6000 hp engines?

[da Milwaukee beerNut]

nanaimo73's numbers are correct - a bit more Info:

62 delivered UP with the 6000 hp H engine, of which they still have 21. EMD leasing EMDX has the 41 ex-UP locomotives - returned following expiration of the original lease. Canadian Pacific also picked up 4.

UP Big Macs wear roster numbers 8911-8931. CP quartet is numbered 9300-9303. 

[ndbprr]

As I recall the problem with the SD45 was the 20 cylinder crankshaft and not the horsepower.  The PRR centipedes (1945 or so were permanently coupled 3000HP engines for 6000 total HP)  after removing the turbos they were 5000hp.  I think some people are starting to wake up and realize there is no secondary market for these huge engines.  They are only good for hauling tonnage on through freights and I doubt there is a class 2 or shortline that will have any interest in them when the 15 year depreciation is up.

[trainfan1221]

From what I understand the 6000hp engines didn't catch on and were having problems, so the railroads stayed with 4000-4400hp.  I know CSX depowered at least some of the AC6000s, don't know if they returned them to full rating or not.  It seems every time the horsepower race gets really crazy that they have to let up, after all isn't that what happened in the SD45 era?

[nanaimo73]

Did any of the SD90's even have 6000hp? 

Yes, 62 were built for UP with the H engine, of which they still have 21. Canadian Pacific also picked up 4. EMD leasing has 41 ex UP locomotives

[CNW 6000]

Wasn't that the SD90/43MAC?

[SD60M]

Did any of the SD90's even have 6000hp? When the unit came out it had around 4000hp but emd developed an engine later on that had the 6000hp but i didnt know that any of the railroads upgraded their 90's?

[WSOR 4025]

Bombardier-Alstom HHP-8s have 8000 HP and are used for pulling passenger trains on the Northeast Corridor.

[edblysard]

Overkill,

There is no real use for a 6000hp single unit.

You could pair them up in coal drags and grain trains, or on a stacker, but that's about the only real economical use for them.

You can get 6000 hp from a three unit SD 40-2 MU, and if need be break them up and use each locomotive for a lot of other, less HP intense purposes.

 

The SD90s are great, I have even flat switched with one...they load up and get going a lot quicker than you would think for their size, and they will stop on a dime...but 6000hp in switching service, or on a local industry drag is just a waste of fuel and horsepower.

 

I can take four of our MK1500Ds, MU them, get you 6000hp, with 16 traction motors as opposed to 6...and when you get to where you are going, you can bust up the MU, and have four 1500 hp units able to go anywhere you need them to, and perform just about any service you want.

 

You can liken the 6000Hp units to the Gas Turbines UP had...big, single purpose 8500hp locomotives designed for hauling big tonnage up hard grades, very labor intensive and costly, and in the end UP still had to add diesel helper units on to the trains...and when the traffic patterns changed, UP was stuck with these units, and had no real use for them.

 

Think of it like this...

You could use the Queen Mary to go bass fishing, but you would be hard put to find a big enough lake!

But for the same cost, you can buy a whole lot of bass boats and fish a whole lot of different lakes!

 

[magicman710]

There is also the AC6000CW. Csx has alot of them. It rates at 6000hp as well as the SD90mac. Not sure when it was quite being made. GE started production in 1998. Now they are producing only GEVOs.

[wabash1]

for the most part the new engines are 4400 and its been some time since i had a 6000 hp unit, I am only a engineer so i am not sure what engines are made anymore, I am not sure why sd 90mac engines are not made they are great engines i had a Union Pacific unit and it just ran circles around the ge versions with so much power i didnt need much over notch 4-5 to get to and stay at track speed.

[Boyd]

I don't get every month of Trains magazine, nor do I read every article. I do remember engines getting up to 6000 hp and talk of up to 8000 hp. But aren't most new engines around 4000 hp now?