CSSHEGEWISCH wrote: badeffect10 wrote: Conrail didn't "sale" their railroad. NS and CSX basically lobbied the federal goverment to take over operations of the RR. Conrail had already been privatized so it was indeed a sale. The Feds were involved for the usual antitrust reasons.
badeffect10 wrote: Conrail didn't "sale" their railroad. NS and CSX basically lobbied the federal goverment to take over operations of the RR.
Conrail didn't "sale" their railroad. NS and CSX basically lobbied the federal goverment to take over operations of the RR.
Conrail had already been privatized so it was indeed a sale. The Feds were involved for the usual antitrust reasons.
I stand corrected. My Conrail history is a little fuzzy, it's been awhile since I've broken out my books. I think it was privitized in 86 or 87 and then NS and CSX bought it in the 90's.
RRKen wrote:SD40-2's are so yesterday. Glad I no longer have to deal with that junk.
Dunno about Confail, but the Crash National SD40-2's were so beat up, on more than one occasion I had hood doors fly off at track speed, they never pulled right, and the units that happened to have DB, the DB never worked. The SD40-2's sucked, give me a pair of ES44DC's anyday!
oh my god, those cabs are horrid, maybe they should get a good cleaning! jeez, talk about heavy use, I didn't know it was that bad.
tjsingle
Being from the northeast, I too, am somewhat a fan of Conrail, and disappointed to see their demise, but in this case, I agree with CSXengineer98 and Oskar. Conrail served it's point and was successful for it's era. Granted, it did make toast out of alot of useful railroad trackage, such as the Erie Railroad mainline, the former Pennsylvania Railroad Columbus Line, and several more I can think of. It was still a nice railroad, all in all, for the railfans. Railroaders absolutely despised Conrail.
What CSXengineer98 is trying to say about the power being junk, is that it is torn up, and worn out inside, pretty much held together by duct tape and is very uncomfortable. He is an engineer, so he knows what it is like to operate a Conrail unit. You just see them go by. I have been in several ex Conrail units that now belong to CSX, and I too, was not overly impressed. I have never been in a C40-8W or anything like that, but have been in a ex Conrail SD40-2, GP38-2 and GP40-2, off the top of my head.
As for the quality of the locomotives, from what I hear, Conrail did not do a good job maintaining their power, and they did not stay up to par with other railroad's C40-8W's, SD60I's and such. The SD80MAC units stayed in fairly good health, as they were pretty new when Conrail was divided among NS and CSX. The C40-8W's are terrible to run for 12 hours. I have seen photos from inside them. Same applies for the ex Conrail SD60I units. What's that? Photos? Alright, here you go.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=201069&nseq=1
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=109453&nseq=5
And that is just two examples. The chair in the second photo looks *real* (un)comfortable. In the first photo, do I need to explain what the problem is? Also, notice the amount of Conrail units that shoot flames? Not good maintenance.
We are not Conrail haters. Like I explained, I am a Conrail fan myself, and do not mind seeing the CSX 7300-series and such pass by, as a railfan, but I am sure the railroaders are not too thrilled to have that power. And then to say that a one-and-only classic like CSX 4617, a straight SD40 - the first SD40 built at that - needs to be painted into CR blue, is just crazy. Do you fail to see the historic background of this unit? It needs to stay as is....
Its a shame, to call Sd80mac's crap, and all conrail junk? HE is comparing it with new locomotives, you can't do that, the stuff is 10+ years older then some new fangled Sd70m-2 or ACe's.
Tjsingle
csxengineer isn't the only one with experience to write that a lot of modern stuff is crap. I find it disappointing, especially with all the modern technology, but won't argue with someone with personal experience. I only know Conrail from being my local railroad and making something out of a lot of bankrupts, but most of us admired it for what it was.
On a similar note, if the railroads that got Conrail equipment found it to be in deplorable condition, can anyone imagine what they felt like when they got all the Penn Central stuff?
