried that. it didnt work. our idea on what makes a locomotive "dead" may be different. i see it as when it loses its CNW paint, it dies. but that's just me. i think the best thing i can do is pretend they never were CNWs at all. then it doesnt upset me to see them. and as for 3042 which comes here all the time, well i can trace it and simply not go to altoona if it's there.
those ex-CNWs might be gone soon? well if so, then my problem will be gone and i can move on all the more easily.
either way, i'll find some way to get past this and have fun again
nordique72 wrote: I for one hope that the remaining ex-CNW units have a nice long life running on former CNW lines, because with all the new power the UP has been getting and the recent marshalling up of a lot of UP's other SD40-2s I begin to wonder if these units are going to be around much longer. So my advice is- enjoy it, photograph every one you see and remember- THIS IS A HOBBY.
And in that vein I would like to report that I saw two patched ex-UP SD 40-2's (one had that CNW bell on the nose, I think) heading to Horicon on WISOR's Chicago to Horicon daily. I think that SD 40-2 was such a good loco that the UP will likely sell most of them to other railroads, rather than retire them. WISOR is running all SD 40-2 sets on those Chicago trains, and it is a nice thing to see if you've got a little nostalgia running in the veins. Reminds me of the Milwaukee in Hartland, WI back when I was a kid. The only difference is that the WISOR keeps their locos looking nice and neat, while the Milwaukee's you could see through if they passed the sun in the wrong light.
I have also noticed some really beat up SD 40-2 CNW's in Butler yard in Milwaukee. They must be working the loco pool between Butler and the Twin Cities.
Lord Atmo wrote: i'm afraid i haven't been completely honest around here. while everything i whined about was how i felt about it, i make it seem like Altoona is nothing great. but i'm wrong. and my railfanning life is NOT terrible. i've just been annoyed with the manifest power these days. but the train i catch the most, the roadrailer, has NS power on it almost always now. once an NS SD60 even led. and that was a great night for me. i admit i even jumped around like an idiot because of how excited i was (before the crews could see me. i was behind a shed. eheheheh). the manifest power is sometimes good. especially when that GEVO showed up. but often it's SD40-2s. the problem there is they're all ex-CNW. and it just makes me so sad to see those CNWs running in UP paint. and i'm not trying to whine here or anything. i'm just being honest. and i hope this post doesnt come off as angry. all i get up here is ex-CNW power. and i don't know how to cope with that. it makes me so sad. i know some have told me to like it because "at least they're still being used and run", but i see it more as. well if you had a pet dog you loved and had fun with. then the dog got old and died, wouldnt you want the dog buried peacefully instead of stuffed and kept like furniture? when other power like SD70Ms or AC44CWCTEs come through, i love it and take their pictures. but then i showthose pictures off and i get grief for being excited about "the new stuff". but the older stuff in my area just makes me sad.again, i'm not trying to whine or argue here. i'm honestly seeking advice to what i should do. how can i enjoy the newer power without getting grief for it? because that's where i find fun in this hobby. and how can i move on with all of these ex-CNWs up here? i'll be honest. that this is the problem with how i was unable when i asked for help a while back.
i'm afraid i haven't been completely honest around here. while everything i whined about was how i felt about it, i make it seem like Altoona is nothing great. but i'm wrong. and my railfanning life is NOT terrible. i've just been annoyed with the manifest power these days. but the train i catch the most, the roadrailer, has NS power on it almost always now. once an NS SD60 even led. and that was a great night for me. i admit i even jumped around like an idiot because of how excited i was (before the crews could see me. i was behind a shed. eheheheh). the manifest power is sometimes good. especially when that GEVO showed up. but often it's SD40-2s. the problem there is they're all ex-CNW. and it just makes me so sad to see those CNWs running in UP paint. and i'm not trying to whine here or anything. i'm just being honest. and i hope this post doesnt come off as angry. all i get up here is ex-CNW power. and i don't know how to cope with that. it makes me so sad. i know some have told me to like it because "at least they're still being used and run", but i see it more as. well if you had a pet dog you loved and had fun with. then the dog got old and died, wouldnt you want the dog buried peacefully instead of stuffed and kept like furniture?
when other power like SD70Ms or AC44CWCTEs come through, i love it and take their pictures. but then i showthose pictures off and i get grief for being excited about "the new stuff". but the older stuff in my area just makes me sad.
again, i'm not trying to whine or argue here. i'm honestly seeking advice to what i should do. how can i enjoy the newer power without getting grief for it? because that's where i find fun in this hobby. and how can i move on with all of these ex-CNWs up here? i'll be honest. that this is the problem with how i was unable when i asked for help a while back.
Solution? Easy. This is a hobby, which is supposed to be fun. Do what pleases you -- enjoy the newer power. What anyone else thinks does not count for anything.
I think you're taking it much too seriously for it to be fun for you anymore. No one can tell you how to "move on", so help in that direction won't be forthcoming. Be glad you're in a place where there are trains to watch. There are a lot of places in America where the tracks see only one or two trains a week -- plus a lot of places without tracks. What if you lived in The Land of No Railroads -- southwest Wisconsin? Then what would you do for a hobby?
