jackathan Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 Metra has been delivering the locomotives that will be used in future service: https://metra.com/newsroom/new-metra-locomotive-debuts According to the Trains article (https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/news-photo-another-metra-sd70mach-delivered/), the fourth unit of the SD70MACH, METX #505, has been delivered on May 11, 2023. METX #500 is going to be a heritage livery, in commemoration of the upcoming RTA's 50th anniversary. Let's get this discussion rolling! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailycommuter62 Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 506 on the way to chicago, probably already interchanged to metra From pics I've seen 500, 502, 503, 505 and now 506 are on metra property, pretty much every day you can see a few of them sitting at the north end of the bnsf 14th st yard so its fair to assume their all intended for the bnsf. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailycommuter62 Posted October 19, 2023 Report Share Posted October 19, 2023 The new engines have been getting tested on the mdw this week. Alongside some runs on the bnsf in the summer the class is slowly coming online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungBusLover Posted October 28, 2023 Report Share Posted October 28, 2023 I've yet to these refurbished locos until yesterday afternoon and I must say I'm quite impressed with the work that Metra has been doing on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railguy Posted October 31, 2023 Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 On a positive note they do look really cool! How useful a 3 axle truck locomotives are in commuter service remains to be seen. It's wait and see time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 Not a fan. They don’t stop !! Too much for commuter service. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railguy Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 Metra needs a new revenue line. The rebuilts SD70s would look cool on excursion trains to Ill Rail museum. They have the Rockford project it os possible. Metra can get into running more excursion trains. They have experience with steam trains, take over Polar express operationa from Amtrak, bring back the bar cars/parlor cars, use off peak parties to downtown, bacholor parties, wedings, etc. Why have pub crawls when you can have it on the train Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 12 hours ago, Railguy said: Metra needs a new revenue line. The rebuilts SD70s would look cool on excursion trains to Ill Rail museum. They have the Rockford project it os possible. Metra can get into running more excursion trains. They have experience with steam trains, take over Polar express operationa from Amtrak, bring back the bar cars/parlor cars, use off peak parties to downtown, bacholor parties, wedings, etc. Why have pub crawls when you can have it on the train Only tangentially related to this topic, and not only is Metra not in that business, I doubt that it would be allowed to enter that line of business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictures Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 15 hours ago, Railguy said: Metra needs a new revenue line. The rebuilts SD70s would look cool on excursion trains to Ill Rail museum. They have the Rockford project it os possible. Metra can get into running more excursion trains. They have experience with steam trains, take over Polar express operations from Amtrak, bring back the bar cars/parlor cars, use off peak parties to downtown, bachelor parties, weddings, etc. Why have pub crawls when you can have it on the train I would love to see Metra running trains directly to the Rail Museum on weekends. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railguy Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Metra has operated charter trains including steam and the state has awarded them service to Rockford. Anything is on the table. My point was jest as to putting these SD70s to some use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 27 minutes ago, Railguy said: My point was jest as to putting these SD70s to some use Their use is to haul commuter cars. YouTubers have video of them on the MD-N and MD-W. You think Metra bought 15 locos just to mothball them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railguy Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Not intentionally. Metra bought the wrong type of equipment for regional service including old frieght engines and the new cars on order. Sure they ran in service doesnt mean its the best use of equipment. Will they run the fate as airbus A380 or long Island RR engines which were mothballed or the electric engines Amtrak retires based on the Acela. It happens in the industry. Doubtful Metra will exercise the contract options Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 5 minutes ago, Railguy said: Not intentionally. Metra bought the wrong type of equipment for regional service including old frieght engines and the new cars on order. Sure they ran in service doesnt mean its the best use of equipment. Will they run the fate as airbus A380 or long Island RR engines which were mothballed or the electric engines Amtrak retires based on the Acela. It happens in the industry. Doubtful Metra will exercise the contract options On what authority are you making these assertions? The general search indicates there are several now in revenue service. Yours just seems the usual response here that EVERYTHING is junk until it has run for 20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railguy Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 My comments have nothing to do with age of equipment , even if these SD70s' were delivered fresh off the assembly line. These