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 Post subject: Conrail C32-8, a rare and disappearing model.
PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:40 am 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:56 am
Posts: 604
Location: Rochester, NY
Only 10 C32-8 locomotives were ever built, all belonged to Conrail.

There has been some incorrect info going around the internet the last few years concerning the current status of these engines..

Most people have believed that all of the C32-8's have been scrapped except one. The "lone survivor" was recently operating in Georgia.
there are reports that unit has now been scrapped..
meaning all of the C32-8's ever built are now gone forever..

well..that is WRONG! :)
I dont know where the info that "all have been scrapped except the one in Georgia" came from, but that info is incorrect..

there are at least two of the C32-8's in storage at RMDI in Pittston, PA.
possibly as many as 6..but we have photographic evidence for at least two, photos taken in January 2006.

http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5619

http://www.kachurak.com/Coxton.pdf

their future is far from secure..they are not operating,
and they could be scrapped.
If anyone wants to save one of these rare GE's..now's the time! :-D

Scot


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 Post subject: Re: Conrail C32-8, a rare and disappearing model.
PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:22 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:38 am
Posts: 1013
Location: Philadelphia
When I visited RMDI, with permission I might add, there were indeed more then two. Half a dozen is probably very close. They were all in various states of disrepair and salvage. I took photos but still do not have them developed yet. Once I do, I will share.

There's also an ex EL SDP45 there. :)

Joshua


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 Post subject: Re: Conrail C32-8, a rare and disappearing model.
PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 8:15 pm 

Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2004 3:57 pm
Posts: 25
Location: St. Louis, MO
Joshua,

When you were at RMDI, any signs of the two ex-NJT U34CHs that used to be there?

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Michael Steinberg
Vice President, Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society, Inc.
http://www.eldcps.org


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 Post subject: RMDI Contacts
PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:04 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:51 pm
Posts: 11855
Location: Somewhere east of Prescott, AZ along the old Santa Fe "Prescott & Eastern"
Mr. Steinberg,

I have official business contacts with RMDI.

If you have a legitimate interest in attempting to acquire a U34CH, I can investigate as to their existence; however, I have not heard them mentioned of late, and I'm assuming that they're long gone. But on the other hand, how the heck do you put a U34CH on your pending "Lake Cities" or "Phoebe Snow"?!?!?!?

Same goes for anyone else: If you heard they have something you might want, I'm willing to contact them on your behalf, but only in the case of serious inquiries only, please.

And even then, don't count on a speedy answer. We've been trying to get a straightforward answer from them on one pending business transaction for months now.


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 Post subject: Re: RMDI Contacts
PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:05 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:38 am
Posts: 1013
Location: Philadelphia
Mr. Steinberg,

I'm afraid not. Sorry about that.

Joshua


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 Post subject: RMDI's C32-8s
PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:34 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:51 pm
Posts: 11855
Location: Somewhere east of Prescott, AZ along the old Santa Fe "Prescott & Eastern"
I just spoke on the phone with one of the RMDI contacts, who was in Virginia at the time I talked to him........

"Does RMDI still have those Conrail C32-8s in the yard?"

"Errrr..............."

"Gray Conrail ballast train paint, chunky as an Alco Century........"

"Oh, yeah, those things. Shells by now, but........."

"How bad?"

"I know they got the traction motors, all but guarantee the prime movers and generators, pretty sure they stripped the cabs........."

"How about the U34CH? The ex-NJT passenger loco, GE with HEP?"

"Errrrrrrrr............. who knows what's sitting back in the back of the lines? But I think I would have remembered a HEP loco, so I guess not......"

I had the feeling I was talking to a "pull-your-own-parts" auto junkyard.............


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 Post subject: Re: RMDI's C32-8s
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:37 pm 

Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2004 3:57 pm
Posts: 25
Location: St. Louis, MO
Alexander,

Thanks for asking... it was just curiosity and nothing ELDCPS related. I'm trying to get my hands on a numberboard off of a NJT U-Boat.

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Vice President, Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society, Inc.
http://www.eldcps.org


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 Post subject: The Worst of the Worst........
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:34 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 10:18 pm
Posts: 138
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Forgive me if I don't shed a tear, but they were the worst of the worst........At the end of "Big" Conrail we had two that were assigned to the Abrams to South Philly or Pavonia to South Philly transfer jobs...sometimes one would have a positive control ground, sometimes one would have a negative control ground...when they got in synch with their control grounds and other maladys they were usually on the Highline single track and would tie up the world.

