Western Railroad Discussion > How to Move a Locomotive in the Dead of Night without Tracks

The folks at White Pass & Yukon Route gave me the opportunity to document the move of their rebuilt #91.  The narrow gauge unit was transported by Morgan Omega, owner of the largest depressed trailer in the Pacific Northwest. The move was made from Tenino, Washington to Seattle over the course of two nights.  Because the unit would not fit under various overpasses near Tacoma, the truck and its load passed through the heart of Lakewood.  Doing 90 degree turns was a trick.  It should be noted, each axle could could be independently steered by operators on the ground using a joy stick...  Eventually, the load reached the Alaska Marine Lines terminal where 91 was hoisted and placed aboard a dolly which in turn was moved aboard the weekly barge to Skagway..

After finishing the photo shoot, I returned to the cave..

Enjoy !

Yukon Yeti  

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Image Number 1 shows the rather large "rear end."  To facillitate the move, another Kenworth tractor was attached to the rear to act as a "helper" & "braker."  It was ballasted with nearly 3 tons of concrete blocks. The "helper" can be seen in the second image.


 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/15 10:29 by YukonYeti.

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I'm glad you came out of your Cave for those sharp photo's

Love the shots. note the hump, must be a Tier IV locomotive! Was this one of the CEECO unfinished
units?

Out

CEECO finished a couple of the units before being shut down.  The work then went to Global Loocomotive at Tenino.  The folks at Tenino seperated from Global to form Syerget or something close to that.  Then, they went "TU" as well.  According to reports, the last unit was at Tenino when the final shut down came about.  That unit has apparently been scapped, or so I am told.  Supposedly, the trucks were salvaged and sent back to Skagway.  If anyone has additonal information, please let me know.\

YY

Quite a locomotive and for fans of heavy-haul trucks, quite a rig to make the move!

Tom Y
 

GREAT pics!!  Thanks.....

YukonYeti Wrote:
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> The folks at Tenino
> seperated from Global to form Syerget or something
> close to that.  Then, they went "TU" as well.

Sygnet Rail Technologies.

Here is a little bit of information:
http://www.whitepassfan.net/whitepass/engines/diesel-engines/90---100-rebuilt-ceres/index.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/15 16:39 by MP555.

Agree, that's a pretty serious rig. At least they don't mess around with a land and a half with some red flags like many oversize rigs.

What do these units have for a motor? And the Alcos?  Just curious.  Thanks for the photos, YukonYeti.  Having made a 'once in a lifetime' trip to Alaska last May, we are planning on another next May, with hope of riding the WP&Y to Carcross and back.  It's just too damn neat of a place to not go again - and ride it this time!

roustabout Wrote:
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> What do these units have for a motor?

Information here:
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1939080
 

The 90 class were originally Alco powered.  The rebuilds have a Cummins power plant along with new dynamic brakes and AAR EMD style control stands.  Gone is the burbling Alco "music" having been replaced with a sound not unlike a Kenworth.  The Alco's/101 Class still retain the their Alco engines.

The rebuilds have not been without their problems.  Electrical and computer issues have dogged the units since their delivery.

YY

Well, if they scrapped one it will help keep the DL 535 fleet intact.
Cool shots!

Outstanding series of images! Thank you for sharing!

Posted from iPhone

Great photos and the wet streets add to their beauty.

Yes, that's a great sequence. Thanks

Thanks for these very unique photos.  Definitely not something you see everyday.  I really like #2 and #6.  

Jim Barton

Outstanding pictures and a very interesting subject. thanks for posting them. Confrats on IMOD
Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/15 10:21 by jim6300loco.

Seems total overkill for such a lightweight loco, do you guys up there have "soft" roads, with low axle loading?

97 tonne (106.9 short tons) in South Africa Africa (Grindrod/NRE GL22SCM-DC [7FDL-12] built for Colombia)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.801517233253821.1073741851.446697182069163&type=1

However the Latinos do it on the cheap. This rebuilt B23-7 was moved from Santiago in Chile, to Santa Cruz in eastern Bolivia, via Paso de Jama (Argentina) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paso_de_Jama
On the Chilian side of the border one pass is at 4,810 m (15,780 ft), only a single Volvo prime mover was used
http://www.diarioelcoquimbano.cl/foto-analisis-locomotora-en-la-ruta-43-llamo-la-atencion
Over the last 10 years there have been at least 12 loco/EMU transfers either up or down the Paso de Jama corkscrew, this is the most open, and easiest pass (wide road with no tunnels) between Argentina and Chile https://fromalaskatobrazil.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/down-from-paso-de-jama.jpg

Ex US tired iron on the move in Chile
http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=17&with_photo_id=6112233&order=date_desc&user=408376
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=243244&nseq=4


 

jmt Wrote:
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> Seems total overkill for such a lightweight loco,

I was wondering the same thing... it's a small engine,
and a narrow guage at that - why such a large truck
to move it?  And - why not by rail where clearances
and licensing /permits might not have been as
problematic?

Great shots, btw!  Was that ambient lighting or did
they light the equipment as a safety precaution to
better facilitate the move?

/Mitch