[GL][T-146] ENDEARING EMDs: The Rise and Fall of the SD50s & SD60s | Trains 21 

I watched a trio of near new Conrail SD50s start a train a half mile out from Chili Junction. As they incrementally throttled up comming towards me, I was in awe of the sound. They kept revving higher and higher, all the while thinking they couldn't give no more. By the time they passed me, they were my favorite locomotives of all time. Despite the reported problems, they still are.

Great vid, man. 8:46 I grew up in Georgia during the 60s; I miss those Southern locos so much. Must have watched a million of 'em as a boy.

The D&RGW SD50's were built to CSX specs as a tack-on to an order for 20 B&O units.

SD50-2 seems a little redundant to me... SD50's were some of the first engines to be delivered with the dash 2 modular electronics system... Actually, UP's 6900 series was the first, as an experiment. Thanks, EMD. You really revolutionized the job of replacing burned out Control Circuits. And thank heavens for the exit of hard wiring. whew, what a mess that was!

Wow! That was a ton of good info on the EMD 50 and 60 series and so much more! Thank you for taking the time to highlight and showcase these less than perfect engines that allowed GE to catch up and overtake EMD. I kind of wish EMD would have just stayed with the GP40-2 and SD40-2 the latter a true workhorse. Thanks for another great video A.C.!

5:36 I like that RRmods picture used for the CNW SD60! Awesome video! I love to listen to these informative videos. Edit: Okay yeah theres a lot of Trainz pictures in this video. Really cool. I have seen one of the GP60M's in Springfield Missouri. It was in the H3 or H4 sheme. I cant say its the same for all but not all are in the GP60M's are in warbonnet scheme.

Omg AC that was outstanding information. I had to go back a couple times and listen again for what you said. The timelines that you gathered was pretty cool. Your videos should be part of a documentary or in a library. Keep up the great work.

EMD really shot themselves in the foot with the SD50's. The other thing was when GM owned them and had troubles with the pension shortfall(only upper management knew about it to keep the share price up) put EMD up for sale and that scared a lot of customers to buy from GE who offer better financing and maintenance packages. This brought a lot back to me. Loved it. Excellent video AC.

Hi buddy, I am a EMD employee in the UK, very nice to see the American version of the class 66 which I work and maintain, we don't see any major problems with the UK version other than corrosion due to the climate

Seemed like the GP50 was always on point on the Santa Fe. Great video great info.

You did your research well. I'm impressed and shall subscribed for this kind of content. I wish to see more. thanks.

Love these types of videos. Sad that EMD made such a lemon as the 50's appear to be.

Wow what an awesome video thank you for showing me why EMD flopped for a while I never realized how many problems sd50 had very informative video good to hear your voice again AC love your narration and your information keep up all the great work you're quickly becoming one of my favorite railfan documentary artists cuz the way you do this you're getting it down pat man it's becoming an art form keep up all the great work peace out have a great day AC

"You're right about UP's GP60s, I still see them today running local freight. I just recently caught a pair of UP SD60Ms last week going east."

Nice video! I never knew details like this about certain locomotive models.

Ac. You are a plethora of information when it comes to locomotive information either emd or ge and alco .. I only hope to learn half of your knowledge 👍👍

Wow dude,take a breath.good vid,info.

You already know how much I liked the SD60 series. I really miss standard cab GPs and SDs. I never see them pulling a road freight out here in the west rockies but I do sometimes see them working yard switching with SD40-2s and SD45-2s, never a SD60 or SD50. I haven't even seen a SD60 for almost a decade. Sad. I really miss the late 80s/early 90s roads and locomotive varieties. Makes me wish I had a camera as a kid and took photos. Oh well. Such is life.

Dont forget the Australian built SD50s built for Hammersley Iron, that ended up at Utah Railway

All of your dialogue went right over my head. No mas. Your vids are great.

That's awesome! My favorite loco is the ATSF GP60 M the closest we'll get to an F unit. I'm surprised to hear they were not liked by the crew.

I caught a ragged looking Soo Line SD-60 working as a yard switcher in Portage, WI last summer (2019). It was there for about a week and then was gone. It caught my attention because the yard is mainly a CP hub, with some BNSF traffic (coal to local power plant from western points), and Amtrack service, so it stood out like a sore thumb. And I mean ragged. It was a smoking rust bucket with very faded paint that was twice or more louder than the rest of the yard traffic. Kind of reminded me of a ghost ship or something like that.

Very nicely done!

