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NS F Units Gone

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 3:25 PM

SD60MAC9500
 

 

 
CMStPnP

In the comments section of the FB notice a NS Locomotive Engineer commented he recently ran the units 300 miles and though they may look nice on the outside they are falling apart mechanically on the inside.

 

 

 

That's why they're dumping them. Also too many issues with their upgraded electronics, also heard they ride like junk as well..

 
 
 

Maybe those stories are right, maybe they're wrong.  We'll probably never know until a prospective purchaser gets a good look at them, and maybe not even then.

Hard to believe at any rate.

It's at times like this the rumor mill kicks into overdrive, fueled in equal parts by anger and outrage. 

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Posted by SD60MAC9500 on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 3:02 PM
 

CMStPnP

In the comments section of the FB notice a NS Locomotive Engineer commented he recently ran the units 300 miles and though they may look nice on the outside they are falling apart mechanically on the inside.

 

That's why they're dumping them. Also too many issues with their upgraded electronics, also heard they ride like junk as well..

 
 
Rahhhhhhhhh!!!!
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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 12:59 PM

Lithonia Operator

tree, what was the On-track program in Syracuse? I lived there for a while, so I'm curious.

It ran between Carousel Mall (now "Destiny") and the SU campus (possibly beyond - I don't recall).  I believe it also stopped at the downtown station.  AFAIK, it was very popular for Dome games as an alternative to finding parking around the campus, as fans could park at the mall and ride the train over.

I never rode it, and haven't really studied it, so don't know any other details.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by MMLDelete on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 10:09 AM

tree, what was the On-track program in Syracuse? I lived there for a while, so I'm curious.

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 7:58 AM

And Bruce Sterzing, and F. Nelson Blount, and a certain trio of Nickel Plate Hudsons of infamous memory.

And then the whole nasty question of "deaccessions", a cute euphemism for a practice many donors are kept unaware of.

Never ASSume anything is safe; never ASSume anything will still be running when you get around to seeing it.  

I wonder if the old Trains Magazine curse applies to things in the forums here? Surprise

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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 7:23 AM

D.Carleton
Frankly, we've been through this before. As soon as both Claytor brothers were dead and burried the steam program ended and the Southern FP7s were sold off. Eventulally true believers were back in charge and an A-B-B-A set of F-units showed up. It's all cyclical.

The same can be said for the Susquehanna's steam and the "On-Track" operation in Syracuse.  They were both pet projects of Walter Rich, and once he was gone, so were they.

Fortunately, 142 is still under steam.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by D.Carleton on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 3:05 AM

Frankly, we've been through this before. As soon as both Claytor brothers were dead and burried the steam program ended and the Southern FP7s were sold off. Eventulally true believers were back in charge and an A-B-B-A set of F-units showed up. It's all cyclical.

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 4:59 PM

Lithonia Operator
 
GM 209

I am thinking that a NS breakup may be coming soon,such as N&W & Southern going their separate ways,with Southern merging with someone else(KCS?). 

I doubt that SOU and NW still even exist as corporate entities.

CSX and NS have integrated their operations in such a manner as to make it very difficult to separate out the entities from which the whole has been formed.  Especially if the individual lines are producing a good return on the investment that the line requires.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 1:57 PM

If and when some entity purchases Norfolk-Southern I don't see how they could do so without getting the whole "package."

Of course, after they've got it they could spin off any part of it they wanted to.

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Posted by rrnut282 on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 1:37 PM

Lithonia Operator

 

 
GM 209

I am thinking that a NS breakup may be coming soon,such as N&W & Southern going their separate ways,with Southern merging with someone else(KCS?).

 

 

 

I doubt that SOU and NW still even exist as corporate entities.

 

They might still exist (at least on paper.)  Southern leased the CNO&TP from the City of Cincinatti and NCRR from the State of North Carolina.  

Mike (2-8-2)
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Posted by MMLDelete on Sunday, November 10, 2019 8:55 AM

GM 209

I am thinking that a NS breakup may be coming soon,such as N&W & Southern going their separate ways,with Southern merging with someone else(KCS?).

 

I doubt that SOU and NW still even exist as corporate entities.

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Posted by BaltACD on Sunday, November 10, 2019 7:34 AM

GM 209
I am thinking that a NS breakup may be coming soon,such as N&W & Southern going their separate ways,with Southern merging with someone else(KCS?).

