BNSF 5840 heads west through Colona, IL heading for Silvis to drop off these 35 SD40-2 units. This was amazing to see. They just kept coming and coming! Ha.
When I was about 10 years old we lived right next to the C & N W freight line in Kenosha WI. All of the engines on this line were diesel by this time so it surprised me one day to hear a steam engine. I went out to look and saw one live engine with twelve dead engines and a caboose in tow. All of the dead engines had their side rods cut off or removed so they had to be heading to the scrap yard. I wish I had had a camera with me. By the way I will be eighty years old next month.
Hello from a fellow Kenoshan! Petretti Park in Kenosha had a train track running alongside it...always stopped whatever I was doing in the park to watch the train. Great memories. I'll be 65 in November.
hittmiss yes that would have been a great photo, thankfully it's in your memory. Do you have any guess as to where you think they have been heading, scrapyard in Milwaukee or perhaps clear down to the steel mills on the south side of Chicago? I guess we will never know. One of the greatest era's in America's history. I know you had to have lived through some possibly tough times, but hope you consider it a great life lived. I'm 63 and at times wish I was born about ten years earlier like my brother so I could have gotten my hands onto a couple of the great hot cars that Detroit was producing like he got to own.
I live next to that line, the kenosha line. It's now a short line and up owns it and for my whole life I have only ever seen 2 mix freight trains that would run on a main line. All the other trains I see are local jobs with a geep and 10 to 20 cars. And the coal trains going to the power plant. I remember seeing pictures of it being a main line and the old cnw f7 and gp9 running on it.
@@oxolotleman7226 worse if the train stops in the middle of the crossing--for which they have been KNOWN to do. But sometimes I go to railroad crossings, park to the side, and see the trains go by.
Haha! Same here! Just thinking someone might have actually gone and done it. That would be pretty awesome, and probably an impractically long train! Imagine having to wait at the crossing for that train! you'd be there all day! Lol!
Technically speaking, the former UP engines ("Union Pacific" painted out) were SD45T-2's, and were formerly owned by the late, great, Southern Pacific Railroad. There were also some BN and ATSF SD40-2's in this large power move. Alas, the locomotives were probably on their way for retirement and scraping.
What I would suggest is instead of scrapping atleast this can be donated to poor countries for their cargo movements. Atleast it'll be helpful for them.
@@nagamanyraghupathy5487 With their high axle load, not many countries have tracks that could withstand it. But anyway, not wasting the good equipment is a great idea.
Pretty neat video. 39 locomotives: 2 head end, and 2 at the rear. 35 dead-haul. If you listen closely enough, you'll hear the two rear end locos running. The name black out could mean the 35 dead hauls were sold to another company or being sent for scrap. Most likely re-sold. The units looked a little too new to be scrap, but I could completely wrong.
That's one of the best videos I have ever seen! They had the majority if not the entire fleet of UP SD40T-2's sitting in Denver, Colorado for some time. Then one day they were all gone. The SD40T-2's were real workhorses. I hated to see them go while I was working for UP.
This really does break my heart as I ran those BN units when they were brand new. They were absolutely magnificent units. They would scream while pulling anywhere from 99 to 126 unit cars of coal across Wyo and SD. Newer units simply seem so soy-boy neutered.
@@Napoleon_Blownapart Of course the new replacements are more powerful and quieter. THAT is not the point, mowron. I imagine you wimping around in a Prius while the rest of us run your a$$ off the road with fueled auto's.
Thank goodness for You tube and people like yourself ! . in all my years I have Never seen so many Engines in one train . I see that the Union Pacific road names have the black lines across . they will be repainted to another road name . I miss a lot of the Railroad's here in Pittsburgh Pa/U.S.A. . most have been torn down and forgotten about . Ray in Pa.
Matt, Once in a lifetime catch! Congratulations. I read in the Dec 2010 edition of TRAINS MAGAZINE that UP called in it's entire 400 plus fleet of SD-40-2s for refits and installation of microprocessors. I wonder if these units were part of the second batch to be called in. don living in District 2 Pan Am Railways (PAR) Boston-North Shore
I've always wanted to see the rebuild/teardown process in Silvis. I've driven down past it on my way to interstate 80 lots of times. Could see the yard from the road. The amount of locos sitting outside is amazing. Locomotives are amazing but also scare the shit out of me.
I was going to say, most of those were SD45T-2 frames, whether or not they were repowered is impossible to tell without digging into their history. Easy way to tell a 40T-2 from a 45T-2 is look at the number of radiator doors (or the white sticker) over top of the air inlet. If it's 3 it was or is a 45T-2
Man, those tunnel motors just don't look right in UP colors after growing up with them on the SP. It's a sad day realizing that these once mighty locomotives of the Rockies and western states are no longer wanted by the class 1 railroads.
