Let's see your 20-cylinder locos! F45's, SD45's, etc, variants of all! To get us started: Avon, MT; one of the few places on earth you can still catch unrebuilt Flares:
You have some really nice ol' SP there Thom...glad you were around to document it all, before the UP took over. Mike
Thanks Mike, SP is my life. Your images of SP in the 80's are awesome to say the least. Now you gotta post some 20 cylinder SP power on this thread!
Ex-SP SD45R 9486, now CEFX, leased to DGNO, Denison, TX, 4-9-06 Helm Leasing SD45-2 913 (ex-CSXT 8961/SBD 8961/SCL 2056), same day and RR as the engine posted above. CEFX (obviously ex-SP) SD45T-2 9373, ditto on location & day
I don't know if anyone has read or heard of TRP Magazine (it's a quarterly publication), but in a recent issue a fellow by the name of Mike Bednar (who started out on the Lehigh Valley, went to Conrail upon its startup, and is now an engineer for the Reading & Northern, besides writing a column each issue) describes running SD45-2s on his road, and the raw power and sound they would put forth handling tonnage up those grades & around uncompensated curves. He compared them to the massive muscle cars of the 1960s, and in a way they were. I don't have the issue with me right now (I'm at work), but if you ever get your hands on this copy, it's worth the money spent. I remember Frisco running SD45s on the Afton Sub on everything from hotshots (QLA, 33) to yard drags, and when the engineer had 'em in Run 8 it was something to behold!
Mullan Pass, mi amigo, you need to see Mullan! Now that SD70ACez have replaced the big flares, you can still see Merle's 20-cyl. fleet at work MRL-system wide. And on BNSF leases too. They still run 'em up here in the Big Sky State...
3600HP 3200HP...Note, she retains her low mounted brake cylinders. Four Flares for Freight. Four SD45's make up this westman at Ansel. 7420, 7407, 7462, and 7412. Thom
Great shots everybody! Hey Hemi, I have read that alot of the MRL Flares are ex SP, wondering if you have seen them in SP paint working on the MRL? In the June 2005 Trains, the "SD45 Out With a Roar" issue, it shows 7544 with her bloody nose but UDE notch and nose headlight missing. Her headlight is now where the gyra would be. Maybe some of the flares in my shots are now MRL? Thom
Without viewing the full-size image to verify numbers, some could very well be Espee heritage. I'll be willing to bet some of the engines you shot I have shot, only in different paint... Some D&RGW heritage engines are rostered by MRL as well... I have that SD45 article.. What good read...
Big fan of "TRP" mag...eventhough is has a heavy eastern influence, due to its writers/ editors mostly reside there...it is a really 1st class mag...
I subscribe to TRP. Not every issue is as great as some I have, but not all are junk, either. The Bicentennial unit issue was good... They did a great spread on Tennessee Pass a while back, and a write-up on D&RGW GP30's, among other good issues.....
Agreed. I flip through TRP to see if it has any SP content and if so I pick it up. One of my favs is issue #57 for Apr/May/june 2003. It has a story about SP U50's and other big SP GE's.
EF632 3200HP Note: low mount inside brake cylinders, and road grime on the windows Flare Roadrailer. 7554 EF632 3200HP and 7488 EF634 3400HP & low mount brake cylinders. Some of the "faux 45's" (SD40M-2's) on the SP, have the low mount brake cylinder rails, but the cylinders are mounted in the high position. Thom