Sometimes, when we whine about what we don't have, we're forgetting to be grateful for what we do have.
Well ,Noah, congrats on being one of the few who offered some good advice. Im just a wee lad too, 15 years young.
Noah Hofrichter wrote: Poppa_Zit wrote: Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents. See, now this is where I start to get worried. It's additudes like this that come out of discussions like the one that's been going on here, and often ruins it for the rest of us. I'll admit, I'm a teenager too, just turned 16 about a month ago. But some of us teen railfans actually try and act like the adults we are to become instead of like the children we once were. And it's when one or two of our fellow teenagers get into a thread like this, I'm always afraid that even a couple of people reading this will write teenage railfans off entirely. I'm guessing there was a little bit of sarcasm written into that post Poppa Zit, but perhaps there are others out there reading this who have the same sentiment without the sarcasm. And those are the people I hope will get something out of what I'm saying here. I know quite a few other teenagers that act with a good level of maturity and try and learn from those around them; but don't let your opinion of teenage railfans as a whole be ruined by one person.And Max (Lord Atmo Max, not Coborn), as far as I'm concerned, you really need to learn to deal with something that we all face every day and will for the rest of our life. It's called change. Not everything is going to stay exactly like you want it. Sure, I'd love to have seen the CNW myself. I'd love to have seen the Green Bay and Western with their burbling ALCos. I'd have loved to have seen a trio of WC SD45s leading a train over Byron hill with two more pushing on the rear, but they were sold to the CN before I even realized there were tracks in places other than a mile from my house. Sure, sometimes I get a little bit sad that I don't have pictures of these things and that I was born too late to see them, but I've learned to deal with it. I don't go around compaining the UP or WC or CN (respectively) ruined my life and that I'll never get to railfan what I want. Instead, I've decided that I'm here now for a reason, so I take pictures of things that are here and now. Even though I never saw them in person, I enjoy seeing photos of the things I mentioned above. So I figure if I take pictures of the new CP ES44ACs and the BNSF SD70ACes to what would appear to be the end of the SD40 era on class ones and everything in between, someday I'll be able to share those photos with a teenager who wished he would have been born a little earlier. It's called learning to act with a little bit of maturity and learning to deal with change. I'm told by those who have, um, "gained more wisdom through experience" than myself that change will come often as I go through life, so I figure I better start learning how to dealing with it now. And I'd say it would be a good thing if you would do the same. I think all of us here on the forums would appreciate it.Noah
Poppa_Zit wrote: Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents.
Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents.
See, now this is where I start to get worried. It's additudes like this that come out of discussions like the one that's been going on here, and often ruins it for the rest of us. I'll admit, I'm a teenager too, just turned 16 about a month ago. But some of us teen railfans actually try and act like the adults we are to become instead of like the children we once were. And it's when one or two of our fellow teenagers get into a thread like this, I'm always afraid that even a couple of people reading this will write teenage railfans off entirely. I'm guessing there was a little bit of sarcasm written into that post Poppa Zit, but perhaps there are others out there reading this who have the same sentiment without the sarcasm. And those are the people I hope will get something out of what I'm saying here. I know quite a few other teenagers that act with a good level of maturity and try and learn from those around them; but don't let your opinion of teenage railfans as a whole be ruined by one person.
And Max (Lord Atmo Max, not Coborn), as far as I'm concerned, you really need to learn to deal with something that we all face every day and will for the rest of our life. It's called change. Not everything is going to stay exactly like you want it. Sure, I'd love to have seen the CNW myself. I'd love to have seen the Green Bay and Western with their burbling ALCos. I'd have loved to have seen a trio of WC SD45s leading a train over Byron hill with two more pushing on the rear, but they were sold to the CN before I even realized there were tracks in places other than a mile from my house. Sure, sometimes I get a little bit sad that I don't have pictures of these things and that I was born too late to see them, but I've learned to deal with it. I don't go around compaining the UP or WC or CN (respectively) ruined my life and that I'll never get to railfan what I want. Instead, I've decided that I'm here now for a reason, so I take pictures of things that are here and now. Even though I never saw them in person, I enjoy seeing photos of the things I mentioned above. So I figure if I take pictures of the new CP ES44ACs and the BNSF SD70ACes to what would appear to be the end of the SD40 era on class ones and everything in between, someday I'll be able to share those photos with a teenager who wished he would have been born a little earlier. It's called learning to act with a little bit of maturity and learning to deal with change. I'm told by those who have, um, "gained more wisdom through experience" than myself that change will come often as I go through life, so I figure I better start learning how to dealing with it now. And I'd say it would be a good thing if you would do the same. I think all of us here on the forums would appreciate it.
Noah
Noah, very articulate, and very well put.....Great post.. I rather enjoyed reading it.
And would that it is the last word on the issue.
Thanks, everyone, I'll move on.