The left coast loves ÈMD. In addition to BNSF rebuilding in downgrading all their GP50/60M', SD60M/75 M'S the U.P. has only retired wreck damaged GP60/SD60/60MS . The geeps are in yard and local service and the SD60/60M'S are part of the U.P. surge fleet. The state of California have even paid U.P. and EMD to rebuild 27 SD70M'S in economic friendly SD59X'S which are v12-3200hp versions of the 60's. Meanwhile U.P. and BNSF massive fleet of GE-8's have been retired or sold or scrapped. EMD may be 2nd in sells but 1st longevity and reliability. EMD FOREVER!

You just earned a Subscriber mate!

Pretty excited to see a couple of the CSX-rebuilt SD50's coming to Lake State Railway in Mid-Michigan. They just took delivery of the first one last week.

Funny you would mention Metrolink's SD60. That's not a rumor, that actually did happen. Metrolink did get ahold of a real SD60. The problem was, nobody was sure how a monster six-axle freight unit would behave in 79mph start-stop commuter service, and nobody really wanted to find out. It was sold back to the leasing company, and then leased to UP for a while. Still plenty of GP60s in Santa Fe paint. All but two of the GP60Ms have been rebuilt into GP60M-3s. I do miss seeing them in warbonnet paint working the Kaiser mill in Fontana. Gorgeous locos.

Hey guys don't forget Chicago METRO has bought about 20 ex BNSF SD70MACS that are currently being rebuilt by progress rail for commuter passenger service. They will be called SD70MACP in be rated at 4000hp with 6 axles with only 4 powered axles and HEP equipped for the passenger cars. Probably similar to the Alaska railroad units.

I loved the standard cab SD60s that NS had, used to see them all the time growing up usually it was paired up to a top hat dash 9 or a widecab one, the last standard cab 60 I filmed was a rough worn standard cab with the standard paint that still had the SOU reporting marks and I kinda knew then that was probably the last I’ll ever see, it was kinda sad those were the only EMD units that I would see on the regular, but funnily enough just the other day at work I heard a horn and looked and it was two brand new SD60E pulling a coal train and I kinda chuckled at it. from what I’ve heard the C&O had issues with their SD50s, a guy told me they alway had issues with them “not loading” meaning they wouldn’t draw Amps for power and that sometimes they would notch up get up to a certain speed and the power would kick out, which isn’t good when you are working in WV on a grade with a cut of coal cars, and there’s a video on RU-vid that is from the 1980s and has SD50s in it on the C&O and the engineer is cursing on the radio about how they can only run it at 20mph because it keeps cutting out and there’s audible bangs when it happens so likely what the guy was telling me was true, and further more CSX had a real blast trying to fix the mess they got when they received the chessie and the seaboard SD50s.

Slight correction-CSX ordered 10 SD60s brand new, 8700-8709

Very informative!

Thanks for this. I was at Horseshoe Curve last week and saw many SD40E's and wondered what they were about.

KCS had 4 SD40Xs (700/703) that were the pre runner to the SD50 of with KCS also had the first 10 built by EMD. The KCS also had the first 36 SD60 built. They latter bought 11 former CR SD50's that were rebuilt by the KCS and were transferred to the KCSM along with the remaining SD50/60's. In turn the TFM/KCSM SD70Mac were moved to the KCS. The KCS stuck with the SD50 program and worked with EMD to solve the problems with the SD50 witch resulted in the success of the SD60. BN also had the first SD60ac's that were the pre runner to the very successful SD70Mac.

I reumber gp50 on the Union Pacific and I can’t believe did video on this that’s awesome buddy

A small spur of the old Rio Grande is run as an industrial yard track in my home of Woods Cross UT. You can still see Union Pacific running former Rio Grande GP60’s in UP liveries, one of the only relics of the old D&RGW mainline to remain.

And that is why I appreciate every SD60 I see on CN, CP, or BNSF

One of CSX's few remaining SD50-3s was damaged in the Wellington, Ohio derailment. Rip

The kids and I love hearing about the locomotives!

Loved the 3 windowed 60's but never thought much of the 50's

BNSF rebuilt most of their GP60M to GP60M-3s and I think all of them are repainted into the new Heritage 4 paint. Also great video.

I have seen a GP60B as third of five power on a manifest freight East bound on the KO subdivision through Fargo, ND into the Dilworth yard bound for St. Paul, MN. That was about 10 days ago. The GP60B was in BNSF colors.

Is there anything wrong with the GP15-1 and GP15AC locomotive's???

