NS/CSX

[Anonymous]

I want to model CSX and NS. Would you ever see 2 C44-9W's one CSX and one NS on a train together?

Thanks, Aaron

[Anonymous]

you would definitely see two C44-9W's on CSX together. but you might also see C44-8W's, and C40-8W's on CSX, which might not be as noticeable.
NS doesn't own any C44-9W's, but they own hundreds of C40-9W's, and they are together all the time.

who knows what will happen with Conrail's fleet of C40-8W's being split up. many DASH-8's are being retired, does anyone thing they will be repainted by NS or CSX?

[csxengineer98]

i dont know where you got your info from about the -8s being retired... but i think your wrong... if you lool around at csx and ns..you will see more and more -8s as well as alot of -9s csx is repainting all of its power in the new paint sceam..so its only a matter of time befor all the -8s that where conrails are repainted... as for the ns, you dont see as much conrail power also..becouse most of it has been repainted too... but as for the -8s... they have many more years of service befor they are gone... just look at the sd-40s they are still around...and i large numbers..and most of them have been built back in the 70s.. so..why would a rail road that has invested a few millon bucks pure unit retire them with only 20 years of serive...if anything..they will be rebuilt and rebuilt agin... just as the sd-40s have been...

[wabash1]

is that right. and where did you find this information on ns painting and keeping the dash 8 units being rebuilt and keeping them in service?

[csxengineer98]

by looking at the power as i pass it... its not hard to see the letters PRR under the numbers that are painted under the windows.. in the new black and white ns paint...the PRR is ns way of keeping track of whos power it once was, just like you might see a unit with NW, for norfolk and western... under the numbers that are under the windows... open up your eyes and you might see it... and like i said befor why would a rail road spend money on new power just to retire it for scrap 20 years or less later... take a look around...look at all the pre-80s power that is still working... rebuilt and painted...what do you think rail roads do with power that needs to be serviced..sell them to a scrap dealer and buy new ones for twice as much as it would cost to overhall a unit they have already payed for... rail roads are great at wasting money..but they are also great at working things untill they cant work anymore... so let me ask you this where is your information comeing from....

[csxengineer98]

oh yea...and i get my information from NS crews... if you havnt figered it out yet..im an engineer..and where i work out of...we interchange with the ns evey day......i get to talk to ns crews just about everyday i go to work, so let me ask you agin..where did you get your information from

[Anonymous]

that's great you're an engineer, i sure wish i could be. but i don't work for NS, and neither do you. you may be an railroad engineer, but i assume you do not have an MBA or degree in engineering.

you have to look past the simple ages of these locomotives. not all locomotives are created equal. SD40's are still around because they were superbly designed and built. GP9's are still around because they were superbly deisgned and built. do you see any U25B's around? no, because they were an inferior product.

railroads bought many locomotives from GE over the years because of GE Capital, the financing arm of GE. it generally has nothing to do with the actual product, GE probably just had a spectacular financing deal for them. if you still disagree, would CSX risk their relationship with GM shipping cars just to by a better locomotive from GE? of course not, they did it because GE financed their locomotives better. why do you think NS is buying hundreds and hundreds of C40-9W's?

what i see practically every day is conrail C40-8W's in fading paint, more and more C39-8's being stricken from rosters, and also B32-8's. GE locomotives are probably great when they're brand new, but railroads do not hang on to them. i don't know how they age. but GE locomotives do not last. it has been months since i have seen a DASH-7 on NS. yet every day i see many GP38's, GP40's, SD40's, SD38's, and even SW9's and SW1200 on a local switching railroad. GM locomotives were good locomotives.

you don't have to be an train engineer to realize this thing. go trackside, read the wall street journal, and read a train magazine and you can figure them out for yourself.

[CShaveRR]

You might see CSX and NS power together, but it would probably be at the diesel facility of either BNSF or UP!

[wabash1]

did i miss something here?? all i ask was where he was getting his information that ns was keeping and painting the conrail units. and look what happens when you ask a question.

second did i say anything about doubting you and your info. no, but if you must know ill tell you.
i am a engineer for the norfolk southern railroad. and who ever "a" is pretty much said it all. the ge engines wont be rebuilt, they will be sold or scraped. and many have been taken to the dead line now,

[Anonymous]

Getting back to the original question. I personaly have never seen a CSX/NS mixed consist but thats not to say it isn't possible because I've seen just about every thing else on NS's trains(SP,UP,BNSF,Conrail) I have seen NS trains running with a all CSX consist. With the way motive power migrates these days I don't think that running a mixed consist on your model is a problem. One thing to check though would be the differences between the same models on the two. The main thing that I'm thinking is that CSX's new GE's are AC4400CW's where NS is running D9-40CW's. There are some fairly obvious design differences externaly that you would need to check on.

As for what is still running and what is being repainted I'm still seeing alot of Conrail blue.Have seen some of the Conrail C40-8W's in NS paint. Also SD60's 60M's and 60I's. Plenty of GE power out there from B32-8's up to the C40-9W. EMD SD60's are pretty common out here to, more so than the 70's. This is on the central division at various points in TN. And my source of info is my eyes.

[Anonymous]

It all depends on which dash 8 model you are talking about. Good models such as the C40 and B40
will probably stick around. Units such as C39's ans B32's, which were produced in limited quantities and are not as good performers will most likely either find new homes on short lines/regeonals or be scrapped.