If you want to customize, you can remove the turbo stack and turbo bulge, add a pair of non-turbo stacks one on either side of the dynamic brake blister, and have SD18s. It would be a fun project to make something only offered in brass.I need to find a few more of those anyway. Thank you Terry!!
Not seeing any online though. I did see an SD24B shell, but it is getting pricey.If you want to customize, you can remove the turbo stack and turbo bulge, add a pair of non-turbo stacks one on either side of the dynamic brake blister, and have SD18s. It would be a fun project to make something only offered in brass.
Chet that is awesome!! Almost looks like it was set up for a wreck.
Jerome...... ya done good.Oh yeah, $20 a piece for powered, not too bad.
Ore trains generally have 6 axle power. I lived in Phillie and those type ore jennies came thru there all the time. They carried taconite out of the Port of Philadelphia up to Bethlehem. If its a short haul, 20-40 miles then you might see switchers, but if its a run that covers hundreds of miles, its going to have power with bigger fuel tanks on it. Era also has something to do with the power. GP60's were generally used on intermodal trains initially, not necessarily because of gearing but because of hp/axle. GP38's and SD40's had 500 hp/axle, a GP60 had 900 hp/axle. Higher hp/axle = higher acceleration on a lighter train, its wasted on a drag freight. Having said that, the RDG bought GP40-2's for the Grace mine taconite trains from a mine near Reading up to Bethlehem Steel (they used hoppers and hoppers converted to gons).
Just as an aside, in S. Texas the SP and then UP used those type of jennies to haul aggregates (gravel and sand) in short unit trains. They were called "OJ's" (ore jennies). They tended to use 4 axle power, everything from GP38-2's to downgraded GP60's to even leased Amtrak F40's (for a brief glorious moment in time).
You could add an "X" or "AC" there. The X should be self-explanatory, the AC would mean the DC traction motors were replaced by AC traction motors. In the real world, it would mean the traction motors would be able to operate at a much lower speed than their DC counterparts. You can then replace the radio lightning bolt with one similar to what you see on modern AC equipped engines.Dave, thank you for that explanation. To a non railroad guy, I can understand that now. Which leads me to another quandary. Let's say in the fictional world of the A&P, if I labeled my GP60's as GP60R (rebuilt) then in theory I could use those? Interesting.
All of my units are labeled by type. You can see it on the sill by the back steps here. I can easily add an "R" to it.
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Terry, with the stanchions in place, I can fit 1 letter. I wasn't thinking that far ahead I guess. I like "R" or "X" though.You could add an "X" or "AC" there. The X should be self-explanatory, the AC would mean the DC traction motors were replaced by AC traction motors. In the real world, it would mean the traction motors would be able to operate at a much lower speed than their DC counterparts. You can then replace the radio lightning bolt with one similar to what you see on modern AC equipped engines.
Remember that era plays a part. If you are modeling the time when the GP60's were brand new and bought new from the manufacturer, then they would be used primarily in high speed intermodal service. If you look at the real railroads, that's what they did, high speed intermodal on mostly flat routes.
Fast forward 20-25 years, the GP60's have been bumped from intermodal service, many have been rebuilt, and a lot have ended up as just another 4 axle unit. There is a WAMX engine that looks to be a wide cab GP60 outside Wichita that serves as a switch engine at a gravel plant (it replaced a GP-9 type engine).
Lo, how the mighty have fallen.
You can use them however you want. I guess the question is how far are you hauling these ore trains, why isn't there CR power on the train to begin with (how did CR get them to you?). If this is just a short move, 10-40 miles interchange to someplace else then using a bunch of 4 axle engines would make sense. If its a long distance move over hills or mountains, it wouldn't make as much sense. HP = speed and tractive effort = tonnage. With an ore train, speed is not as much the constraint as pulling power. A 6 axle engine more or less has 30-50% more pulling power than a equivalent hp 4 axle engine, with virtually the same operating costs.
I have question, what does the "Owned and leased by A&P RR" stencil mean? Both owning and leasing an engine and leasing it seems mutually exclusive. Its like owning a home and renting it at the same time. If its a subsidiary of the IC, would they be owned by the IC and leased by the AP?
Greg, so the story goes, you bring them south to Chicagoland, I pick them up and move them westward to the Ole Mississippi, to be barged south for export. Sounds plausible!!??Jerome: I'm partial to the ore jennies that ran in Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. On my modest layout I'll run 16 jennies to a train and since I have nearly 300 of the little guys, I'll park a string or two on a siding.
All my ore cars are being outfitted with metal wheels, Kadee couplers, Chooch ore loads covered with Woodland Scenics ore and weathered.
Some are patched for repair jobs.
Greg
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