Western Railroad Discussion > New Power for SF Belt

Today's (Sunday) MRVWS had new power for the San Francisco Belt, a Knoxville Locomotive Works (KLW) SE10B, 'The World's Cleanest Locomotive' (or so it says) trailing in the consist. Thanks to a heads up from jmf1910at Niles and along the Warm Springs sub. Kind of surprising an Alco switcher lasted this long in SF. Clean power to switch the dirty dirt!

1 On the Alameda Creek Bridge, Niles, CA
2. Opposite the golf course at Stevenson Blvd, Fremont.
3. Arriving at Warm Springs.

Jim B



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/19 17:46 by jimB.

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Also shot the MRVWS while I was at it...

4. At the golf course, Fremont.
5. Racing (sort of) BART to Warm Springs. BART won.
6. Arriving at Warm Springs. Lots of stack and pack appartments being built behind me. They're growing like weeds in the Spring time.

Jim B

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A new locomotive with a P3 horn in 2019!  Whoda thunk!

that thing is ugly and its kind of sad to see the Alcos go by by. Great shots by the way.
                                                                                           Mark Mautner

stlrailfan Wrote:
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> that thing is ugly and its kind of sad to see the
> Alcos go by by. Great shots by the way.
>                                 
>                                  
>                         Mark Mautner

An Alco in the Bay Area in 2019, even running on Bio Diesel, was something that just could not last.

Say it ain't so! I've followed those Alcos since the 1950s. Of course I understand the need for new power. After all it isn't the state Belt Line of California anymore, nor are there freight tracks on the Embarcadero anymore.

Did the name change from SF Belt to SF Bay RR?  When did this happen?

dwatry Wrote:
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> Did the name change from SF Belt to SF Bay RR? 
> When did this happen?

About 10+ years ago when the current owners took over.

Oops, I missed that in my post.

Jim B

Am I the only that thinks that the all yellow fuel-energy tank is fugly?

Either a solid black or added alternating black chevrons would greatly improve its looks.

Immaculate combustion?

I think the yellow fuel tank looks cool. And yes it is amazing that the Alcos lasted this long, especially when you consider that as of this year, Alco will have been out of the locomotive business for 50 years.
-Eric B.

Posted from iPhone

So the Alcos . . . will they survive intact or will the 539's be destroyed?

CPR_4000 Wrote:
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> So the Alcos . . . will they survive intact or
> will the 539's be destroyed?

All depends on how they were financed. If they were brought under the CARB Moyer Program then the 539's are done for.

Saw the loco go by the Tehachapi webcam the other night, it was a pleasant surprise.

 

The story as of late last year was that the 25 will sacrifice its prime mover to fulfill the financing commitment, while the 23 will stay around intact as a back-up.

Having operating Alcos in 2019 on a non-tourist railroad is quite rare. Finding them 70+ years later in the same city they were delivered to, never really having left is even harder to come by. In San Francisco however, it’s an utter enigma. This is how I imagined modern power for SF Bay RR would look. From a rail fan perspective, it’s nice that they kept with one of the original paint schemes. Yes, even the all yellow fuel tank would be accurate and probably came in handy for visibility on all that congested street running the Alcos used to do. Congratulations to them on their new power. I’m curious as to what the green and yellow emblem is under the cab.

Posted from iPhone

Ryan Barber
Stockton, CA



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/19 00:44 by TS735.

Place your bets now on how soon the old SF BELT ALCO S-2 switcher will be "fired up" after the genset craps out...

TCnR Wrote:
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> Immaculate combustion?

It's powered by a mouse and a hampster wheel....

Well in reading Knoxville's PR blurb, it is not a "Genset" per se, as it has a single 12-cylinder 1800 RPM prime mover mated with an AR-10 alternator, using some sort of gear reduction interface.

TJY