Western Railroad Discussion > Maersk SDF40-2?

I really don't know all that much about the Maersk SDF40-2, formerly AMTK #644 SDP40F...

Can anyone shed some light on this locomotive? I know it's very rare, is it possibly the last one around?

And what the heck is Maersk? Why hasn't anyone stepped up to save this engine if it hasn't been scrapped yet? Should it be saved, or is it not worth it?

I see that it's a BNSF engine, but painted in blue/silver bonnet? How did this engine come about to where it is today? (or was, if it's now twisted metal being dumped into a boiling pot of molten steel...)

Maersk Sealand is an ocean-going container ship operator that is a major customer of railroad doublestack service. BNSF repainted this SDF40-2, and NS repainted an SD40-2, for a promotional photo shoot in Los Angeles.

The SDF40-2's survival is up to BNSF. The NS unit remains in active service but has recently been dispatched to Canada to repay horsepower hours NS owes to CN.

Oh, and yes, I believe the "Maersk" unit is the last survivor among the SDP40F's that Amtrak traded to the Santa Fe.

Not quite all SDF40-2's are scrapped yet but they are working slowly towards doing so. The 6976 will be saved and has been set aside for donation to an organization at some point.
Larry

I have a page on Santa Fe's SDP40F's (SDF40-2's
as Santa Fe called them) on my site here:

http://atsf.railfan.net/cowls/sdp40f.html

I don't know that they have finished scrapping
all the others yet, but I believe 6976 is the
only one BNSF has set aside, for now. Maersk
never actually owned this unit, which is why
even in the Maersk paint scheme it retained BNSF
sublettering.

You may also find it interesting that ATSF painted a GP60M in a Mearsk paint schem in the early 90's...
The phot I have included is an HO model I made years ago. Perhaps someone else can find and share pictures of the real unit. Evan?
BTW, Mearsk was originally a Danish container company, merged with Sealand... There used to be a great number of Mearsk container cars, they were blue, and if you see a light blue container car set, chances are they were Mearsk cars... I'd like to see the Mearsk SDFP40-2 saved, but We'll have to wait to see how things go, perhaps I'll contact the CSRM, to see what they can do...
Hey Dash, show your Mearsk shots you took in LA...
-Joe (GeepM) Bohannon

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AP Moeller (with those twin dots over the e) now owns mearsk and SeaLand, the name I have seen on webpages is AP Moeller Mearsk, with no meantion of SeaLand. Greg

GeepM wrote:

> You may also find it interesting that ATSF
> painted a GP60M in a Mearsk paint schem in the
> early 90's...
> The phot I have included is an HO model I made
> years ago. Perhaps someone else can find and
> share pictures of the real unit. Evan?

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?f=1&i=147692&t=147671

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?f=1&i=161236&t=161236

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?f=1&i=161261&t=161236

Here is a shot of the first MAERSK unit sitting in track 7 at the old Hobart diesel facility, in July '90, after being hand washed for the special train that would be operating for the next two days. Below is the 6976 sitting in support yard track 6 at the new MAERSK pier 400 facility on Terminal Island in August '02 just prior to the grand opening of this, the largest container facility in the world.
JB

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Personally I like the 6976 better than the 146, but with the nose notches and no ditch lights, it looks quite odd. I think the scheme looks better better on the bigger unit, just looks bunched on the 60.

Chris M.
Southern Pacific Golden State Route Milepost 419.8
http://www.geocities.com/bnsffreak
Home of the Mighty Sampson of the Cimarron

Hi

AP Moller and Maersk are one and the same thing. Moller being the family that own(ed) Maersk. Maersk have had a round the world container ship service for many yaers and bought Sealand a couple of years back. I think the name 'Maersk Sealand' is used as Sealand was well known in the US. My bet is the 'Sealand' will disappear in the next few years.

Isn't there another RR connection here? Wasn't Sealand owned by the same group that CSX is part of?

Maersk are also into European ferries, air, healthcare and trucking.

DD

I'll help make the assertion that CSX and Sealand were connected... I have seen ships labeled for Sealand, and their name went something like "CSX Something" in Oakland's Harbor... The fact it started with CSX made me think... Oh well...
-Joe (GeepM) Bohannon
http://www.ASModels.com

Is it safe to say the 6976 is not the last SDP40F or has EMD scrapped their two they had for testbeds. I thought one was the 167 and the other ?????. One was used as a test for traction motors and the other had the first 645F3 tested in it.

Are they still around?

Regards
Q-GP30