csxengineer98 wrote: Tjsingle wrote: csxengineer98 wrote: Awesome wrote: Tjsingle wrote:jeez are all of you guys conrail haters?! seriously wth?They get bend of out shape when we talk about CONRAIL.. Can you explain to me why the hate us?no one said anything about hateing you per say... just that your fanatic defence of a railroad that you dont know much about other then reading books and watching the trains go by is a bit over the top... being a train buff you dont get to see what we that do work for the carriers see is the behind the seans and talk that goes on between crews of differnt roads... you see a nice engin or a track that looks like its in nice shape...we crews see the junk and beat up condition of the cabs and the bandaids that are put on things just to get it out of the door... its nice to be loyal to something..but some of you gonrail nuts dont know what it was like for us crews to get our hands on them bright blue engins you all hold so near and dear... the uncomfortable toad stool seats for 211 miles... blue cemical crappers that smelled and if you tried to use them turned anything that came in conact with the seat blue even if you used a "butt gasket"...the realy pain in the but radios that had the up and down rocker switches to change the radio channels insted of the keypads for push button use.. HTDs that the distance counters didnt work..even the newer power was in bad shape.. the seat arm rests where defomaed to the point that the metal suport would poke you and to prevent getting hurt on a metal bur or courner..the shop just wraped the whole arm rest in ductap... from a crew standpoint them nice blue engins are nothing but nice blue piles of junk.. that is why we "hate" conrail as you put it.. or at least why i dont care for there engins and call them junk at any chance i get.. becouse from my point of view..they are all gonrail junk and need to be gone from the csx rosters too... csx engineer Sounds like csx should update their fleet? remeber the conrail stuff was what they had in the 90's its not like the brand new locomotives, and just because they are painted blue makes them junk? No, then are the gp40-2's that csx has junk, No, are the ex conrail ones different? No they are not. But hey I'm not trying to annoy you, its just Its annoying when someone just starts to go off on a railroad, seriously I'm I dont want to offend you, and since you work with them, how is a Sd80mac, junk? Sd70mac? Sd60I? are you addressing older locomotives or what, because not all locomotives are junk? Maybe Csx shouldn't of taken over conrail. I not a "nut" Its just annoying to see people just go off on a railroad, with all the crap about "confail", "gonrail", and other crap.Tjsingleonce agin you havent grasped the point i was trying to make.. yes..the 80macs are junk..the 70macs are junk..the 90macs are junk.. anything from an sd-40 on from EMD have been nothing but crap... do some resurch and you will find out a list of problems that have come from the those models of locomotives.. paint donst change issues that plege a model as a whole.. but you missed my point in regareds to the overall condition of gonrail power at the time of the split... they where all junk.. yes csx has junk..all railroads have junk power..but units that where only a few years old such as the 80macs that gonrail had where so abused to the point that it looked like a 3rd world country in the cabs.. unless you worked with this gonrail power you will never understand what i am saying.. it goes over your head.. you feel that i am just bashing your "fav" railroad for no reason or just to pick on you..no... i have real world first hand experinces with gonrail power over the years and as a whole the majority should be put into a big hole and buried..never to see the light of day agin...as for csx not taking over gonrail.. csx wanted it.. ns wanted it..and it got split up.. if it was the big power house that you think it was..then why didnt they buy csx or ns.. thats becouse csx and ns are bigger systems with deeper pokets.. in the real world of corp america.. if a bigger company wants to buy a smaller one.. they do it... it happens every day... as far as people annoying you... all i can say to that is the truth hurts.. as i said befor..you see a bright blue engin thundering by you.. we crews in the cab see a junk engin and spend the rest of the trip wanting to get off of it and hopeing you make it over the road without breaking down.... csx engineer
Tjsingle wrote: csxengineer98 wrote: Awesome wrote: Tjsingle wrote:jeez are all of you guys conrail haters?! seriously wth?They get bend of out shape when we talk about CONRAIL.. Can you explain to me why the hate us?no one said anything about hateing you per say... just that your fanatic defence of a railroad that you dont know much about other then reading books and watching the trains go by is a bit over the top... being a train buff you dont get to see what we that do work for the carriers see is the behind the seans and talk that goes on between crews of differnt roads... you see a nice engin or a track that looks like its in nice shape...we crews see the junk and beat up condition of the cabs and the bandaids that are put on things just to get it out of the door... its nice to be loyal to something..but some of you gonrail nuts dont know what it was like for us crews to get our hands on them bright blue engins you all hold so near and dear... the uncomfortable toad stool seats for 211 miles... blue cemical crappers that smelled and if you tried to use them turned anything that came in conact with the seat blue even if you used a "butt gasket"...the realy pain in the but radios that had the up and down rocker switches to change the radio channels insted of the keypads for push button use.. HTDs that the distance counters didnt work..even the newer power was in bad shape.. the seat arm rests where defomaed to the point that the metal suport would poke you and to prevent getting hurt on a metal bur or courner..the shop just wraped the whole arm rest in ductap... from a crew standpoint them nice blue engins are nothing but nice blue piles of junk.. that is why we "hate" conrail as you put it.. or at least why i dont care for there engins and call them junk at any chance i get.. becouse from my point of view..they are all gonrail junk and need to be gone from the csx rosters too... csx engineer Sounds like csx should update their fleet? remeber the conrail stuff was what they had in the 90's its not like the brand new locomotives, and just because they are painted blue makes them junk? No, then are the gp40-2's that csx has junk, No, are the ex conrail ones different? No they are not. But hey I'm not trying to annoy you, its just Its annoying when someone just starts to go off on a railroad, seriously I'm I dont want to offend you, and since you work with them, how is a Sd80mac, junk? Sd70mac? Sd60I? are you addressing older locomotives or what, because not all locomotives are junk? Maybe Csx shouldn't of taken over conrail. I not a "nut" Its just annoying to see people just go off on a railroad, with all the crap about "confail", "gonrail", and other crap.Tjsingle
