Eastern Railroad Discussion > locations on locomotive scrap yards

I was curious if someone could tell me where the major railroads have their obsolete/older locomtoives stored at in the US as I am in the fuel business and I would like to reach out to these railroads about the salvage fuel in fuel tanks?  Any information would be very much appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

CSX says their saving money by removing the fuel before storing or retiring locomotives.
Not sure about others.

Thank you for the prompt response.  I'm sure they can save money by removing the fuel before scrapping the engines but I have heard some railroads do not.  Fuel has been relatively inexpensive until recently so I just thought the majority of the railroads would not take the time or resources to drain the fuel tanks.  If you know the locations of these type storage yards, that would be good information.

Thank you

When my employer in the trucking business scraps, trades in, auctions off or sells outright used tractors, they will be drained and left with ONLY enough fuel to get to the dealer, the auction lot or the next gas station.  We NEVER give away fuel or just let it get away from us.  Besides just being cheapskates, :)  it's easier to recover that fuel and use in another one of our trucks than it is to explain where it all went for fuel tax reporting and enviromental management reasons. 

I know Mervis Recycling in Decatur, IL has been scrapping a lot of NS locomotives over the past year. However, the majority of the locomotives are labeled "DO NOT FUEL" near the fill point on the fuel tanks. 

Thanks to all who took the time to respond to my request.  That's what makes this such a great train forum.  I have only been a member for @2 years and I love trains.  I look at the pictures the members submit of trains crossing bridges in the mountains and other beautiful backgrounds.  I just thought I'd make an attempt to get some ideas from the members as far as scrap locomotives/fuel.

Thanks again

Cresson Pa has a scrap facility. Have seen some NS units there. Not sure if the scrap yard in Roanoke still does anything or not

Gary

Posted from iPhone

Doesn't the fuel from diesel locomotives have a different color dye than that used for other purposes so it can't be used for other types of equipment?

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

        I don't know of any railroad that would knowingly let a locomotive go to scrap with fuel in the tank. Color has nothing to do with it, MONEY does and there is a huge amount of money saved by salvaging all of the fuel in units going to scrap. They don't need 'just enough' to get them there, they are not running.

Reefers run around with leftover fuel in the tank when they are empty and the generator is shut off.

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Doesn't the fuel from diesel locomotives have a
> different color dye than that used for other
> purposes so it can't be used for other types of
> equipment?
>
> Victor A. Baird
> http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

Off road diesel has red dye in it to show it has no state or federal motor fuel tax in it.   Red dye is used as it is detectable at very low levels. Finding traces of dye in you on road use car or truck can lead to some rather healthy fines. 

It happens more often than one would think. I was watching a program on scrapping locomotives, and one of the guys said most loco's come in with some fuel in them, he has even had units show up with full tanks! He said very few show up bone dry. 

dcfbalcoS1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>         I don't know of any railroad that
> would knowingly let a locomotive go to scrap with
> fuel in the tank. Color has nothing to do with it,
> MONEY does and there is a huge amount of money
> saved by salvaging all of the fuel in units going
> to scrap. They don't need 'just enough' to get
> them there, they are not running.

scraphauler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> wabash2800 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Doesn't the fuel from diesel locomotives have a
> > different color dye than that used for other
> > purposes so it can't be used for other types of
> > equipment?
> >
> > Victor A. Baird
> > http://www.erstwhilepublications.com
>
> Off road diesel has red dye in it to show it has
> no state or federal motor fuel tax in it.   Red
> dye is used as it is detectable at very low
> levels. Finding traces of dye in you on road use
> car or truck can lead to some rather healthy
> fines. 

I believe farmers fall into this off road class as well. 

EL-SD45-3632 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> scraphauler Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > wabash2800 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Doesn't the fuel from diesel locomotives have
> a
> > > different color dye than that used for other
> > > purposes so it can't be used for other types
> of
> > > equipment?
> > >
> > > Victor A. Baird
> > > http://www.erstwhilepublications.com
> >
> > Off road diesel has red dye in it to show it
> has
> > no state or federal motor fuel tax in it.  
> Red
> > dye is used as it is detectable at very low
> > levels. Finding traces of dye in you on road
> use
> > car or truck can lead to some rather healthy
> > fines. 
>
> I believe farmers fall into this off road class as
> well. 

Yes, except that farmers are NOT supposed to use off road fuel in their pickup trucks, at least in Indiana.  Every winter, they have a BIG farm show at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne. For several years the "fuel cops" were going around the Coliseum parking lot pulling fuel samples to see if anyone was cheating.  I don't know that they have done it recently though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/20 19:52 by junctiontower.

ST214 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It happens more often than one would think. I was
> watching a program on scrapping locomotives, and
> one of the guys said most loco's come in with some
> fuel in them, he has even had units show up with
> full tanks! He said very few show up bone dry. 
>
> dcfbalcoS1 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >         I don't know of any railroad that
> > would knowingly let a locomotive go to scrap
> with
> > fuel in the tank. Color has nothing to do with
> it,
> > MONEY does and there is a huge amount of money
> > saved by salvaging all of the fuel in units
> going
> > to scrap. They don't need 'just enough' to get
> > them there, they are not running.

I'm sure there are instances where the right hand didn't know what the left was doing and some slipped through or somebody just flat out didn't do their job.  As for many having "some fuel" in them, I would wouldn't WANT the very bottom of what is in those tanks anyway, especially on something like a locomotive.

When CN was getting rid of the ex-IC & WC fleet, they would cut holes in fuel tanks and then spray paint “EFT” (Empty Fuel Tank) on the sides of the tanks. I believe the IC SD40 6071 that was donated to the Monticello, IL museum has this issue, although they may have swapped tanks by now.

Back to the OP, just curious how you’d make any money buying or brokering any fuel you found? Couldn’t any scrap yard or rail yard you contact about their fuel easily steal your idea and remove the fuel themselves? You’d have to go on someone’s property to get the fuel, and thus need permission after you explain what you’re doing.

New773 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When CN was getting rid of the ex-IC & WC fleet,
> they would cut holes in fuel tanks and then spray
> paint “EFT” (Empty Fuel Tank) on the sides of
> the tanks. I believe the IC SD40 6071 that was
> donated to the Monticello, IL museum has this
> issue, although they may have swapped tanks by
> now.
>snip<

To clarify, in IC 6071's case, yes, it is marked EFT, and tank was/is empty.  But no hole was "cut" in it.  In reality, the bottom of the tank has about a foot long gash in it, caused by the rear draft gear pocket when it was blown out.  There apparently was a really hard coupling incident when it was last in service on the IC, and that blew out the rear (inboard) 3/4ths of the long hood draft gear pocket.  This large, jagged piece of steel then dropped to the ties, and was subsequently run over, putting a nice dent in the fuel tank end, and ripping open it's belly.  We have not repaired any of the damage yet, and the unit is on display indoors until funds can be raised to fix/replace the fuel tank, replace the draft pocket, and get the correct trucks under it for backdating it to a previous paint scheme.

Kent

I can understand your question but we buy the fuel from scrap yards and have end users that can burn this type of fuel even if it has some water/bottom sediment in it.  You just never know from one day to the next what the railroads consider to be a savings or a cost.  I do appreciate the replis from everyone on this forum.  FYI, red dye is injected into the clear #2 ULSD fuel at the terminal when the driver punches off road fuel into the computer at the terminal.  The red dye denotes off road usage only.  So, the typical uses are railroads; towboats; construction equipment; generators; boilers and furnaces; farming equipment; etc. The saving son taxes alone are huge in most states and that is why some end users try to get away with using this off road fuel in their vehicles.