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Designs grow old and are eventually replaced by something better in terms of power, fuel efficiency, and/or pollution output. Just look what happened with the F40PH's. They were successful machines that were replaced after a couple decades of service. The same will happen to the P42's soon enough.Can't GE make more of them...?
Is it me or do the American passenger diesels seem to have rather short lives, I mean the GE Genesis diesels were built in the 90s and there is already talk of replacing them, in most other countries diesels tend to have a 30 year life span to them. I was wondering if it could due to the amount of mileage they perhaps rack up.
Is it me or do the American passenger diesels seem to have rather short lives, I mean the GE Genesis diesels were built in the 90s and there is already talk of replacing them, in most other countries diesels tend to have a 30 year life span to them. I was wondering if it could due to the amount of mileage they perhaps rack up.
The P40DC was introduced in 1993, it is currently 2013. There was an interim program to uprate the engine to 4200hp, producing the P42Dc with a P32AC-DM variant for NYC service.
For the sake of accountants and the IRS, most equipment is classified as having I think either 10 or 15 year MACRS schedule, which means that it is fully depreciated after 7 or 12 years, respectively. Anything after is considered good. As for unusually short lives, the 6000hp SD90MAC-H and AC6000CW lasted really only about 6 years with the full-rated engine. For mileage, consider running 2000 miles once every 3 days, then spinning around to do it again in another 3 hours or so without fail, at least on long-distance ops.
The first passenger diesels in the US lasted about 15 years, when the later model E and F units took over everything. They had to last until the F40PH came out, with the exception of the boiler-added freight engines (see FP45, SDP35). We then ran the wheels off the F40s until the P42 came along, so it appears that although there may be some overlap, the major epochs in American passenger locomotives are about 20 years long.
Don't forget, we can retain many common parts between models, so the Blomberg trucks on today's cabbages could very well be salvaged from one of the first covered wagons. Not sure if we will be able to say the same about GE's fabricated German-designed trucks on the Genesis.
Ah fair enough that explains it, just seems a rather short life, I mean Britain has a lot of stock built in 1992 and we only count it as halfway through it's life. The HST's were built between 1976 and 1981 and on average they rack up between 2000 - 3000 miles every three days, there are are plans to replace them but even so most HST's still have another 10 years of service. But I suppose the operating conditions in the US are far more arduous, with extreme weather and temperature changes and some very heavy loads which will take a toll.
But I'm sure most of the P42's will end up on commuter railroads rather than in the scrapyard, from the looks of things they use some very old stock that could do with replacing.
FWIW, in Northern MI (read Keweenaw Peninsula), its too cold to even think about salt. Instead, they lay down old stamp-sand from the copper mining and processing facilities. It don't melt, but at least you have traction. In the spring (summer?) they scoop it all back up for next year.
They're kind of cool. We won't see them for probably another 30 years. We finally upgraded our locomotives here from F40PHs purchased around 1980.
John
Make that 2.5-3 years... http://www.railwayage.com/index.php...en+notice+to+proceed+on+passenger+locomotives