Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Used Locomotive Auction

This is topic Used Locomotive Auction in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=002114

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 06-02-2003, 09:47 PM:

Mark, why not skip the 1.5" = 1' scale live steam and go right to 12" = 1' scale with one of these fine units, probably only ever driven by a little old lady from Pasadena (assuming the little old lady worked for Uncle Pete and liked to tote 12,000 tons cross country)? Beware the "GP38" in Roseville that is really a C30-7.

http://www.primetimeauctions.com

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-02-2003, 10:47 PM:

Gee, this is funny as I know right where those engines are sitting in Roseville!! My girlfriends brother lives not too far from the rr yard..... Trains go by there so often you don't even notice them.....
Those babies are missing everything but the commode! Plus you ahve to disassemble them and haul then off????? Thats a little inconvenient! I'll stick with the 1.5 " Shay....it'll fit on a trailer that I can tow around to the rail meets.
Mark

Posted by Sam Hunter (Member # 1119) on 06-02-2003, 10:52 PM:

Train buffs!
Cool! Seen any frog nose ICG,s lately?

Posted by Stephen Jones (Member # 16) on 06-03-2003, 12:46 AM:

Intresting photos,I was wondering do rail operators in the U.S remanfacture older Locomotives to modern specs as is done here in Australia as this a cheaper alternative to building new units.A company here are rebuilding Alco Locomotives built in the 70's to modern specs with new cabs and prime movers (engines) complete with new state of the art control systems.The older units were only 2000hp now they have been remanufactured the are now rated at 3500hp.Most austrailian loco's are around the 4000 + range (the newer types ).
Stephen (Rail buff from way back) [beer]

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-03-2003, 01:31 AM:

Looks like the oil hasn't been changed in a while. I'd be afraid to drive it.

Okay, so how do you get these things home?

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 06-03-2003, 06:57 AM:

Yes there is quite a bit of rebuilding, either in-kind or to better standards, by both railroads and outside contractors.

The UP will deliver those locomotives anywhere on their system at no further charge except for a few which they say need to be knocked down and most of those are because of missing brake ("break" sic) system components. I'd bet the buyers would find it cheaper to fix the brake systems in situ and let them move on their own wheels.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 06-03-2003, 07:16 AM:

quote:
I was wondering do rail operators in the U.S remanfacture older Locomotives to modern specs as is done here in Australia as this a cheaper alternative to building new units.

Here in Britain the train companies have an even cheaper alternative still: running 1970s trains without any remanufacturing whatsoever!

Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 06-03-2003, 07:48 AM:

In answer to your question Leo, Yes some railroads do re manufacture old locomotives with new specs. ICG rebuilt all their GP7, GP9 and GP18 units into GP8, GP10 and GP11 units with the then dash 2 modular components. Santa Fe Rebuilt several segments of old locomotives such as the CF7's which were old F unit bodies with a shop built cab and a GP9 hood added all with the latest technology in them. EMD is now taking the SD40-2 that are being discarded and running them through the shops and turning them out with the microprocessor technology that had been introduced with the SD50 and 60 line. the new units are listed as SD40-3. GE did a similar trick in the early 90's with old U23B and C's U30B and C and U33B and C units turning them into super7 units wihch had microprocessors in them. The GE units did not enjoy the success in the rebuild market that the EMD units did. Only Mexico bought a significant number of them. They can now be seen running over KCS rails.

Posted by Christopher Seo (Member # 7) on 06-03-2003, 08:49 AM:

Hmm, I've always wanted an SD40 or SD45! Getting one with the "Rio Grande" paint scheme still on there would be pretty cool.

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 06-03-2003, 09:53 AM:

Yes, if one was going to get a "45" then the original SD-45 with flaring radiator air intakes would be much cooler looking than the successor SD-45-2 model or the special order SD-45T-2 with the "tunnel motor" air intakes. The original 45's would still be alternator/rectifier but would lack the Dash 2 modular electronics and have Flexicoil instead of HTC trucks. The 45 series had 20 cylinder engines which originally were problematic but I read somewhere that those crankcases had all been cycled back through EMD as engines came due for overhaul where they were reworked to eliminate a cracking problem with the crankshaft carriers (an area redesigned on later ones).

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 06-03-2003, 10:12 AM:

If your seriously interested in buying a retired railcar, try one of these places:

www.ozarkmountainrailcar.com

www.railmerchants.net

www.cabooses4sale.com

We have considered buying a retired passenger railcar to use as an "Office" for the drive-in. The town we are building our theatre in is a small railroad town, and we thought about incorporating a railroad "theme" through-out the theatre.

The purchase price for the actual cars is relatively cheap. The expensive part is getting the car "rail-worthy" again, getting the trucks over-hauled to meet Amtrack minimum standards for rail travel, transporting the car from point "A" to point "B", and then getting it moved from the tracks to the location you want to permenantly display it.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-03-2003, 12:00 PM:

This is all too cool! I'd love a locomotive for $1,000! Just put it on some old abandonded tracks I know of, and run it back and forth all day!