Noah, nice writing and thinking.
nanaimo73 wrote:Well said, Noah.
I have to agree with Dale...
Noah has pretty well laid it out...'How the hog ate the turnip!'
Noah Hofrichter wrote: Poppa_Zit wrote: Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents. I'm guessing there was a little bit of sarcasm written into that post Poppa Zit, but perhaps there are others out there reading this who have the same sentiment without the sarcasm.
I'm guessing there was a little bit of sarcasm written into that post Poppa Zit, but perhaps there are others out there reading this who have the same sentiment without the sarcasm.
That's what the laughy-thing means, Noah. At least you got it.
Those hoping seeking who might be to be offended will interpret it any way they want.
Of course, everyone new that comes to these forums starts with a clean slate. And that includes people of all ages. But, over time, some people do "mark" themselves through repeated foolish behavior and childish attitudes. It is hard to have patience with those people and take them seriously.
Age makes no difference. And it doesn't require "acting like an adult", either. It all has to do with how a person carries himself or herself (decorum -- some adults act like children, and many teenagers here could be an example for them.)
Your response to the CNW-deprived youngster was dead on. Best he hear it from one of his peers, and not one of us.
And sometimes it takes the railfan living at home with his parents to remind us what railfanning is really about. To share your memories with the next generation is the best reward any of us can ask. Thank you Noah for the best response on the thread.
Hi Noah,
You have cut right to the core of the matter and given Lord Atmo what is probably the best advice of any of the prior replies. Hopefully he will heed your advice coming as it does from one teenager to another instead of from some of us old heads. You have wisdom far beyond your years and I congratulate you on expressing it so well.
Best wishes-
Mark
coborn35 wrote: Poppa_Zit wrote: TimChgo9 wrote: Okay, I'm done. Everyone has tried talking sense here....but....well, it does not appear to be having an effect on a certain person. Bowing out before it gets more preposterous. Zug said it best..... zugmann wrote: It's true. Can't argue sense with the senseless. Time to move on. Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents. I resent that.
Poppa_Zit wrote: TimChgo9 wrote: Okay, I'm done. Everyone has tried talking sense here....but....well, it does not appear to be having an effect on a certain person. Bowing out before it gets more preposterous. Zug said it best..... zugmann wrote: It's true. Can't argue sense with the senseless. Time to move on. Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents.
TimChgo9 wrote: Okay, I'm done. Everyone has tried talking sense here....but....well, it does not appear to be having an effect on a certain person. Bowing out before it gets more preposterous. Zug said it best..... zugmann wrote: It's true. Can't argue sense with the senseless. Time to move on.
Okay, I'm done.
Everyone has tried talking sense here....but....well, it does not appear to be having an effect on a certain person. Bowing out before it gets more preposterous.
Zug said it best.....
zugmann wrote: It's true. Can't argue sense with the senseless. Time to move on.
It's true. Can't argue sense with the senseless.
Time to move on.
I resent that.
Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."
The Missabe Road: Safety First
and some rail fans wonder why they dont get "respect" from railroaders... i am shaking my head and rolling my eyes after managing to sit and read all of this... and what i took away from this is...there goes 15 mins of my life i will never get back... but i have to add this....get over it..and get a life...
csx engineer
Lord Atmo,
You seem to have toned down your anti-UP rhetoric in response to the replies posted by others here. That's good.
The first 150 years of railroading were characterized by the big fish swallowing the little fishes. In the natural world that would be described as "survival of the fittest". Recently the trend has been reversed and there is now a proliferation of shortlines with their added diversity.
Where I live we once had the MoPac (nee T&P), the EssPee, the Cotton Belt and the IC. All now a part of either the UP or the KCS. Do I miss them? - yes and no. Yes because of their lost diversity and heritage. No because the two remaining roads still run all of the former lines and the number of trains is greater than ever before. The old IC line was in a sorry state of repair and would probably have been abandoned by now if the KCS hadn't acquired it and remade it into what today is known as the "Meridian Speedway". Regretably we can't turn back the clock and live in the past. If only we could I'd go back to the days of steam when I was a youngster without a worry in the world. My only advice to you is live in the present and enjoy the sometimes seemingly questionable progress that has been made in the railroad industry.
Hate the UP? - how can you hate the only railroad that maintains an active steam program. Thanks to them I've seen both the 844 Northern and the 3985 Challenger in mainline operation. I can't do anything but praise the UP for affording me that opportunity.
Best wishes for a lifetime of railfanning.
No I am not making you to like them. I don't know how you got that, but I am just saying that I would be glad that my favorite company has 2 engines left instead of none.
Kevin
Midnight Railroader wrote: Lord Atmo wrote: call it what you want. because of omaha, i can never railfan my favorite railroad.but i AM a teenager. i'm 19!No surprise there.
Lord Atmo wrote: call it what you want. because of omaha, i can never railfan my favorite railroad.but i AM a teenager. i'm 19!
call it what you want. because of omaha, i can never railfan my favorite railroad.
but i AM a teenager. i'm 19!
That hurts!
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