Eastern Railroad Discussion > NS Geometry Train

Not much has been posted about NS' constantly touring Track Geometry Train. Here's a few digitals taken of the train this weekend while it waits for its Monday morning departure from Frankford, De., for Enola.

Seen with C40-9W 9282 on the point, the train is tied down in the little Delaware town at the end of NS' Indian River Secondary.


Scott H

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Here's the famous ex-SD9 slug, #34. Just think, if all their units looked like this we wouldn't have anything to whine about!

(Picture top and bottom chopped so as not to ruin quality of slug shot)


Scott H

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And of course, here's the rear (adorned with flags), Research Car #33. Thing sure is perdy.

For those interested, the crew is called for 05:00, and is supposed to leave Frankford at 07:00. That will probably put them in Harrington at 08:30, and around the NEC at Davis (Newark, DE) at 10:00 to 10:30. There's a good chance they'll tie it down at Perryvile. Otherwise, look for them coming into Enola tomorrow off the Port Road in the mid-afternoon.


Scott H

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cr3317 wrote:

> Here\\'s the famous ex-SD9 slug, #34. Just think, if all their
> units looked like this we wouldn\\'t have anything to whine
> about!
>

Its from an SD35 Mad-MAC boy! couldn't resist...
And yes, if that were the paint, there'd be no chance of getting you back onto CSX ever.

Thanks for the pictures and information. I'll keep my eyes open for it at Enola or on the way. BTW it appears that there is a small fuel tank under the unit, louvers on the side and an exhaust stack on the top. Does it have an HEP unit or generator to provide power for the equipment?

An SD35? Now that you say it, that sounds familiar. As for the other questions, the only thing I know is that the slug provides HEP via a generator, so I imagine the fuel tank is fuel for that (as I think you were guessing as well). Also notice the brushes that dangle off the trucks near the fuel tanks. I believe they are the thing that tests dragging equipment detectors (by setting them off) to make sure they're working as the train rolls along.

The Indian River is only a secondary due to train frequency, as its all welded rail good for 40mph, However, due to many crossings, about 1/2 the line is limited to 30mph. They run coal trains on it two or three times a week, and the local often has 100+ cars (loaded grain, stone, coal). Both the local and coal trains almost always use road power.


Scott H

Here's the info I wrote up previously on this slug:

The track geometry slug, NS 34, originally started off its life as Norfolk and Western SD35 No. 1530, delivered in 8/65. It was demolished in a wreck at Lynchburg, VA in in 5/76 when it hit a standing ballast train at track speed. It was rebuilt by the N&W Roanoke Shops and outshopped as N&W RP-E6 (Remote Power - EMD 6-axle) road slug No. 9921. This unit and sister 9920 (rebuilt from a wrecked Erie Lackawanna SDP45) were each mated between a pair of SD45 masters. The 9921 was renumbered to N&W 9951 in 5/81.

Following the N&W and Southern Railway merger in 1982, the slug became NS (N&W) 9951. It was retired and placed into storage in 10/89 and then leased to the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway in 5/90. It was returned from the W&LE in 9/92 and once again retired and placed into storage.

In 7/94, the NS Roanoke Shops began work on the 9951 to convert it for track geometry operations. Work on the unit took place over a period of five years when things were slow in the shops and it was finally released as NS 34 in 7/99. The slug carbody had been rebuilt with taller areas at each end, the fuel tank had been shortened, the traction motors had been removed with track measuring devices added to one truck, and a generator had been installed in the carbody to power the measuring equipment. The unit was painted in NS tuscan red and lettered in dulux gold.

I can't find my info on NS Research Car No. 33, but I believe it was acquired by NS from Union Pacific for conversion to use in this service.

Chris Toth

DUDE!!!!!!!!!, THats freaken AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH PLEASE send this pic to NS!!!!!!!!!!!!! That looks so amazing!!!!
Larry

The #34 Research Slug through Phillipsburg, NJ last month on the Lehigh line.
Rick Glosser
Phillipsburg, NJ

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Before the NS merger, didn't RP stand for Roanoke Produced?
NW SD45's 1765-1769 were set up as masters. Two per slug with one as a spare.
Anyway, here's a shot of an SD45-RPE6-SD45 set on the W&LE, care of George Elwood's site.

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Here is a shot of what became the 34.I like it much better these days!Brewster,Ohio Sept 01,1992.RAD

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Robbman wrote:

> Before the NS merger, didn't RP stand for Roanoke Produced?

No. It has always stood for Remote Power.


Chris Toth

unit 34 is a research sled not a slug.
the unit has measuring eqipment hooked up to trucks , but no traction motors or any propulsion equipment.
the unit has a Hep unit for powering the geometry car or office cars.
if it was a slug at leat 8 T/M cables would be hooked up to the slug mother.

Another Geometry train with SD40-2 3220, research caboose 48 and research car 31 came and went in Aiken, SC this morning. It was an interesting site on a branch that sees little excitement...
Larry

Well I have to admit I have never heard the word sled used, I mean it looks like a slug, it was a slug, lets call it one. Thanks for the pictures guys, looks great in Maroon!

Makes more sense, Chris. I've seen a few articles in The Arrow ( N&WHS publication ) that state RP is Roanoke Produced. But I could never figure why all slugs on NS are RP-???.

Union Pacific leased one of these RP-E6 slug sets ( 1767-9920 ( 9950 ex-SDP45 )-1768 ) in late 1980 to early 81. Certainly these qualify as the most traveled of all of N&W's slugs. Does anybody have any pics of this set in service on the UP?

Robbman wrote:

> Makes more sense, Chris. I've seen a few articles in The
> Arrow ( N&WHS publication ) that state RP is Roanoke Produced.
> But I could never figure why all slugs on NS are RP-???.

There is no question on the Remote Power term, as N&W mechanical info from shortly after the slug rebuilding program started supports this. The only change after the N&W and SOU merger was the addition of a Y or R to the end of the classification on six-axle slugs to denote whether the slug was for Road or Yard service.

As for the Arrow and the N&WHS, you are seeing why I gave up on that group. They have far too many self-appointed "experts" who think they know everything, while the real people who do know keep getting run off by the attitudes of the powers that be who run the group.


Chris Toth

This geometry train just passed east through Womelsdorf (mp 73) at 7:45pm