Hey, Barry. How about picking up one, and build a loop around your drive-in!

I have an operator's manual for an SD-40-2 and it's never ceased to fascinate me. A friend works for NS in Jersey... he's always trying to get me to go to their engineer school. I've thought about it.
[Cool]

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 06-03-2003, 08:35 PM:

With some adjustment of the governor to run the engine at a constant 720 rpm the traction alternator (a 10-pole machine on EMD) will be putting out 60 Hz and you could easily power an entire subdivision from one locomotive.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-03-2003, 08:54 PM:

Okay, I'll bite. Steve, how do you KNOW all this?
[Smile]

Posted by Chris Markiewicz (Member # 1415) on 06-03-2003, 08:59 PM:

Steve, our local substation has a row of 3 locomotive diesels that are cycled on and off as the grid requires. The company's main genration is oil-fired combustion turbines, but they are assisted by diesel, hydro, wind and geothermal.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-04-2003, 06:37 AM:

Tim:
There is an Engine near Steve that he goes to and drives back and forth! Really!
Rumor has it that Steve will be hosting the new catagory here....Locomotive Yack.......
Mark

Posted by Gordon Bachlund (Member # 124) on 06-04-2003, 07:47 AM:

Mark, you are not the only live steamer stalking the forums. I have a 1.5" scale Mogul that I am rebuilding, and I hope to have a home track once the home theatre project is complete. The Los Angeles Live Steamers May Meet was excellent. If you're in LA in October, you might want to plan on attending the Fall Meet.

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 06-04-2003, 08:16 AM:

Here's another site if you're looking for full-scale live steam:

http://www.trains-trams-trolleys.com/equipment/locomotive/

A little beyond our budget, but the park trains would be cute running around the yard.

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 06-04-2003, 09:08 AM:

Tim, if you mean the auction I saw it mentioned on http://www.trainorders.com

If you mean tech knowledge it's just an interest of mine.

No, Mark but many operating rail museums will let you be the engineer (under supervision) for a brief period for a nominal contribution. I did this years back at the small museum SW of Champaign, IL. I was hoping to run the F or the FA but ended up with the RS-3.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-04-2003, 10:41 AM:

Steve, I meant the locomotives. That's pretty detailed information you have there.

It seems funny, though, another common interest/area of experience among FT-ers! (Broadcasting being the other.)

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 06-04-2003, 12:45 PM:

Railroading is a particularly good thing to be interested in because it encompasses so much...technology, history, war, business, marketing & advertising, even race relations. I can get interested in the most arcane minutiae like I'll go out to Illinois Railway Museum (one of the largest in the country) and while some are admiring the steam, diesel, and electrics that are running I'll be off in the farthest corner of the property looking under unrestored passenger cars to see which had steam-jet air conditioning.

Ah spring...when a young man's fancy turns to...

...Waukesha Ice Engines.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-04-2003, 05:40 PM:

Steve, [Smile]

That looks like a pretty cool place to visit.

Galveston, TX had a pretty good railroad museum on the Strand - and still does, as far as I know (it's been over 15 years since I lived there). I used to go spend the afternoon at that place, on nearly every trip I made to service the Galvez Mall.

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 06-04-2003, 05:58 PM:

A friend of mine recently sold an 1899 steam locomotive to the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad Company here in Western North Carolina. It is fully restored and operational.

The GSMR has 2 other steam locomotives, and 3 diesel engines from the mid to late 1940's. They are in the process of rebuilding a third steam engine.

My friend, who's father was a big wheel with the Southern Railway Company in the early 1900's, still has 4 more engines, several passenger cars, and several cabooses in a huge building on a rail spur that they own. The first time he offered to show me his trains, I mentioned that I had a set of Lionel trains when I was a kid... He just laughed.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-05-2003, 12:51 AM:

That's too cool, Bruce! I'd love to have the wherewithal to own something like that. Did he take you for a "spin"?
[Smile]

Posted by Nicholas Roznovsky (Member # 861) on 06-05-2003, 01:18 AM:

The Galveston Railroad Museum is still very much alive and kicking: The Galveston Island Railroad Museum. I enjoyed it a lot as a kid, but one too many school field trips ruined it for me. It's been a few years since I've been, so I might have to make my way back there pretty soon.

There's also an excellent railroad museum in Golden, CO on 44th Ave., not too far from the Coors Brewery: Colorado Railroad Museum. From the road it looks like a dump where some picnic tables were thrown in the middle of a few steam engines, but it's plenty nice once you get past the gate.

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 06-05-2003, 09:05 AM:

I didn't get to ride anything, Tim, but I did get to climb up into the cabs and look around. Wow. They look like new.

One of the cabooses is set up as an apartment. Great. Even has railroad video on the little TV...