So, when are you going to write the check to cover the purchase, move and restoration.....?

Thanks Rob! However the SW1 is as simple as they come and any village idiot with half a brain can work on one.

If anyone is contemplating buying one, though, I have a bit of advice: You had better be ready, as I was, to do a LOT of repairs and restorations yourself. Otherwise, you'd better have a lot of disposable income. And I mean disposable! (Because you'll be throwing it away).

And the need for repairs will keep on coming. A first-generation EMD is like owning a boat, antique car, or old house, or like being married.........scratch that married part.........you get the picture.

But of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so if this is your thing, go for it.

Beside, in 5 billion years when the sun goes super nova, who the hell is going to care anyway.

Oh, and one more thing: A friend pointed out that at the last NS loco auction, MP15dc's were going for under $100k. Now that's a neat motor scooter!

No, there are still more than 16 SW1s around. That's just the number Preserved. Let's not forget there is still 1 SW1 in class 1 service. Amtrak 737, built in Dec. 1941, is still kicking trainsets around Washington Union Station/Ivy City Shops. She will be 75 in just 2 more months.

Metra also has an SW1 used for switching. I believe an EMC product from 1939. METX 1. The OLDEST Diesel locomotive still in daily service.

I'd estimate at least 10-15% of total SW1s are still with us. They are very venerable locomotives.

Adding to the conversation... a story about what it takes to care for one of these...

I am caring for a EMC NW2... the demonstrator, later UP's first general service diesel locomotive (there were earlier Passenger specific locomotives...) Now 78 years old... In generally good condition.

It grounded a traction motor last Easter... (a field winding failed to ground)

Since we have trouble-shot the loco... including physical inspection and megging all motors... ringing various circuits...

When it failed it took out the P-3 contactor... it was close call on a high voltage cabinet fire... Some years ago, volunteer crews had disabled the ground fault circuit... because it kept tripping... and rather than addressing the problem they disabled the circuit which was protecting the high voltage wiring.... the result was the near fire when the motor finally failed completely... (note, we are purchasing CO-2 fire extinguishers for our locomotives)

I was able to source a rebuilt traction motor... simple purchase not exchange for only $11,500... plus freight... of $1,500... for a grounded motor the take out motor is in good condition, and can be rehabbed for a believable price, and is compatible with two of our locomotives, the NW2 and our GP30...

The contactor (2 tries to locate a proper early air and electric contactor of the correct frame size) cost $1,500 with freight... Who knew there were two sizes of EMD contactor frames...

Volunteers cleaned the electrical cabinet and installed the contactor... and did other work... replacing a window... They dropped the truck brakes and sanders and such... and cut away the front plate (I want to say foot board but they were removed years ago) to clear the truck. (and we broke a sand trap casting... but believe we have found one from a friend)

We were not able to lift the locomotive high enough to get the truck out with our jacks, so we hired a contractor. He was brought his jacks, and worked with my volunteers to get the truck out...

Once the truck was out we found that the center plate was broken... Not an uncommon issue, and the lateral thrust on the axle was way out of spec.. so we are wielding the center plate, having new bowl washers water cut locally (as substantially lower cost that "factory" parts and possibly faster delivery), purchasing a EMD dust guard and a Nylatron bowl washer as well as axle seals... We had journal box wear plates cut locally... we found a used thrust block (free)

The volunteer are currently wielding the center plate, and the journal boxes (they have steam cleaned all) and building up a brake head that was worn...

Soon once all the parts are assembled, and the repairs made, the contractor will be back to put the truck back in, connect the cables and test all...

Then the volunteers can reinstall the brakes, reinstall the end plates, touch up the paint...

And the locomotive can go back into service... the total bill for one traction motor and related work is about $28,000... which is roughly half of my annual maintenance budget.

This was a minor and inexpensive repair on an old, but common locomotive... If your preservation plan needs to include purchase (even at scrap value) and transportation and a few more minor repairs it fast gets beyond most groups economic capacity.

I also note that the locomotive's batteries are rebuilt, installed about 7 years ago, and near the end of their life... and a new set (new, not rebuilt) will cost me about $10,000 including freight... installed by volunteers...

The locomotive's wheels are worn but OK... the journals we have checked are good... the engine a weird miss-mass of misc EMD parts seems to be sound, and is the smoothest running in the fleet... I need to repaint the locomotive back into its historic black with white trim ($16,000 or so)

If you are keeping track, this one locomotive could eat my entire annual maintenance budget... and its in generally good condition...

In closing... this is why I question efforts to save the CO&E locomotive... Outside of a larger wooden boat its a about as big a money pit as can be found. Unless you are preserving a locomotive for its history, it gets too expensive too fast...

Randy

On the other hand Randy, if you're going to play you got to pay. Is it realistic to be in the game at all if you can't afford to keep up with the costs of being in the game? A group I'm involved with tried to play this one until all the mechanical margin was used up and..... suddenly crisis time, only solved by a timely infusion of personal support from a couple people combined with a government sale of surplus assets. How they failed to see the steady progression of loss of margin towards critical mass for over 20 years is a bit mysterious....... like not noticing that 15 year calendar is passing by and failing to set aside funds for dealing with that.

I feel for you Randy having been through a very similar situation myself lately.

Yep, it gets expensive quick if you want a locomotive that runs.

Randy's mention of the potential for electrical fire brought to mind something that I've seen many steel mill locomotives equipped with. A CO2 tank mounted in front of the engineer's side of the cab plumbed to a valve and to nozzles placed throughout the long hood. Apparently some sort of fire suppression system. Our former US Steel Alco once had it and the nozzles and piping is still intact. I had been considering hooking it back up and installing a new CO2 cylinder with a valve in the cab just in case of such an incident taking place.

Wondering if anyone else has experience with these fire suppression systems?

Pennsylvania Railroad film on locomotive firefighting systems:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkUQ3rTfU4s

PC

At least I don't need no railroad to sail my boat on !

Fixed CO2 systems have been in use on tugs (and all other commercial marine traffic) for the last 50 or so years, and can be a real life saver.

But, its one more thing to keep certified and maintained, but if your doing fire extinguishers like you should be, any inspector can do a set of Co2 bottles as well.

Be very aware that if you have a substantial multinozzle CO2 bottle system, you must be very careful if actuating it indoors or, more specifically, anywhere someone might be working in a pit or enclosed space. CO2 is an asphyxiating gas that is much 'heavier' than air, and will pool preferentially in any low spot. Because it is a normal blood-gas constituent, your people may have very little or no warning before unconsciousness, and unconscious people tend to fall down to where the gas concentration is worst.

I'll grant you that the toxic possibilities of something like Halon are much greater, but I have a suspicion that people in an emergency may think that the spent gas will disperse harmlessly when it has done its fire suppression. It can suppress life at least as expediently as it suppressed fire.

It is sometimes very difficult to identify the progression of parts used in production and as replacements during the manufacturing run of a particular model of EMD locomotive. When engineering specified a better or newer part, service would issue a new maintenance instruction for the new component, and the information on the older part was generally dropped from the publications index and became lost in history. There was one regional service manager, the late Bill Hoffmann, who meticulously maintained a file of all the old and discontinued maintenance instructions. He was often the best person in the EMD organization to be able to "reverse" the publications process and trace everything back to identify all the changes that has been made since the original product.

Which emphasizes why this kind of technical information is immensely valuable, and should be preserved when at all possible. Having it saves a great deal of time and effort.

PC