Diesel of the Day 7/15: GE AC4400CW
14Today’s diesel is the GE analog to yesterday’s EMD model: the General Electric AC4400CW. 2,598 were built between 1993 and 2004, making it one of GE’s most popular models. The AC44CW is powered by the 4,400 horsepower GE 7FDL16 turbocharged four-stroke prime mover, and like its EMD contemporary, the SD70MAC, is equipped with AC traction and computer control. GE also introduced a new radial self-steering truck, or wheelset, under this locomotive, which helps it steer around curves, reducing wear on the wheels and the rail. It’s proven to be a reliable unit, and most are still in service with their original buyers. The AC4400CW looks much like most modern GE diesels - angular cab, short fat exhaust stack, square dynamic brake grids behind the cab, and radiator ‘wings’ at the rear. All subsequent GE diesels sold in North America deviate very little from this base design. The photo today depicts an ex-Southern Pacific Railroad AC4400CW, number 343. This locomotive was, at the time, still wearing the paint of her original owner, a ‘fallen flag’, or defunct railroad, since 1996, when SP merged into Union Pacific. She would be repainted into UP Armour Yellow less than a week after I took this photo a couple years ago.
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@PoolToyWolf – You’ll know the answer to this: Seems that locomotives are all known by their numbers.
How are these numbers assigned? Does the railroad just number them sequentially? Is there a central registry? When a locomotive is sold to another railroad, does it get a new number?
(I’m wondering because you say this one got new colors when merged to UP; did she (?) stay ‘343’?)
Discuss…
@simssj SP 343 became UP 6308. Usually there is some rhyme or reason for the numbering scheme, typically to keep all units of the same type organized. (On CSX, 1-599 are all AC4400CWs.) However there is no cross-railroad standard, so when a locomotive is sold, it is frequently renumbered. This sometimes results in fragmented classes; for example, there is a small group of AC44s on CSX numbered 5000-5016, because numbers above 599 were already taken. (600-699 AC6000CW, 700-999 ES44AH, etc.)
I have a question too: I live near NS railroads, and I regularly see trains with multiple locomotives that have a BNSF, UP or Conrail painted locomotive in therm. What’s that all about? Do railroads share locomotives, or did NS buy them and not repaint them?
I once rode an Amtrak that had a BNSF locomotive at the front, and the explanation was that because the track was owned by BNSF, Amtrak had to occasionally have a BNSF locomotive attached to the train if that locomotive had to be somewhere along that line.
/image cp rail grain car
Also, there is a government of Canada grain car similar to the one above that has been on an out of the way siding for decades now. Do you think Canada knows it’s there? Or would want it back?
@eonfifty Usually you’ll see other railroads’ locomotives due to power sharing - railroads frequently use each others’ power when it is more convenient than using their own. A locomotive owned by a different railroad than the train is called ‘foreign power’. Leasers also fall into this category. (You haven’t seen a real Conrail diesel for a few years now; they’ve all been repainted, except for NS 8098, the Conrail ‘Heritage’ ES44AC.) As for your Canada grain car, it’s probably been sold to a private company and has been sitting there…or, less likely, it’s actually a different car of the same type every week, and that company gets serviced with a grain car regularly.
@eonfifty Amtrak will ask the nearest freight railroad for assistance if one of their own diesels breaks down (often with the P42DCs), which is why you sometimes see freight diesels pulling Amtrak trains. This is considered desirable for us railfans, just like foreign power.
@PooltoyWolf A breakdown makes sense. It’s been a few years or more since that experience. I do remember Amtrak personnel being concerned about the BNSF locomotive’s max speed and keeping on schedule. They may have also been annoyed that Amtrak couldn’t have a spare engine near by.
/image empire builder train
@eonfifty Funny thing is, even though the Amtrak ‘Genesis’ diesels top out at 110 MPH, they very rarely get to stretch their legs that much. The common maximum speed on freight diesels is 65 MPH for older DC units and 75 MPH for the newer AC ones, and many areas on Amtrak routes are limited to speeds below that.
@PooltoyWolf On at least one trip, I tracked the ride with my GPS, and 80mph was common to see on straightaways. At the time, freight trains were given priority, and there was a lot of time spent on sidings waiting for freight train to pass. Any increase in speed would have helped keep the schedule with the delays Amtrak had to endure.
/image waiting on a freight train
@eonfifty That’s a fundamental flaw with Amtrak’s scheduling today…they are supposed to have priority over freights always, but they rarely get it. Much of the routine delays systemwide are attributed to waiting ‘in the hole’ for passing freight trains. Grrr
@PooltoyWolf It has improved though. Five or so years ago it took more than 13 hours to travel from Cleveland to Chicago due to freight traffic. That’s only 360 miles (a six hour car drive.) A couple of years ago, there was very little waiting, and we passed many freight trains that were off on sidings letting us pass. I think things have gotten better now that the oil production has dropped off. Some of those trains were too long to fit on sidings to let passenger trains pass.
/image oil tanker train
@eonfifty Glad to hear that service levels are improving, at least in some areas!
@PooltoyWolf We have a little retail area here in downtown Tulsa called The Boxyard
I guess they used old shipping containers (not rail cars?) But I’ve been seeing more of this type of recycling of containers. How much do old containers or railcars cost?
@therealjrn That’s really neat! Used prices on railcars and locomotives vary wildly, based on type, age, and condition. I do know that a good used 2nd generation freight diesel, like an EMD GP38-2, usually sells for between $200,000 and $400,000.
@PooltoyWolf Well, that’s a little high for a daily driver. Say…do you know of anybody who drives to work on a train to work on trains?
@therealjrn A brand-new ET44AC will set you back about $3 million
I don’t personally, but I’m sure there are plenty of shop crews and even train crews who take trains to work!
@daveinwarsh We’re here!
@daveinwarsh That whole scene is awesome.