There are a bunch of Union Pacific SD50s, 60s, 70s and 70Aces in storage in Tracy, Ca. Some look like they've just been repainted and some look like trash.

You're a machine!! 😁

Wow - thank you for that.

Brazil only ever had 2 SD60s Both were the only SD60s built below the equator, they were SD60Ms with the triclops cab design, produced by Equipamentos Villares SA, EMD's representative in South America, in 1991 for the CVRD, today's Vale on their Carajás RR. Both units were plagued by mechanical problems, most notably crankshaft issues in their 710G3A's, this relegated them to shunting and ballast jobs until they were quietly scrapped in the mid-2010s much to the dismay of the rare railfans in the Carajás RR region. I've always liked the SD60Ms, the triclops cab being my favorite for obvious reasons. I honestly dont like the look of the 2 window cab (9:40), the rounded nose puts me off. Although I dont mind the 4 panel canadian cab.

Used to see BN SD60M's all the time on the BNSF thayer sub one of my favs second to the SD40 big fan of EMD good video like the model specific history of these videos EMD nunn better for me!👍👍

nice video

CN, UP, CP and probably KCS still running Standard cab SD60s

But CSX still has some sd50-3s they got rid of all there sd50-2s there is only 4 left so catch them if you can

Awesome video i just saw 8 ex ns/cr sd60s in kenova west Virginia just last Saturday parked and some what sad shape

Actually cn still has some sd50fs rolling around... I just saw one today.

Wow this is ironic. I’m working on a fantasy railroad and I painted a SD50 and SD60 yesterday!

Surprised no talk of 70MACs

i have seen a lot of these when i was younger and when i started railfaning i have seen 2 CSX sd 50's

That NS 6634 had them old GSF reporting markers

Slight correction to your comment on the CSX SD60's. You mention all but three of CSX's SD60's came from Conrail. Incorrect. CSX purchased 10 SD60's (#8700-8709) before the Conrail split. The three you mentioned came from EMD in a huge locomotive swap between CSX and EMD. These units were the ex-demonstrators and were numbered after the ex-Conrail SD60/60M's.

Hey AC I've seen the Kennecott copper gp39 with my own eyes they have a really weird cab that's taller then the car body of a locomotive and even the nose of the locomotive is taller than a standard GP class locomotive when I was in elementary school I got to take a field trip to Kennecott copper mine my mom's maiden name is Bingham so I'm actually related to the copper mine and it was cool when I went it was like 1995 or so and they still had it tracks in the pit and they still had locomotives go through that big tunnel into the pit and I got to see that when I was a kid I just wish I had a camera but it was pretty amazing I worked at a golf course later in my life. When I was in my early twenties and it was called copper Golf Club and I could see the power plant and the smelter stack from where I worked and you could see all of the sulfuric acid tank cars and you would see those Kennecott copper gp39 switching sulfuric acid tank cars sulfuric acid is a byproduct of smelting copper I just thought I'd let you know that story peace out AC have a great day

Tex-Mex GP60s 869 & 870 spent some time with Helm Leasing after the TM was absorbed. 869 was then sold to the Vermont Railway, sold back to Helm a few years later, and then sold again to BNSF. It was photographed in AZ in Feb. '19 still wearing patched Vermont Railway colors. 870 landed with the BNSF in Aug. '11 and was renumbered #169, still in TM colors, but was involved in a yard accident in Nov' 2011 in Washington and many thought it would have to be scrapped. It emerged from rebuilding, though, sometime in 2014 as BNSF #199. My best research shows both TM 869 & 870 are still active as BNSF 198 and BNSF 199. You can find photos of each locomotive at rrpicturearchives.net.

Soo had SD60s. You see them every once and awhile as leasers. Idk who told you Soo couldn't buy them, but they were wrong.

