I see that Ozark has the locomotives listed now with auction terms, to be conducted August 10th. Does anyone have any knowledge of the condition of each unit. There are very few pictures of the engine rooms.

Eric

All of these units have been in storage at different locations as early as 2014, certainly by 2015 when they went to Billerica, then to Rochester. The last two got to Rochester in January 2016. As I have stated in other forums and Facebook pages, they are in rough condition. Parted out, neglected, otherwise derelict. Too me, they are hulks and probably only good for some parts and scrap.

No minimum bid that I see. I'll be curious if anyone other than LTE bids on them, there aren't any more usable passenger locomotives with HEP coming down the road after the F40, certainly no EMDs, and no one wants GE P40/ P42s.

Edit: I forgot about all the EMD and EMD-licensed MK/MPI F59 units for Metrolink etc., some of which are more than 30 years old now. So there isn't much special about these MBTA units.

The 645 engines, HEP generators, and swing hanger trucks may be potentially useful cores for other transit agencies. You might see another organization step in to grab a few units to scrap for their parts.

PC

I love how everybody keep talking about running condition. Except for the cosmetic factor I bet all those F40s are in a lot better condition than any GG1 right now. Sadely the equipment that gets saved has more to do with the foamer factor than there historical merit.

You would lose. BADLY. 4890 at NRM Green Bay is in utterly immaculate condition, as are the RR Museum of Pa.'s 4935 and URHS-NJ's 4877 and 4879 right now.





Pay attention to the ones besides the favorite "abandoned train porn" of the foamers, the Cooperstown Couple and 4876.

MEANWHILE:

As much as it pains this F40PH advocate to say this, an MBTA or other commuter F40PH is a second-tier example of a fairly important step in railroading--placed that high ONLY by Amtrak's nationwide use of them.
An MBTA F40PH would be important for a Massachusetts or New England-focused museum. Unfortunately, most of those don't have a mission that sees these as worthwhile.
The other option is for UTILITY, for something that "earns its keep." The operations that could make a case for that haven't pursued them--Conway Scenic, and who else? Maine Eastern has been replaced by Amtrak, right?

WHEREAS:
As limited a location and range as it had, the GG1 had and has a fascination--styling, power, prominence, Lionel models, etc.--that made it a "must-have" of SO many rail museums when they became available "cheap," not just in its home turf but nationwide.

I'm the guy who applauded the preservation of a 1984 Ford Escort station wagon for "saving the everyday." But there's a reason there are Corvette clubs and shows, and not Ford Escort clubs/shows. Put simply, "Sex sells."

Despite the operation of the F40PH by Amtrak and a number of commuter agencies, I cannot recall any time in the 40+ years since they were first built that any museum or railroad historical group requested or hosted programs, guest speakers, or clinics relating to the F40PH locomotive. If it ever did happen, it probably would have been the National Model Railroad Association that sponsored the effort. And unlike many other aspects of locomotive related history, the people who were involved with the design, manufacture, and delivery of the F40PH were present among us for many of these past years. One of the EMD instructors who worked on the training programs ascended to top level management at a commuter rail agency and wrote several articles for Trains Magazine up to his passing away a year ago. A great opportunity to hear from somebody who participated in the history, now no longer possible. But the F40PH was considered an ugly duckling by a lot of people.

PC

That's nice now show me the frames and the number of missing internal components. Does MBTA f40ph is would be a lot easier to get blue carded than any of thoes GG1s witch I doubt could even be interchanged.

Are you sure about this? Didn't the state of CT recently pick up some P40s?

It is well understood that a GG1 will not run again. I understand that these photos were posted to illustrate how good a cosmetically restored GG1 can look. I missed the post that said someone should restore one to operational condition.

I was thinking more of heritage railways, I would really be surprised to ever see one on a short line given their 3/4 vision problems, their general mechanical crankiness, and especially the way GE marks up for replacement parts, which is also a reason GEs aren't as in demand in the resale market for freight units.

That post now seemingly shows up weekly on Facebook, TrainOrders, Trains.com, Railroad.net, and a multitude of other online forums, typically accompanied by photos of the "Cooperstown Couple" or 4876 in Baltimore.............

Was the post on this thread?

It's been made in the past here.

We may suspect that the FAQ topic on that question has removed much, if not all, of the incentive to raise that fantasy here.

But someone recently joked on Facebook that he would be starting a GoFundMe to raise funds to acquire AND SCRAP 4876 in Baltimore just to put an end to the endless "we need 2 restore that & run it on the mainline!!!!!!!" posts........

The point being that while regulars of this forum may well understand that the odds of a GG1 being restored to operation are virtually zero, this forum is but a tiny minority of even well-meaning rail preservationists and enthusiasts, and as amply demonstrated on basically every other North American rail forum, that understanding is neither known or accepted by large swaths of would-be GG1 enthusiasts, mostly young people coming of age. Indeed, the constant recitation of "just the facts" can easily come of as brutal "negativity" against "those who dare to dream."

After all, we all heard from those in "high places" that "a Big Boy would never be restored to operation" and "you'll never see steam on the Horse Shoe Curve; too much traffic it would interfere with"..............

In case anyone is seriously interested in these units, I have just found out that they do not have dynamic braking, and are in pretty rough shape with many electrical parts stripped.

They will most likely be sold for parts and scrap.