csxengineer98 wrote: Awesome wrote: Tjsingle wrote:jeez are all of you guys conrail haters?! seriously wth?They get bend of out shape when we talk about CONRAIL.. Can you explain to me why the hate us?no one said anything about hateing you per say... just that your fanatic defence of a railroad that you dont know much about other then reading books and watching the trains go by is a bit over the top... being a train buff you dont get to see what we that do work for the carriers see is the behind the seans and talk that goes on between crews of differnt roads... you see a nice engin or a track that looks like its in nice shape...we crews see the junk and beat up condition of the cabs and the bandaids that are put on things just to get it out of the door... its nice to be loyal to something..but some of you gonrail nuts dont know what it was like for us crews to get our hands on them bright blue engins you all hold so near and dear... the uncomfortable toad stool seats for 211 miles... blue cemical crappers that smelled and if you tried to use them turned anything that came in conact with the seat blue even if you used a "butt gasket"...the realy pain in the but radios that had the up and down rocker switches to change the radio channels insted of the keypads for push button use.. HTDs that the distance counters didnt work..even the newer power was in bad shape.. the seat arm rests where defomaed to the point that the metal suport would poke you and to prevent getting hurt on a metal bur or courner..the shop just wraped the whole arm rest in ductap... from a crew standpoint them nice blue engins are nothing but nice blue piles of junk.. that is why we "hate" conrail as you put it.. or at least why i dont care for there engins and call them junk at any chance i get.. becouse from my point of view..they are all gonrail junk and need to be gone from the csx rosters too... csx engineer
Awesome wrote: Tjsingle wrote:jeez are all of you guys conrail haters?! seriously wth?They get bend of out shape when we talk about CONRAIL.. Can you explain to me why the hate us?
Tjsingle wrote:jeez are all of you guys conrail haters?! seriously wth?
They get bend of out shape when we talk about CONRAIL.. Can you explain to me why the hate us?
csx engineer
Sounds like csx should update their fleet? remeber the conrail stuff was what they had in the 90's its not like the brand new locomotives, and just because they are painted blue makes them junk? No, then are the gp40-2's that csx has junk, No, are the ex conrail ones different? No they are not. But hey I'm not trying to annoy you, its just Its annoying when someone just starts to go off on a railroad, seriously I'm I dont want to offend you, and since you work with them, how is a Sd80mac, junk? Sd70mac? Sd60I? are you addressing older locomotives or what, because not all locomotives are junk? Maybe Csx shouldn't of taken over conrail. I not a "nut" Its just annoying to see people just go off on a railroad, with all the crap about "confail", "gonrail", and other crap.
So what your saying is that the sd80macs (etc) are junk compared to todays sd70ace, gevos and so on? So your saying that conrail didn't maintain its stuff towards the end, or the split? if thats ture then i would agree with what your saying, maintence is key
oskar wrote: I would have to agree with csxengineer. I have been in a few connies and a freind took me on a few rides on them and he just hates them. I also do not like them and freinds in the south do not like them as well. There are many othere reasons I do not like them but, I would probably say something I shouldn't. I also did not appeciate (not) Awesome's comment about painting the last C&O SD40 into Conrail paint, so random and pointless. I would rather see it in YN3 than Confail paint. Kevin
I would have to agree with csxengineer. I have been in a few connies and a freind took me on a few rides on them and he just hates them. I also do not like them and freinds in the south do not like them as well. There are many othere reasons I do not like them but, I would probably say something I shouldn't.
I also did not appeciate (not) Awesome's comment about painting the last C&O SD40 into Conrail paint, so random and pointless. I would rather see it in YN3 than Confail paint.
Kevin
Kevin:
I just write my opinion.. you don't need to agree with it. Keep in mind is just a forum. We all write opinions. Don't take it personal... Life is too short.
Javier
you a railroader or not...
oskar wrote:That will hopefully never happen. That SD40 is probably better than any Confails on CSX roster. Glad Conrail is gone. Kevin
That will hopefully never happen. That SD40 is probably better than any Confails on CSX roster. Glad Conrail is gone.
I do see your point, many lines were erased, yet some shortlines have popped up. Conrail was meant to revive the dying rail system in the northeast, yet alot of lines were lost, but railroads come and go. Well about the lines becoming profitable, is lets say a coal mine, has no more coal to mine in the town, and its railserved, if the coal mine is biggest industry in the town, the railroad would downsize the operation and serve local industries such as lumber dealers. Conrail did go through a money issue, and had to downsize, to keep the company alive, its not like they did it to ruin industries, but out of keeping the company alive, for the greater good.
really now why would you call conrail, confail, it served its purpose.
oskar wrote: That will hopefully never happen. That SD40 is probably better than any Confails on CSX roster. Glad Conrail is gone. Kevin
How so why do you not like conrail? It wasn't a a failure Its purpose was to rebuild, and then be integrated into another system.
CSSHEGEWISCH wrote:I would think that it's the original cab. The now-faded blue paint was probably applied when the locomotive was re-numbered.
Actually, she might of been in an Accident of some sort, as she never ahd that blue cab, before.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=153658&nseq=10
I never knew any C&O painted locomotives where even around on the CSX!
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