Reports have UP about the embark on a rebuild program for SD40-2s. Quantity is about 200. There are some intitial lists of units to be rebuilt floating around but we'll see. Just a heads up.
No, but I'd venture a guess, SD40M-2 or SD40-3 or something similar. Also heard the initial group does not include ex SP units but with near 200 units being done, some tunnel motors will get it. Long live tunnel motors!
Other numbers I've seen is 500 and all in house. I wonder if they'll get kits from EMD and go Eco or just rebuild them like they did in the late 90's. Those rebuilt SD40-2's in the late 90's were hard to beat, great pullers, easy riding due to the trucks getting a good work over. I do hope they keep the real gages and real air brakes. The Epic electric brakes are like MS train. Greg
They've been toying with engine swaps from a couple places haven't they? I'd assume they have to be doing a T2 engine swap to meet with the new regulations? a 645 core is just not going to be legal on a rebuilt engine unless they found a way to change its emissions characteristics drastically.
645s are still legal, EMD, GE, WABTEC and others haveoffered variety of retrofit kits to get a 645 to meet Teir 0 standrds at a minimum. EMD just released a Part 1033 retrofit kit to comply with the new regs (EPA rule 40 CFR Part 1033, which added Teir 3 and Teir 4 and tightened the prior standards) for 710 and 645s in January. Note that I don't think they apply to 645Fs... just 645s and 645Es. When NS rebuilt their SD50s to SD40E, they used a 645E for this reason.
So is that going to raise them to Tier 0 or Tier 1? I thought rebuilds would have to meet tier 1 now? Also, in the next few years they will be bumped up again right? the ECO swap would be a T2 engine which should last for years yes? Also, I wonder if that retrofit kit works on 567s that have had the 645 parts put on (I forget if it's the heads or what). Does GE have an equivalent? They have seemed pretty mum on the whole modernization issue. They have the engine swap, but that doesn't even mention emissions
Rebuilds of locomotives manufactured from 1973 to 1992, and for locomotives built from 1993 to 2001 without a separate intake air coolant system have to meet the tighter Tier 0 standards effective Jan 2010. Rebuilds of locomotives manufactured from 1993 to 2004 have to meet the tighter Tier 1. Note that CFR 1033 basically rasied the standards of the Teirs... i.e, Tier 0 line-haul standards used to be HC 1.00, CO 5.0, NOx 9.5 and PM 0.60, the new Tier 0 standards are HC 1.00, CO 5.0, NOx 8.0 and PM 0.22, all measured in grams per brake horsepower per hour. Tier 3 and Tier 4 will apply to new locomotives built (2012-2014 and 2015+). A 567 using 645 power assemblies should be convertible. GE does have an equivalent 1033 kit for th FDL (they had a kit for the old standards too) The major benefit of the engine swap deals with both manufacturers (and Caterpillar/Progress Rail) is fuel consumption reduction and lube oil consumption reduction, with the added benefit of meeting current Tier 2 standards.
Huh, I couldn't find anything about GE's kit on the web. Though obviously, as a hugh conglomerate, it's a little harder to sort through GE's press.
Reports now indicate that no tunnel motors are to rebuilt. All but five have been retired and will be up for auction soon. The five left are not active. But yeah, they are starting to pull the candidates for rebuild out of deadlines.
Huh, I saw a couple Tunnel motors at Albania Yard last weekend. It didn't look like a deadline, but it might have been.
