Since the UP Centennials have been mentioned of late, I've always wondered how many of the ones preserved are complete with their engines, motors and electrical gear intact? In other words, which ones could be restored to operation within reason and which ones are gutted? Thanks!

6936 is the only complete, operable one. All the others are missing parts (some of which went to keep 6936 in operation) either major, minor, or both. Probably the most complete of the others would be the one at Portola, which I believe is 6946, and it was made so by the museum cannibalizing another 6900, down to virtually the bare frame, which was then scrapped.

I always felt EMD should have displayed a Model 40 and a DDA40X coupled together in frot of the LaGrange office building.

I heard the one at IRM is fairly complete but has problems with both prime movers. Anyone have any further info on exactly what it needs?

If another was to be brought back into operation I would think they would be the ones to do it. Can you imagine the DD40 running for thier Diesel Days?!

Thanks for the info! I'd heard that the one at Portola was pretty complete but was unaware of how it got so complete.

I'd also heard the same thing about the one at IRM. I believe that they've got the cab controls working so it can operate a trailing unit. While it'd be nice to get that going again, the fuel costs might put 'em out of business.

I know the one at Pomona is totally gutted.

A working cab is handy when you have the first ever SD7 to MU and push you around!

If they got it running, I cannot imagine the fuel costs being impossible, given the speeds and loads involved in a museum operation with a 4.5 mile mainline. I've not seen them run the C&NW SD40-2 with the WC SD45 but they could and you'd be in the same ballpark, 6600HP. (Or more; last I heard the SD45 was turning out more than 3600 in Run 8.)

Steve

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A while back I joked that the UP Centennial could, indeed, be used for demonstration runs at IRM in spite of the fuel capacity, and that the new ride fare of $47.50 would reflect that....... <:-D

It would seem feasible to get at least one engine running. To whatever extent those 16-645E3A's might be slightly different (3300 HP rating) and the pre Dash-2 modular electronics (perhaps standardized in later years?) unique, there's the other set to borrow from. It might be just a matter of commitment of time and money, both in limited supply though the latter might not take bucket loads like some projects. But that's a big beast to use regularly and what effect would it have on the track?

Steve

The DDA40X's were the first with dash-2 modules.

You guys need to be aware that these things went through Omaha Shop for parts salvage before being donated or sold. During that process, any "common" parts with life left in them were removed. In some cases, these parts were replaced with junk parts; in other cases they weren't replaced atall.

For example, "bare blocks" would be installed in place of complete engines. At first glance it looks complete but open a few covers (if they are not welded in place to prevent just such snooping) and you find no power assemblies or camshafts or crankshafts, or you find only burned, broken or blown up internals and auxiliaries such as turbos, governors, oil, water and fuel pumps, etc. Same thing with alternators and traction motors, grids, blowers, cooling fans, radiators, etc.

It's pretty safe to say that if an important part is left on one of these units, either the part you are looking at has problems, is hollow, or was left on by mistake.

The main difference in the engines is the governor rack setting.

I can understand stripping parts usable elsewhere but why would they expend the labor to install junk that no one will see on a display unit? Labor costs money, it makes the units heavier, and even junk has scrap value.

Steve

Lots of room for a genset application! Seems like one or two and a few traction motors would be plenty for most tourist RR's. My experience with 6936 and speaking with a number of drivers who ran it is that they're really too long and rigid for their own good - they don't ride great at speed - there is a weird frame harmonic around 60mph. Watching it move the track where it likes it in the Cheyenne yard gives me the impression it would be a good tool to find all your rotten ties! Bill Wimmer liked 6936 because it was fast, held a lot of fuel, and was great for finding defects.

What is this, no good deed goes unpunished?

If I'm the guy running a big railroad and your group asks to have a locomotive donated, there are several choices I can make:

1. Give you a running unit. Downside: It's only a matter of time before you or your group start pestering me to run it. And/or fix it for you when you break it. Repeatedly.

2. Give you a stripped-out hulk. Downsides: (a): I look cheap. (b): Shortly you will be pestering me for the parts to make it presentable. If experience is any guide, you will wait until all such parts are long gone before asking.

3. Tell you no. Downside: I look cheap.

4. Give you one that looks operable. You might even opt to take a page out of Preston Cook and display it with the doors open and the parts labeled. What a radical idea! Downside: I don't see any. If you/your group are serious preservationists (as opposed to batty, never-satisfied foamers), then it's a win-win for both of us. I can drop in scrap parts but I don't have to line everything up and hook it all up and take the time to make it all right. Yes, there is some labor involved, but it's minimal.


Many of these units were heavily vandalized while in long-term storage before they were retired. Aside from the usual stolen copper wiring and broken windows, some had fires set in the cab by bums to keep warm. Most of those were stripped down and scrapped. Some of the units preserved and donated fell into decay. Happily, that hasn't happened to many of them.

As for fuel use in an IRM-type setting, at the speeds, throttle settings and distances that would be involved, the difference between running a DDA40X and running two SD40's would be negligible. If you only use one prime mover, it's a wash. We're not talking here about hour-after-hour and day-upon-day notch 8 operation.

#6912 was the Centennial stripped of its prime movers and running gear to make #6946 at Portola complete- I have a photo of its bare shell sitting at the SLC shops post-stripping about 1986. I was always curious as to whether the parts were actually installed in #6946 or if they're just in storage somewhere.

Partially correct, the 6900's have a modular electrical system, but the modules are mostly incompatible with dash-2's



True, 6930 at IRM has oil pans full of broken engine parts, although both engines do have crankshafts


...and the turbos, wrist pins, among MANY other internal changes

Jeff