Western Railroad Discussion > Albany & Eastern ex-CSX B-boat Photos

Taken today, 7/26/2017.

1. ex-CSX B40-8 5931 in Lebanon, OR

2. ex-CSX B40-8 5935 and AERC 1841 in Albany, OR

3. ex-CSX B40-8 5957 in Lebanon, OR


Marty Bernard

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The 2nd photo shows the CSX unit with something done to its radiators, on top.

Why GE's, and not EMD's, for this short line?  I've read that these older GE's don't hold up as well.  ALCO's seem to labor on, but GE's seem to die young (relatively speaking...).

coach Wrote:

> The 2nd photo shows the CSX unit with something
> done to its radiators, on top.

Also on 5957 in the third photo - look close. You'll see that on a number of Dash 8's that have lasted this long. Replies in these threads described them, not as a "split cooling" retrofit, but as shutters which allow the radiators to be full of water at all times instead of only when needed for cooling:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3894999,3895233#msg-3895233
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3686936,3687227#msg-3687227
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,2603553,2605004#msg-2605004


> Why GE's, and not EMD's, for this short line?

Shortlines that favor GE power don't get the attention that Alco-powered shortlines do, but they are out there, and have been for some time. Central Michigan was heavy on GE for a long time, and Kyle sidelined their Alcos for a fleet of U-boats, which lasted until the road was acquired by nothing-but-EMD conglomerate RailAmerica. Georgia Central ran on a fleet of 4-axle U-boats for decades until almost-nothing-but-EMD conglomerate Genesee & Wyoming bought them out (G&W has allowed some Super-7's and Dash-8's to keep running, but usually makes short work of any U-boats and Dash-7's on the lines it acquires). Nashville & Eastern, Transkentucky Transportation, and Lake Superior & Ishpeming are other examples, along with Pickens and its unique fleet of U18B's. Providence & Worcester isn't all-GE, but they have had a heavy GE presence for many years (again, G&W acquisition will likely change that).

>  I've read that these older GE's don't hold up as well.  

I've been surprised that high horsepower, 4-axle Dash-8's have done as well as they have on the second-hand market, not for reliability reasons but just that a 4000hp locomotive doesn't seem like an ideal fit in a lot of cases. Nevertheless, after BNSF cast them off in 2002, the LMX B39-8's found a number of willing buyers including San Luis & Rio Grande, Nashville & Eastern, Minnesota Commercial, Providence & Worcester...even a few relatively big roads like BC Rail bought some. The Santa Fe Dash 8-40BW's in the 560-582 group that were leased rather than purchased, and which BNSF turned back a few years ago, found new homes on the likes of Providence & Worchester, A-OK, West Tennessee, and Nashville & Eastern. Albany & Eastern is no stranger to EMD power, but they have also operated Dash 7's and Dash 8's...and here they are buying more Dash 8's.

> ALCO's seem to labor on, but GE's seem to
> die young (relatively speaking...).

Alcos have a better cheering section, which accounts for several of the Alco-powered shortlines back east. Meanwhile, for reasons I've never completely understood, railfans love to hate GE. Smoking Alcos are "cool," while smoking GE's are "junk." Don't get me wrong, from a railroad's point of view, GE U-boats and Dash-7's were far from perfect...but so were Alcos. Crews likewise have good reasons to dislike early GE's (and Alcos) for a variety of performance issues, design flaws, and creature comfort failures, but those factors don't really affect the guy standing trackside with a camera.

As for what "seems to" be true, bear in mind that the units you're seeing in the photos above are 29 to 30 years old. Class-1 U-boats used to go to scrap routinely at 15 years, as soon as their leases expired. If 15 years is "young," 30 years can't also be "young," right? Dash 8's aren't perfect either, but they are relatively cheap, and from all appearances they work "well enough" to earn their keep. If a few industrious shortlines were able to keep "junk" U-boats and Dash-7's running for years, why not Dash-8's?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/17 06:10 by Evan_Werkema.

CSXT de-rated (I don't know how) #5935 and #5957 to B20-8s. AERC may have done that to #5931 also. Gerry

MartyBernard Wrote:
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> Taken today, 7/26/2017.
>
> 1. ex-CSX B40-8 5931 in Lebanon, OR
>
> 2. ex-CSX B40-8 5935 and AERC 1841 in Albany, OR
>
> 3. ex-CSX B40-8 5957 in Lebanon, OR
>
>
> Marty Bernard

Use to run these on pig trains across NW Florida. One of the very few GE's that were good runners and I enjoyed running.. Also anything from GE that did not leak oil all over the running boards, hood doors would stay closed were a plus compared to the older ones. Use to get a lot of the SP 8000's also.

Steve Panzik
Chiloqun, Or

The dash 8 is a very reliable and easy to maintain locomotive. Two of these have tier 0 plus , EFI engines with AESS, installed in 2014 and 2015.

A big factor for shortlines, which often have limited maintenance facilities, is that GE Prime Mover auxiliaries such as water pumps, turbos, etc. are generally much larger and heavier than the EMD equivalents. The same applies to the prime mover itself. The EMD and Alco units are more serviceable "in the field" from the back of a truck than a GE.