engines are for long express trains with limited stops. Not condusive to multiple stop reggional network. I would speculate Metra placed order pre pandemic based on serving the downtown rush commute. Then the bottom fell out. Of course Metra will spin this on positive light and make the best of it. Sure they will be in service, they are rebuilt engines and are an asset to use. For regional rail they need a new train consist for the higher frequency segments and not current locomotive hauled cars. These can remaim in tje longer rush express markets. Im basing this on looking at the ideas from midwest high speed rail association, CMAP PART section on regional rail and Metra strategic plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 19 hours ago, Railguy said: Not intentionally. Metra bought the wrong type of equipment for regional service including old frieght engines and the new cars on order. Sure they ran in service doesnt mean its the best use of equipment. Will they run the fate as airbus A380 or long Island RR engines which were mothballed or the electric engines Amtrak retires based on the Acela. It happens in the industry. Doubtful Metra will exercise the contract options I'm not an expert per se, but I think your analysis is off. Yes, engines are built for ling distance use, but they aren't LIMITED to that use. Here's an analogy. MCI Prevost, VanHool build buses and they get engines that can handle ling distance touring and travel and intercity runs. But most operators who purchase them use those buses for lune runs. Commuter services, local charters, etc . That's not a misuse if the equipment. Similarly, using engines or locomotives from Amtrak or freight railroads to run Metra service is not misuse of equipment. In fact, I believe its the BEST USE for the equipment. As this type of equipment ages it's best to restrict the range to better maintain the equipment. If you go back to my bus analogy, charter companies and even Greyhound runs the newest equipment across the country, but keeps its oldest equipment local or regional. Your Airbus 380 analogy was off because that's a niche plane that works well for certain carriers. Even the carriers that had decided to retire them are bringing them back because they fill a need. The point is that using this refurbished equipment is financially affordable, efficient, and reliable until Metra can splurge on new locomotives. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 7 hours ago, Railguy said: My comments have nothing to do with age of equipment , even if these SD70s' were delivered fresh off the assembly line. These engines are for long express trains with limited stops. Not condusive to multiple stop reggional network. I would speculate Metra placed order pre pandemic based on serving the downtown rush commute. Then the bottom fell out. Of course Metra will spin this on positive light and make the best of it. Sure they will be in service, they are rebuilt engines and are an asset to use. For regional rail they need a new train consist for the higher frequency segments and not current locomotive hauled cars. These can remaim in tje longer rush express markets. Im basing this on looking at the ideas from midwest high speed rail association, CMAP PART section on regional rail and Metra strategic plan I agree with @artthouwill, but for different reasons. PART is a joke, in the sense of equipment deployment, because Metra is never going to be able to afford to build yards for smaller coaches where the diesel lines now short turn trains: UPN: Highland Park or Winnetka; MD-N Lake Forest (formerly Deerfield), UP-NW Des Plaines, BNSF Fairview Ave. or Brookfield. It also seems ill-conceived that there would be more traffic between, say, Fox Lake and Lake-Cook, when the latter office corridor is much more decimated than the Loop. Hence, if there is any need for smaller coaches, it would be on the outer ends of the system. Since the MACHs appear operational on routes such as MD-N (unless a whole bunch of YouTubers have conspired to doctor the videos), that seems good enough. They just better not sound their horns outside my window. Metra is acknowledging regional rail by: the Feb. 2024 fare system. The proposal for battery trainsets for the RI, which is about the only diesel line that has characteristics that may conform to the pattern. Besides that, you seem to be arguing all over the place for a futile cause, from that they should be used only for excursions on a track that won't be in serviceable condition until 2028, to saying they are/were freight locomotives, to comparing them to doomed aircraft, to this PART fallacy. If you are saying they are not going to last as long a the 35-45 year old F40s, I don't think diesel power is going to last much more than another 15 years, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethebusman99 Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 On 10/31/2023 at 4:55 PM, Railguy said: On a positive note they do look really cool! How useful a 3 axle truck locomotives are in commuter service remains to be seen. It's wait and see time. While they are six axle, only four are powered. Both end axles are idlers (1B-B1). More dictated by available cores than anything else. 4 axle cores are getting hard to come by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneofthewillsNW Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 I am still not used to seeing them go by. but man they are so quite compared to the f40's and f5x. no rumble, no screaming. if only they where duel mode it would be perfect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCR Posted September 19 Report Share Posted September 19 Option 2 has been exercised, bringing the total order so far to 33 units 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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