Seriously doubt that.  Class 1's may sell off some lines that they feel are not their 'core' lines, such as what CSX has been doing.  

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by GM 209 on Sunday, November 10, 2019 1:23 AM

I am thinking that a NS breakup may be coming soon,such as N&W & Southern going their separate ways,with Southern merging with someone else(KCS?).

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Posted by Leo_Ames on Saturday, November 9, 2019 9:37 PM

That seems surprising, if accurate. Here's some highlights of the recent mechanical work done on these, courtesy of the AltoonaWorks site.

  • Cooling system replaced with new radiators. 
  • Rebuilt with Dash 2 electronics and AR10 alternators.
  • Refitted with D77 traction motors.
  • Both B units have received 16-645E's (The A units got 645E's in their MK rebuild) and 26L braking system (MK already had done this to the A units).

Significant work has been done as recently as last year and they've been getting modified and upgraded throughout their sadly short lived NS careers (and have spent most of that time idle, with weeks routinely going by between assignments).

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Posted by CMStPnP on Saturday, November 9, 2019 11:46 AM

In the comments section of the FB notice a NS Locomotive Engineer commented he recently ran the units 300 miles and though they may look nice on the outside they are falling apart mechanically on the inside.

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Posted by BaltACD on Saturday, November 9, 2019 11:12 AM

PSR is a strategy to scam the quick buck as opposed to the earned buck.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Uncle_Bob on Saturday, November 9, 2019 8:20 AM

Murphy Siding

 

 
Flintlock76

Whoever's running NS doesn't care.  They just don't care.

I don't get it.  Why go into railroading if you don't care about the heritage, history, and lore, and being part of an American icon?

 

 

 

 

I know this one!  Whoever's running NS is doing it solely to make money for the stockholders.

The officers of corporations are legally obligated to seek the highest return on investment to stockholders, including mutual funds and pensions.  The big problem seems to be that everyone is trying to make a fast buck and ignoring the long term, while presuming that everything that is the status quo now will be the status quo years from now.  

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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, November 8, 2019 1:46 PM

Overmod

 

 
Deggesty
But, my wife did not want it in pieces--and the yard was not wide enough to hold it thus; it would have stuck out into a neighbor's yard or the school yard.

 

Just put in enough that will fit.  You could almost win a Frank Gehry award from AIA by relining up the piece with your house (for ease of access a la restaurants, of course) and redesigning the back so it looks like the train hit it: a common appearance nowadays for AIA design awards.

If your neighbors complain about why pieces of a Pullman are in your yard, tell them it's modern performance art playfully expressing the deconstructed theme of "open" "sections".

 

LaughI'm glad I had finished my lunch before getting back to my room. 

Ah, yes, use one of the sections for out bed. However, it has been a moot point for more than seven years, as I am now by myself, in an assisted living facility. So far ass I know, I am the only resident here who begins to enjoy travel by train.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Johnny

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, November 8, 2019 10:44 AM

Deggesty
But, my wife did not want it in pieces--and the yard was not wide enough to hold it thus; it would have stuck out into a neighbor's yard or the school yard.

Just put in enough that will fit.  You could almost win a Frank Gehry award from AIA by relining up the piece with your house (for ease of access a la restaurants, of course) and redesigning the back so it looks like the train hit it: a common appearance nowadays for AIA design awards.

If your neighbors complain about why pieces of a Pullman are in your yard, tell them it's modern performance art playfully expressing the deconstructed theme of "open" "sections".

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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, November 8, 2019 10:37 AM

Overmod

 

 
Deggesty
... we would have had to get an easement from a neighbor or from the school which was beind our house. So, we never pursued the idea.

 

Nonsense!  How do you suppose they got that GG1 out of the hole under the concourse?  Use that same approach.  

I believe one of the surviving Milwaukee Skytop cars had this done (albeit with a lower number of 'subdivisions') to allow the pieces to travel on 'available transport'.

Learn to weld and learn to grind (assuming you don't already know) and you might even do some of the work yourself!  I'll admit that riveting would be a concern both to your neighbors and to the school ... although a certain fence described by a certain author comes to mind regarding the latter... Devil

 

But, my wife did not want it in pieces--and the yard was not wide enough to hold it thus; it would have stuck out into a neighbor's yard or the school yard.Smile

Incidentally, I understand that it took as long to remove the GG-1 as it did because the baggage check was lost, and the PRR had to prove the engine was theirs.Smile

Johnny

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Posted by oltmannd on Friday, November 8, 2019 10:18 AM

zugmann

 

 
Flintlock76
Great idea! Love it!