I saw one in grey sp colors almost except was owned by central Oregon and Pacific railroad (corp) in the early 2000s making it's way over the siskiyou pass
The majority of those units were actually SD40T-2s. These are a special variant of the classic SD40-2 that were modified to run better at higher altitudes, and were frequently used on mountainous routes.
UP had a rule that limited the amount of engines in a power move. I don't know what road this is. but before I turned a wheel ( I was a hog head ) I'd ask the manager on duty or the trick dispatcer. Gthey are gonna say,"it came in like `that so you can take it out like that". Then when I got off duty, I would go to the FRA web site and turn it in as a rule violation> The FRA reads it in Washington and investigates and gets back to you. They arfe not suppposed to give out your name acct whistle blower protection. Now if the printed rule is on your side, rest assured the Washington FRA will get in touch with regional FRA, who will get in touch with the local FRA. and they will talk to the manager or dispatcher ( who doeesn't know they are coming ) and if it's against the rule, that dispatcher or manager won't do it again---------------- and you got or can claim whistle blower protection, jiust keep your info and e-mails.
@@rateyesmertz3785 Whoa you learn something everyday. I'm a Kiwi (NZ) and have never seen anything like this vid. Not sure what a 'hog head' is so would appreciate a headsup on that if can spare the time to tap it out. Not sure what FRA stands for either for that matter. As far as 'whistle-blowing' goes in the work force - yep been there and done it. And would always do it if my job/position was in jeopardy of being lost. I wouldn't ever expect a fellow-employee to put me in a compromising position and that's my reasoning. In other words, if a fellow-employee will not tell the truth in any work-related issue where my job/position is at risk of being terminated, I will tell the truth. If the employee's position is at risk because of it - well, as I said, they needed to have told the truth in the issue at hand. Not my responsibility to 'cover' for them, and lie to my superiors. The truth always wins.
Yes. Quite a number of former SP and Rio Grande Tunnel Motors have been bought and shipped off to Brazil. One of the Brazilian roads that runs them Ferrovia Centro-Atlantica, is a narrow gauge opperation and has converted them to a B-B+B-B wheel arrangement! They have span bolsters over the trucks like the early Gas Turbines or the U50's had. They are now referred to as BB40T-2's now.
on there way to GE's R&D center so they can learn how to build a real locomotive, some of those ex SP tunnel motors have hauled more frieght then those -9's ever will.
ALL of the yellow units are SD45T-2 units with 20 cylinder 645E3A prime movers.. They all had 3 radiator fan access hatches. The rest all looked like SD40-2 yes. All those SD45T-2 units were converted to straight SD40-2 standards with 16 cylinder 645 E3 prime movers and they were put on the lease market. Many ended up with LTEX markings.
Wow you know how to count, Actually Fruit Man Don't Make Fun Of Trains. Just Because One Looks Odd Doesn't Mean It Can Turn into a different color. Burlington Northern Is Not Union Pacific idiot. This Is Not Funny! ITS A FREAKING DIFFERENT RAILROAD COMPANY FOR GODS SAKE
That was some train! Excellent Video! Most of the ex UP locomotives were former SP SD45T-2 Tunnel Motor locomotives. The reporting marks on the UP units were NREX or National Railway Equipment Corporation. Eric
I wonder where they are now. They were still relatively new, in rail terms. I checked some of the fleet numbers and they dated between 1972-1975. Plus they were rebuilt as well. Up north we have locomotives from the early to mid 1950's still rolling, so retiring something from the mid 70's sounds a bit strange to me.
And how many people commenting here did NOT pay attention to understand these units were not running, they were being towed to either an auction site or for trade in.
Harold Reardon it happens alot on RU-vid. where people will ask such stupid questions that can be easily answered by reading the description or even watching the video.
That big air vent grate at the bottom/back of the long hood is what makes a tunnel motor. It lets the engine pull in cooler, clearer air from the ground level of a tunnel, since the hot exhaust rises.
Most of the locomotives are SD40T-2 s that the union pacific Inherited after the merger with southern pacific. Up untill the merger the UP had no tunnel motor locomotives.
It has got to be hugely annoying to live near a railroad crossing in the US. Here in Sweden we hardly sound the horn at all, only in emergencies or in low visibility situations.
I love it! Doesn't bother me a bit! Never the less, many americans get run over if you don't virtually shove them out of the way in the first place. :/