Since you're a fellow railfan AC all will tell you my favorite train memory when I was going from elementary to Junior High I worked a three Summers for my grandpa and my grandma sent me on a vacation with my mom to Washington State on the Amtrak I got to go over Donner Pass on the Amtrak that was amazing went to Jack London Square change trains from California Zephyr to Coast Starlight went up the coast through Northern California and Oregon when we went up to Washington State I got to see my great grandma and my Aunt Cindy and I went up and saw a Mount Saint Helens that was pretty cool but the last week I was there they asked me if I wanted to go see the ocean or go see the Scenic Railroad that had a steam locomotive well loving trains like I do I could not pass up the steam locomotive it's called the Chehalis and Cowlitz Scenic Railroad number 15 it's a 2-8-2 ex logging locomotive it's sat in a park for like 40 years then they rebuilt it and it goes down like a eight or ten mile long Spur Line and at the end of track they switch the track and have the steam engine hook to the end of the train and pull it back well I was in the open-air car behind the tender of locomotive and the engineer must have felt my eyeballs burning on his back because I've watched every move that he made when they uncoupled the locomotive and brought it to the open-air cart it engineer set the fireman to ask me if I'd like to ride in the cab of the steam locomotive and I jumped in the air about a foot he asked you my parent was and I pointed to my mom and she said I could go of course cuz my mom is awesome and I got to blow the whistle and when we were going down the straightest piece of track I got to highball the steam locomotive the locomotive engineer asked me do you know what highball means and I said green light Full Throttle and he just smiled and I grabbed a hold of the throttle and I got to pull it open and that whole locomotive was shaking back and forth I will never forget this for the rest of my life I actually have some photographs of me in the cab of the locomotive it was a Baldwin and I'll never forget that absolute greatest time of my life sitting in the cab of a steam locomotive blowing the whistle and pulling the throttle and this happened in 1997 and that was the greatest vacation my entire life it was literally train locomotive / volcano vacation and it was awesome I am very lucky I got to be pulled by f40ph has the first generation GE Genesis and I even saw some General Electric with the B trucks I can't remember what that's called the Amtrak had b40 - 7 so I think and also that was Burlington Northern Territory before the merger so I saw a lot of Burlington Northern green and some Santa Fe yellow and blue and Union Pacific was still everywhere I even saw some Southern Pacific locomotives it was an epic vacation seared into my memory banks peace out AC I appreciate all your videos and how kind you are to all us that love locomotives that is our common Bond they're literally the railroad ties that bind us together as a nation and as a civilization thank God for railroads the world wouldn't be the same without them peace out into the world have a great day AC

Conrail had a lot of SD50s and SD60s

8:34 trains 21 I figured out the fate of engine number 940 when I was visiting Memphis Tennessee a while back I took a picture of some locomotives in a scrap yard and this engine was 1 of 3 ex Union Pacific units meeting the torch ironically the other two were dash 8's

I heard the SD70s have a bit of issues

The CN SD50Fs weren’t scrapped when they reached NPR, they’re still running.

The D&RGW SD 50s came from a cancelled order of CSX units! So technically the are csx unit with Rio Grande paint!

Good info but who don't you go to closed captioning (or let us be able to invoke it). Some of us have old ears.

EMD FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!

Ns still has a few sd60s at juninata in storage

Its kindof scary you know so much about what engines a railroad has.

1:23 is a pic of my namesake!

All where toughest in working well

Thankfully Hudson Bay Railway still has SD50s in their roster

Where ya been ac? Been a while

Very cool. all but CNW couldn't take the SD80Macs due to bridge clearance in Chicago...so they settled on dash-9s then AC4400s....when my father worked there, the 6800 and 6900 SD40-2x as well as the 8000s SD60 were loved by crews, the 7000s SD50s were hated....me personally....id take a C30-7 or dash-8 any day....then again I no longer work in the rail industry....almost all C30-7s were sold to South America and now my cousin runs them....

CSX still uses SD50-3 locomotives

2021 update: Of the 281 SD60Ms purchased by the UP, all of them were retired, at least 30 of them have been sold to LTEX in Lordstown, OH, quite a few of the SD60Is and SD60Ms from CSX and NS were also sold to LTEX. 2 of the SD60Fs from the CN went to LTEX as well

I love the EMD GP15-1 locomotive's.💖💖💖💖💖💛💛💛💛💛

Ns had gp49’s from N&W or SOU

Nysw sd60's?

@4:56 but they load like a Uboat and are totally unsuited for the service they are being used in, namely locals and switching. These engines were made to haul fast lite intermodal trains; give them what they want and these engines will wow you

Can we get an F in the Chat for EMD?

Il never understand why NS rebuilt the 60Ms 60is and got rid of the SD80MACs. All of them were good locos

please, pronounce GP as Gee Pee, not Jeep

i'm sure you know what you're talking about BUT,,,,,,,,,,,COULD YOU SLOW DOWN A LITTLE ...................i can't keep up with you and have to keep going back to check what i thought i just heard.. SLOW DOWN,,,,,,,,,NOBODY'S RACING YOU.....it's a lot more enjoyable and relaxing when you don't talk sooooo fast.............listen to DISTANT SIGNAL for a while and you'll get what i'm talking about.....thanks