E.B. Levin


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 Post subject: Re: The Worst of the Worst........
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 2:00 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:56 am
Posts: 604
Location: Rochester, NY
yeah, perhaps they weren't great runners,
and railroad men who had to work with the beasts might justifiably "not shed a tear"..
but...lack of reliability shouldn't really be any factor in preservation.
these engines are SUPER rare, very unique, and Conrail specific.
that alone makes at least one very worthy of preservation IMO..

but..its looking like the odds of preservation are slim..
they are being gutted as we speak. :(
and there isn't any society (that I know of) that seems to want one..
(or has the capabilities to get one anyway.)
20 years from now someone will want one..but not today. :(

Here are some more pics from Coxton yard:

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/5306/c328011sp.jpg

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/2189/c328029so.jpg

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/7920/c328036lf.jpg

Scot


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 Post subject: Re: The Worst of the Worst...but so what? ;)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 2:23 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:56 am
Posts: 604
Location: Rochester, NY
Some of my pics..
used to see them fairly often on the Southern Tier main.
I was in highschool in the mid 80's..used to ride my 10-speed bike to the tracks in Waverly, and the RR museum in Sayre all the time!

Image


Image


Image


Image

Scot


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 Post subject: Re: The Worst of the Worst...but so what? ;)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 2:40 pm 

These locomotives are significant in pioneering many of the technological advances that GE would deploy in the 8-40B, which gave this builder a commanding lead in the horsepower race and sales.

I would consider them to be the equivalent of Lima's H-10 Mikados built for the New York Central, which saw the application of Superpower design techniques later perfected on their Berkshire locomotives.

Tom Cornillie


  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Worst of the Worst...but so what? ;)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:28 pm 

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:10 pm
Posts: 670
Location: Iron City
IMHO, the disposal of these things by RMDI is a...small loss. There is still one extant example in Georgia. Operating (diesel) locomotives tend to be more suitable preservation candidates than those examples that have languished in scrap yards.

BTW, Eric's comment re: positive and negative control grounds speaks volumes as to why these things are being rendered for scrap vs. resale.

Seems to me that a substantive discussion of a given locomotive models' pros and cons outside the context of those who designed and maintained the things is essentially meaningless.


DPK

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 Post subject: Re: The Worst of the Worst...but so what? ;)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 9:32 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:56 am
Posts: 604
Location: Rochester, NY
NH0401 wrote:
Operating (diesel) locomotives tend to be more suitable preservation candidates than those examples that have languished in scrap yards.

DPK


I disagree..
I would argue that in most cases, an old beat-up junker is a *better* prospect for most museums..especially smaller ones.
because a non-operating engine is cheaper, (sometimes free!) and many museums have no facilities to, or intentions of, operating trains anyway..

Take the LV U23B going to Sayre (from RMDI!)
it is bad shape..it will never run again.
but thats GOOD for the group in Sayre!
because they have no rails of their own to run anything anyway.
if that LV U23B had been in great shape, they would have never got it..
they only got it *because* its its rough shape, no railroad wants it for operation..
It will be cosmetically restored to its LV scheme and put on display next to the Sayre station..
Sure, there are many societies that do, and can, run engines..
but I bet 97% of locomotives (steam and diesel) at museums all over the world dont operate..and couldnt operate even if they had rails to run on..

static display and cosmetic restoration of junkers is better than the alternative.
I wouldnt mind seeing a NYC Hudson or Niagara..even if it didnt run.
None of the UP Big Boys or PRR GG1's will ever run again..
im still glad we have them just the same..

Scot


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 Post subject: Allow me to reiterate........
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 9:57 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 10:18 pm
Posts: 138
Location: Philadelphia, PA
These things were so bad even the hood door latches were terrible........

We had one with loading/surging/fire out the stack issues one winter day and I'm sitting in the cab with an electrician and the unit up on self load...It's doing pretty good making HP after 45 minutes or so on the box....So we're sitting in the warm cab feeling pretty good about our fixing up prowess.... The next thing I say to the electrician is "Do you smell something electrical?" Well he didn't have to reply because the cab is filling up with smoke....and the smoke is pouring out of the alternator cab....Seems the ABM (Alternator Blower Motor) died....the computer never caught the contactor dropping out....the unit keeps loading....and the alternator catches on fire.....So we hit the ground....find the BRB (Big Red Button) that shuts the thing down and push it and get it stopped......So this thing is burning pretty good (which is no great loss) and we're pissed off because we spent three hours fixing the loading problem and now this.....Well we say the hell with it and go eat lunch.......after lunch we get back on the unit and the the alternator cab is pretty toasted.....So I tell the electrician...."It will never load now that we let all the smoke out".......He cracks up laughing and tells me "I wouldn't buy a light bulb from these bastards".....I crack up laughing and we go find a nice SD-40-2 to pull a train.

The C-40's with the early EFI were no peaches either....Injector Tips, Optical Encoders, Bonded Drives.....Cam Sections.....

The C-32's....."If it was a horse I'd shoot it"

EBL


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 Post subject: Re: Allow me to reiterate........
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 11:01 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:56 am
Posts: 604
Location: Rochester, NY
This story gets more interesting all the time!! :)
First we think all have been scrapped except the one in Georgia.
then we think the one in Georgia has been scrapped, and none are left.
but then a few survivors are found in the Pittston, PA yard!
they werent all scrapped afterall!
but those are being scrapped too right now, soon might be none left.

check out this latest twist in the tale! :)

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=135199

Scot


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