Post by URR566 on Jul 13, 2012 22:03:17 GMT -5
The SD40T-3's (900-910) were rebuilt in 1999-2000 for the Bessemer from former Southern Pacific/Cotton Belt SD45T-2 units. These locomotives were rebuilt by two different concerns. Numbers 900-906 were rebuilt by Boise Locomotive Company while 907-910 were rebuilt by sister US Steel road Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range. Once placed in service, the SD40T-3’s became the standard road power on the railroads trains.
The locomotives were the first and only turbocharged EMD locomotives ever owned by the railroad. They are equipped with a 16 cylinder power assembly and Q-Tron locomotive control systems. They featured the newer Bessemer logo and numbering font, as well as a recessed gyralite inside the number board housing, unlike previous low nose diesels. The units were also different in that they did not receive four steps (the Bessemer had always had four steps on their locomotives with very few exceptions). There are some other differences that aren't so obvious that resulted from who rebuilt the locomotives .
Here’s a photo of BLE 900, one of the more “traditional” tunnel motors from the Boise group-the ditch lights are spaced far apart on each side of the locomotive:
www.rr-fallenflags.org/ble/ble900dn.jpg
Numbers 903 and 906 differ from that setup with ditch lights mounted close to the coupler pocket on either side and lower down than before. These two units also have anti-climbers, the only SD40T-3’s with this feature. Here’s a shot of 903 showing its different front end arrangement:
www.rr-fallenflags.org/ble/ble903an.jpg
904 has a different battery box louver pattern-while all other Boise rebuilt locomotives feature the standard one louver on each side of the panel (two louvers on each panel), 904 has two smaller louvers closer together on each side (making four louvers on each panel). Here is a photo of 904 at North Bessemer-look under where the cab door is open to see the different louver pattern and compare it to previous photos of the 900’s to see the more traditional louver pattern:
www.rr-fallenflags.org/ble/ble904bs.jpg
At some point in 2004, some of these rebuilds began to be modified with brake wheels instead of ratchet brake levers. Numbers 900-902, 904, and 906 received brake wheels where the brake levers once were. A photo of 902 showing this modification:
www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1318408
Locomotives 900, 904 and 906 were sent to the DM&IR in 2010. Prior to going to the Missabe, these engines went to the Canadian National shops at Homewood, Illinois and had their rear steps heavily modified. Their tunnel motor style steps were replaced with more traditional EMD steps. Here’s a good comparison shot of the modified steps and unmodified steps:
www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2482813
One minor detail on the Boise units-the FRED brackets which were found on B&LE diesels after the railroad eliminated the caboose from the rear of their trains, were mounted on the engineers side nose, ahead of the grab iron. These were later removed by 2004.
Numbers 907-910 were rebuilt by the DM&IR at their Proctor shops. These locomotives differ from the Boise rebuilds.
On these locomotives, the numbers on the number boards are a different font than what the previous rebuilds wear. There is an extra handrail post on the engineers side closest to the cab which is used as a door stop. These locomotives lacked the FRED brackets on the nose. On the brake cylinders, the Missabe stenciled the date of when the cylinders were cleaned/inspected. The front sand fill hatch is further back inside of the notch on the nose and doesn’t stick out like it does on the Boise rebuilds. The notch is also taller on the Missabe rebuilds. The battery box doors are no longer a panel but rather a door with two latches on each side and more louvers than before. Here are two photos-the first of a Boise unit (905) and then a Missabe unit (907) to compare the differences mentioned above:
www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2714692
www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=290317
Paint wise these engines are all the same, however on the Missabe built unit’s the handrails are painted orange where they touch the cab/cab sub base. Look back at the two photos above to see that variation. Starting in April of 2000, these locomotives began receiving their reflective orange hash marks down the sill, and starting in 2006, these were covered up by reflective yellow tape.
Starting in 2012, some of the Tunnel Motors had their Gyralites removed. At my last count, 901, 905, 907, and 908 no longer feature their Gyralites.
In August 2013, number 905 was involved in a grade crossing accident with a log truck and sustained damage to the front pilot, nose, and cab. It was sent to the Union Railroads Hall Shops to be repaired. Rather than repair the front, Hall elected to completely replace the nose/cab face with one from a Kansas City Southern SD40-2 (KCS 669). Here is the repaired 905 showing its new face:
www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3779745
The front nose emblem is larger than those found on the cab sides. The numberboard numbers are a bit different. Hall applied their own letter "F" to it, it is the same font they use on URR diesels. The old KCS nose stripes are visible under the orange paint. The front sand hatch reused the space where the nose headlight once was.
In January 2015 902 suffered a bent crankshaft and was taken out of service. The engine was Sent to Quality Rail Services to get a new power assembly. In March 2015 all but one the remaining Tunnel Motors were replaced in road service by six Illinois Central SD70's. As of this writing only 905 is still on the B&LE, the rest that were left on home rails have been scattered around the CN system.
On April 16, 2015 word spread that B&LE 902 had been overhauled and repainted into Canadian National colors. About a week later a photograph finally surfaced of it in CN colors. It was the first Bessemer & Lake Erie locomotive to be repainted into parent Canadian Nationals' colors:
m.flickr.com/#/photos/locoslides/17230319815
Sister 900, which was on the former DM&IR, was also sent to Quality Rail in May for an overhaul and repainted into CN colors, becoming the second B&LE diesel to wear the CN Noodle:
www.flickr.com/photos/respondekrailroad/18027375593/
903 became the third T-Motor to get CN paint, also repainted by Quality Rail:
www.flickr.com/photos/18171644@N03/21661938790/
