CSX Locomotive Roster News, Updates & Information Thread

[MQT1223]

Lame... a half hearted attempt. These are barely heritage units.

[Bulby]

Lame... a half hearted attempt. These are barely heritage units.

You're giving them more credit than I am.

[SD80MAC]

Lame... a half hearted attempt. These are barely heritage units.

They're not supposed to be heritage units, they're just putting the logos on equipment to be able to keep the copyrights.

[heartlandguy]

Lame... a half hearted attempt. These are barely heritage units.

They're not supposed to be heritage units, they're just putting the logos on equipment to be able to keep the copyrights.

Originally I just thought it was shop crew humor, but this makes more sense. How long would the copyrights be extended now that they are smacking a logo on random units?

[MQT1223]

They're not supposed to be heritage units, they're just putting the logos on equipment to be able to keep the copyrights.

Originally I just thought it was shop crew humor, but this makes more sense. How long would the copyrights be extended now that they are smacking a logo on random units?

I'm assuming this is for monetary reasons, such as when modeling companies like Lionel, MTH, Athearn, Atlas, Broadway Limited or some other brand want to use a CSX predecessor logo such as the Chessie System or Family Lines?

[Saturnalia]

Try trademarks. They're governed by a different set of rules than copyrights.

You can't copyright a name or brand, which is what a logo is. Hence, on the new CSX YN3B units, to the power right of the boxcar logo is a small "TM". Obviously, patents are inventions.

Trademarks have a lot more to do with actually using your marks than copyrights or patents, hence the need to keep them up.

[Saturnalia]

Here is the status of the ENTIRE SD40/SD40-2 fleet. Or I should say, marked as known.

-Known Boise units have been seen enroute or at Boise for SD40-3 rebuild

-Known Deadline units were those at Huntington in the deadlines last week

-Those marked recommended retirement were so listed in a "Stored unserviceable" list about two months ago.

-All the SD40-2s from NS are stored together in Huntington, awaiting emissions testing apparently. Starting to get reports that CSX is just gonna send them to Boise. We'll be watching that. All have received the CSX logos. Somebody has deemed it "Hornet", and I like that

If they're blank, doesn't mean they're not at Boise or stored. We're pretty confident we know MOST Boise and stored units, but we probably don't have them all

To view, click on the image, and then you'll have to zoom in. Might require a desktop browser.

[trainspot]

Here is the status of the ENTIRE SD40/SD40-2 fleet. Or I should say, marked as known.

Nice list, thank you! What do the various "DL" abbrv. stand for?

[Saturnalia]

Here is the status of the ENTIRE SD40/SD40-2 fleet. Or I should say, marked as known.

Nice list, thank you! What do the various "DL" abbrv. stand for?

EDL = East Deadline
MDL = Middle Deadline
WDL = West Deadline

Supposedly, WDLs are supposed to go to Boise this year, MDLs next year.

[trainspot]

Trains.com has a photo of 3251:
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/20 ... ne-testing

And report of 5 SD40-3's at E. St. Louis, IL. Numbers are CSXT 4058, 4059, 4060, 4062, 4064.
Image of 4059:
http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPictur ... id=4278309

[CSX_CO]

Looks like another batch headed west for rebuild:

8826 8852 8901 8902 8903 8904 8906 8909

[heartlandguy]

Looks like another batch headed west for rebuild:

8826 8852 8901 8902 8903 8904 8906 8909

So much for the 8900s going into road service... Doesn't surprise me though.

[Saturnalia]

Looks like another batch headed west for rebuild:

8826 8852 8901 8902 8903 8904 8906 8909

So much for the 8900s going into road service... Doesn't surprise me though.

Sounded like something to do with getting them up to specs. Never got by emissions testing. They're all expected to go to Boise.

[GP30M4216]

New power from old: CSX locomotive rebuild program preserves jobs in Huntington, WV
The State Journal

http://www.statejournal.com/story/29895 ... tington-wv
(Photos available at the link above)

Posted: Aug 28, 2015 5:30 PM EDT
By Jim Ross

The morning of Aug. 21, a CSX train passed through Huntington eastbound and on toward Virginia. Behind the two, six-axle locomotives at the head of the train were several dozen tank cars holding hazmat placards bearing the number 1267 — petroleum crude oil.

Trains carrying crude oil have multiplied the past few years because of drilling in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota. Movements of frac sand into the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions have increased, also. All those trains have led to a shortage of locomotive power nationally despite the slowdown (or in railroad terms, headwinds) in the coal markets. That’s been good news for places that manufacture locomotives, and it’s been good news to places that rebuild old ones and otherwise would have been retired.

