You know not all 30 where scrapped 2 have survived on CPKC 7206 and 7216? I know that 7206 is stored in a warehouse in Canada, owned by the railroad as the unit sets as they’re still in talks with the museum. The other one is still serving as a part source however has been put aside for now.
6 SD80MAC's from PRLX were acquired by Canadian Pacific to be used as parts donors for their SD70ACU rebuild program. Canadian Pacific at that only completed 30 SD70ACU's.There still is surviving SD80MAC's in storage at PRLX.Only the units that had the most mileage and/or problems with them were the ones getting scraped or taken apart for parts.There was 29 SD80MAC's sold to PRLX by Norfolk Southern. Years ago when CSX owned 13 of the units,1 was scraped because the frame was severely damaged in some wreckage.That's why 12 of them went to Norfolk Southern after the trade deal involving CSX getting more SD40-2's in return while Norfolk Southern already owned 17 SD80MAC's.
It'll never happen,the EPA has killed any chance of that ever happening again with their standards and compliances. If the SD80MAC's had stayed longer,if the SD90MAC's & AC6000CW's were reliable,they still would've been retired because of stricter emissions tests.
It really is a shame that there were so few 80macs produced. From the ones that were built it was shown they were incredible units, so it’s sad that so few railroads gave them a chance
I’ve been told a few times and idk if it’s true or not but the 80MACs performed better than the 90MACs in terms of performance and etc I’ve also been told they pulled like absolute mothers when they got them 5k ponies going.
Conrail was literally the only railroad that owned SD80MAC's. They only ended up with Norfolk Southern and CSX because of the split/shut down.Later on,the dozen SD80MAC's were given to Norfolk Southern ensuring that they owned every surviving unit because CSX wanted to get SD40-2's in return from them. The CNW would've had several SD80MAC's if the Union Pacific takeover didn't occur.Those orders were canceled because Union Pacific had no interest in them since they were getting their deliveries of AC6000CW's and SD9043MAC's. Yes,the SD80MAC's were much better.The SD9043MAC's were just convertibles,but the real 6,000 HP SD90MAC H1's & H2's were an epic failure with the 265H's.
Didn't know conrails cadilac costed 1 million dollar plus back then. Sad I've never seen an SD80MAC when they were in service. But would it be possible for EMD/PRLX to build one fresh?
6 SD80MAC's from PRLX were purchased by Canadian Pacific to only be used as parts donors for their SD9043MAC's that were being rebuilt into SD70ACU's. Any surviving units are still in PRLX storage,and others that had extensive hours/use on them were scrapped.They never will be rebuilt,the only chance at prolonged usage is if they become exports like certain amounts have.
I got hired in the Conrail around 1999 and was lucky enough to ride in an sd80 mac, and it was what they said was, a whisper cab. After lots of time spent in a gp38 and a gp40 not to mention sd60m's, it truly was an absolute Cadillac. I also had a chance to ride in a sd90 Mack new unit from Union pacific. The salt took place at Walbridge near Toledo ohio.
Same. I’ve been loosing faith in NS eversince finding out this along with some of the truths of their own reputation, only to loose more after the East Palestine accident. That totally destroyed my trust in them
My Uncle operated most of the 80Macs before he retired in 2019, even the two demonstrators, he told me loved them and I did too, this is a great episode, absolutely incredible!
Extraordinarily well done video, thank you. When I started with csx in 2010, a guy I became close friends with told me his favorite locomotive was the sd80mac, it was like an obsession for him, and he was the first one that I ever heard use the term "cadillac" for those units. I got myself into the cab of numerous EMDs, GEs and when I finally got to experience the comfort of the sd80mac, I was blown away, our csx train on that trip had a Canadian sd80 on the point, with a coffee maker, and microwave on board, I had warm food for once. That was when I fell in love with that locomotive type, not to mention the seats, it was like cruising. But yeah again, thank you so much for the video, you did and amazing job on it, and I highly enjoyed this. Best video discussing the sd80mac I've seen. Also, I had heard csx was peeved at one point with ge because ge promised the ac6000 would make a certain amount of power on delivery, and that wasn't the case when they got them. I can't swear to the accuracy of this, but my buddy told me, ac6000 was a lie. Maybe someday I'll get to know the truth behind that lol
Enjoyed this man thanks for your hard work! I remember seeing these things brand new on the Chicago line near Cleveland Ohio when I was a kid. I also love the picture you got of 801 in bright future paint I’ve never seen that one before she was glossy😎.
I've never seen this series before but with this being my first episode and having some big names that I also watch like Trains21, AmtrakGuy365 and others it is amazing! Great job and keep up the amazing episodes
Yo solo los conozco por video pues vivo en Argentina y aunque nunca estuve de acuerdo que un locomotora tenga mas de 16 cilindros tengo que decir que estos sd80 mac me enloquece ver y escuchar su sonido y ver su eficiencia EMD GM locomotives maximun power of haul 💯💯