 

Maybe Wick Moorman will buy them and put them in his backyard.

 

Well, he might need something to pull Sandy Creek around with...

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, November 8, 2019 9:39 AM

Deggesty
... we would have had to get an easement from a neighbor or from the school which was beind our house. So, we never pursued the idea.

Nonsense!  How do you suppose they got that GG1 out of the hole under the concourse?  Use that same approach.  

I believe one of the surviving Milwaukee Skytop cars had this done to allow the pieces to travel on 'available transport'.

Learn to weld and learn to grind (assuming you don't already know) and you might even do some of the work yourself!  I'll admit that riveting would be a concern both to your neighbors and to the school ... although a certain fence described by a certain author comes to mind regarding the latter... Devil

I'm tempted to observe that the Lion Gardiner is just begging for this treatment -- and I don't remember if it has been definitively 'saved'...

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, November 8, 2019 9:35 AM

.

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Posted by MMLDelete on Friday, November 8, 2019 8:31 AM

Deggesty

My wife expresssed a desire to have an open section Pullman in our back yard.

In this regard, your wife is different than mine.

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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, November 8, 2019 7:46 AM

My wife expresssed a desire to have an open section Pullman in our back yard. It would have been a nice thing to have--except we would have had to get an easement from a neighbor or from the school which was beind our house. So, we never pursued the idea.

Johnny

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Thursday, November 7, 2019 10:12 PM

zugmann

 

 
Flintlock76
Great idea! Love it!

 

Maybe Wick Moorman will buy them and put them in his backyard.

 

Wow. A "twelve-inch-to-the-foot scale" backyard railroad.  Cool.

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Posted by zugmann on Thursday, November 7, 2019 9:16 PM

Flintlock76
Great idea! Love it!

Maybe Wick Moorman will buy them and put them in his backyard.

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Thursday, November 7, 2019 8:51 PM

Overmod

 

 
Flintlock76
Maybe  all four together in an ABBA combination, but that would be for special trains, excursions and the like,

 

Hmmmm... we could paint them in Erie-Lackawanna colors... one of my best railfan memories was chasing the 'last four' in the Port Jervis area, which were carefully maintained to the last as an ABBA set.  They would pull a thoroughly amazing size consist, too... no problem with HEP, either.

Since we have a 'heritage vibe' going at NJT, this might fit right in... Big Smile

And think of the sound accelerating north out of Hackensack Avenue station!

 

Great idea!  Love it!

And let's dream big while we're at it.  Imagine 'em barreling down a resurrected Lackawanna Cutoff!  Oh baby...

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Posted by zugmann on Thursday, November 7, 2019 4:54 PM

kgbw49
I always thought one reasonable PTC solution (wild card word there - "reasonable") solution for mainline excursion locomotives would be to require a manned PTC-equipped deisel in the consist so that if the PTC teipled something the diesel crew could relay an "immediate stop" order to the steam crew.

The point of PTC is to enforce the condition without crew involvment.  If you exceed your authority, speed, signal, etc, you are enforced as the train stops itself.

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, November 7, 2019 4:48 PM

kgbw49
I always thought one reasonable PTC solution (wild card word there - "reasonable") solution for mainline excursion locomotives would be to require a manned PTC-equipped diesel in the consist so that if the PTC [alarmed on] something the diesel crew could relay an "immediate stop" order to the steam crew. But clearly that is probably not going to be allowed.

It pays to understand why it wouldn't be allowed.  The PTC leader also determines the effective front end of the 'computer representation' of the consist.  If the PTC-equipped locomotive 'back in the train' radios its location as the 'front', all sorts of awful things might happen, especially if the associated signal-system relays trigger 'ahead' of where the computer says the front of your train 'has' to be.

A potential solution in a 'proper' set of systems to address the PTC mandate would be to 'remote' the function of 'reporting the front of the train' to a portable module communicating over some local SDR channel.  Put this, say, in the front coupler knuckle like a FRED at the rear, and use the locomotive back in the consist as a communications processor and receiver.

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