Huntington is one of those places.

CSX spokeswoman Kaitlyn Barrett said a rebuilt four-axle locomotive costs about one-third of what a newer six-axle unit does. And four-axle trains, which are rare to nonexistent among new models, are what the railroad needs on some of its routes, she said.

So, CSX saves millions of dollars on the new power it needs to move freight, and the 360 workers at Huntington are guaranteed jobs at least until the contact expires in 2017.

Rebuild

CSX’s Huntington Locomotive Shop has 11 acres under its roof and many more outside where locomotives are stored and tested. It’s not the only repair shop on the CSX system, but Plant Superintendent Charles B. Hare describes it as “the flagship repair facility of the CSX fleet.”

CSX does more at Huntington than rebuild locomotives. It also has a traction motor shop, a wheel and axle shop and a truck shop that support all the system shops across the network.

In rail terminology, a truck is the assembly at the bottom of the locomotive that supports the wheels, actions and traction motors. The diesel engine on the locomotive powers generators that drive the motors that turn the wheels.

Nevertheless, the rebuild program occupies most of the time and resources at Huntington.

With the rebuild program, CSX’s operation at Huntington can be likened to the Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia engine and transmission assembly operation in Putnam County and Hino Motors’ operation in Wood County. In this case, though, workers start with something old, take it apart and reassemble it into something new. This can extend the life of an older locomotive by 25 to 30 years or more.

Every moving part of the locomotive is removed from the frame, inspected and repaired or replaced if necessary. The old cab comes off and is cut into small pieces as scrap. The 16-cylinder engine is removed and taken apart. The block and other large parts are cleaned, inspected and repaired as necessary. The same goes for the wheel and axle assemblies.

Once the frame is stripped clean of the cab, engine, generator and trucks, it too is cleaned and repaired. The steel plates that form the lower parts of the front and rear of the frame are removed and replaced with thicker steel for safety and durability.

When the frame is ready for a new cab, it receives one that was manufactured by an outside supplier in Boise, Idaho. The cabs comprise about half the total cost of the rebuild, and the Huntington shop receives two every other week. The cabs are designed for crew safety and comfort, including air conditioning. They also have the latest technology.

Letters and numbers

The Huntington Locomotive Shop began the rebuild program in 2010, when it upgraded 10 SD40-2 locomotives and designated them as SD40-3 models. Train fans can identify them because they carry identification numbers on their cabs ranging from 4000 to 4009.

In 2011, the shop built 20 SD40-3 models and identified them as numbers 4010 through 4029. The following year, it built 20 more, with the numbers 4030 through 4049.

In 2013, the program changed when the shop built a prototype of the GP38-3 (Number 2000) and the GP40-3 (Number 6500). Last year, the shop built 18 versions of the two models. The GP38-3 is rated at 2,000 horsepower; the GP40-3 is rated at 3,000 horsepower.

By the way, SD stands for special duty. Those are six-axle locomotives. GP is short for general purpose. Those locomotives have four axles.

The West Virginia-rebuilt locomotives also can be identified by the lighted numbers at each end. Older models have black numbers on a white background. The rebuilt units have white numbers on a black background.

The plan this year is to build a total of 45 locomotives. Hare said he has requested the shop build more of the four-axle locomotives next year. The newer six-axle locomotives built by General Electric will still be used in the coal business along with the growing markets in the oil, chemical and intermodal businesses along with the shorter four-axle units. Barrett said those markets tend to be in areas and yards that have sharper curves than what the older six-axle units can handle. The four-axle locomotives are more highly demanded to support those growing markets, along with working within yards and areas with weight constraints, she said.

Labor contract

One thing that kept the rebuild program going in Huntington was a new labor contract signed Oct. 23, 2013.

“We signed an agreement (with our local craftsmen) at the end of 2013 to build 121 four-axles over a four-year period,” Hare said. “This October, we will be two years into that contract. At the end of this year we will have half (63) of that complete.”

The agreement covers a variety of work, including locomotive rebuilds. The unions signing the agreement were the Transportation Communications Union’s Carmen Division, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.

Under the agreement, members of all four unions may perform all assigned work without regard to craft or union affiliation. Each covered employee receives a $500 signing bonus, a $1 hourly efficiency differential and guaranteed employment for the duration of the four-year agreement.

In addition, the current ratio of members of each union working at Huntington was preserved.

New power, too

The rebuild effort at Huntington is one of several ways CSX is upgrading and increasing its locomotive power. In the past, Frederick Eliasson, CSX’s chief financial officer, has said upgrading the railroad’s locomotive power is a key part of meeting its goals in service excellence.

