Appears that almost every larger agency is buying Chargers. We hope this will be very good because of common parts and interchange with others . The one item that can be a worry is ---- What if there is some problem that causes all Chargers to be sidelined at the same time for fix(es) ? Remembering the sidelining of all Acela-1s for repairs.
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2018/07/09-coaster-commuter-trains-to-add-charger-locomotives
My understanding is that the Chargers are being bought to supplement the existing roster as opposed to replacing the existing roster. One would hope that most of the design bugs will have been worked out of the Chargers by the time that NCTD takes delivery.
It appears that the various transit agencies are all ordering Chargers because it is a proven design and there aren't any real alternatives if you're buying new power.
blue streak 1 Appears that almost every larger agency is buying Chargers. We hope this will be very good because of common parts and interchange with others . The one item that can be a worry is ---- What if there is some problem that causes all Chargers to be sidelined at the same time for fix(es) ? Remembering the sidelining of all Acela-1s for repairs. http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2018/07/09-coaster-commuter-trains-to-add-charger-locomotives
F40s were/are dominant at one point also.
CSSHEGEWISCHIt appears that the various transit agencies are all ordering Chargers because it is a proven design and there aren't any real alternatives if you're buying new power.
The Siemens Charger order contained 225 options. The transit agencies can buy into the options without new negotiations.
There are not many Tier 4 alternatives: EMD F125 (125 mph) and MPI54AC (110 mph). A possible new MPI/GE combination with Gevo T4 engine is not on the market yet.
EMD F125 and MPI54AC cost about $1 million per unit more than a Charger. The experiences at Metrolink with the F125 are quite mixed. As of June 1st, 2018 15 locomotives are on the property, only 4 are conditionally accepted, 23 are still in production at Muncie.
I don't know the status of the MPI54AC at GO Transit.Regards, Volker
erikem My understanding is that the Chargers are being bought to supplement the existing roster as opposed to replacing the existing roster. One would hope that most of the design bugs will have been worked out of the Chargers by the time that NCTD takes delivery.
Editor Emeritus, This Week at Amtrak
This mornings SDUT (dead tree version) reported that the Chargers are replacing the original 5 locomotives, with a future order to replace the two locomotives bought after Coaster service started. The article went into some detail as to why the Charger body was ~20' longer and also mentioned problems with salt air corrosion (a good portion of the line is within a mile of the coast - I notice a significant corroson problem being 6,000' from the cost and 330' msl).
D.CarletonLifted from the press release: "The five locomotives being replaced were originally built between 1975-1992 and were purchased as used by NCTD. These five locomotives have reached the end of their useful life."
Ignoring the F59PHI's, I thought they only had MK F40PH clones from 1994?
Wasn't aware of any EMD built F40PH's on the roster from the 70's, unless they're possibly reflecting the age of the cores used for rebuilds (Which I imagine predate 1975 and are likely of GP38 or GP40 heritage and originally built between 1965-1971).
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