CSX is buying 200 locomotives this year and next from GE at an undisclosed price.

Also, it recently traded 12 SD80MAC units with Norfolk Southern for 12 SD40 units, the kind that has been built at Huntington. All 24 locomotives were obtained by the two railroads when they acquired and divided the assets of Conrail.

Results

So far, CSX has been pleased with the performance of its rebuilt units.

Brian Gessel, senior supply chain manager at the Huntington Locomotive Shop, said there have been no issues with engines rebuilt at Huntington, and the locomotives rebuilt there have the best line of road failure rate in the industry as measured by problems encountered between scheduled maintenance work.

CSX also is having 50 SD40-3 units built by outside contractors that are in effect in competition with the Huntington shop, Hare said. He added that he thinks his shop does a better job.

[MSchwiebert]

3250 was released from GE in primer.

Trains.com has a photo of 3251:
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/20 ... ne-testing

And report of 5 SD40-3's at E. St. Louis, IL. Numbers are CSXT 4058, 4059, 4060, 4062, 4064.
Image of 4059:
http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPictur ... id=4278309

[Saturnalia]

3250 was released from GE in primer.

Trains.com has a photo of 3251:
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/20 ... ne-testing

And report of 5 SD40-3's at E. St. Louis, IL. Numbers are CSXT 4058, 4059, 4060, 4062, 4064.
Image of 4059:
http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPictur ... id=4278309

Based on the route it took on the NS, towards St Louis, we're hedging that it is heading for Metro East Industires like a lot of the previous Primer GE units for paint there. We're putting it in YN3B for now.

[Saturnalia]

CSX Locomotive Roster Update Aug 2015

A few notes here. First the two new “heritage” units, 256 (SCL) and 323 (L&N). They feature historic emblems on the nose. I don’t consider them full heritage units, but take it as you will. We’ll make a full reference list once the program is nearing completion. Right now, it look like it will be applied to repaints out of Waycross on CW44ACs. I guess time will tell.

Second, out of the suggestion of a couple people, and as it has grown in acceptance, we’ll now refer to the 12 patched NS units as being in a “hornet” paint scheme. Good name for it. Unfortunately, all 12 are set to head to Boise for dash-3ing, having never turned a wheel in revenue service on CSX.

On the rebuild note, the SD40-3s are flying back from Boise. We’re including up to 4069 in this update, and we know at least up to 4074 is finished at Boise. You can see those details below under “rebuilds”.

YN2 Repaints:
256 CW44AC *SCL Heritage
323 CW44AC *L&N Heritage
426 CW44AC
1562 GP15-1 *Last GP15-1 in YN2
7363 C40-8W
7665 C40-8W
Now 921 YN2

YN3 Repaints:
1062 SWMT YS
2384 RD SLUG
2415 SD40-2
2424 SD40-2
4582 SD70MAC
6984 GP40-2
8470 SD40-2
8221 SD40-2
8709 SD60
7829 SD60I
Now 2600 YN3

New Units:
-3250-3251: First ET44AHs. 3250 released in Primer, marked as YN3B. 3251 released in YN3B.
Now 2 ET44AH

Rebuilds:
Number, Rblt Date, New Paint, Old No, Old Model, 1st Built, Fmr Paint

AugGP38-3.png (8.98 KiB) Viewed 4547 times

Now 29 GP38-3; 252 GP38-2

Now 70 SD40-3; 372 SD40-2

Retirements
none

New Paint totals (pct), change:
YN3B: 793 (18.32%), +34
YN3: 2600 (60.07%), -23
YN2: 921 (21.28%), -9
YN1: 1 (0.02%), no change
CR: 1 (0.02%), no change
Ex-NS “Hornet”: 12 (0.28%), no change

Average Fleet Build Date*: 1993.30
Total Units on Roster: 4328, +2

*Build dates use whole years on the roster. Actual number may vary up to a half year

[CSX_CO]

8356 heading west for rebuild. Rest of the former NS units heading west too.

[Saturnalia]

8356 heading west for rebuild. Rest of the former NS units heading west too.

Good photo in our CSX Locomotives group on Facebook, but I'm not going to take the rights risk and post it here. Anyways the only Hornet we don't have word of moving is the 8909, but of course it is easy to make that leap and just say they're all going.

We now have 58 units known to be at Boise or enroute, that we haven't converted over yet -- we have through 4074 on our lists right now.

[CSX_CO]

8909 was in that first group. Scroll up.