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My nephew likes to park by tracks (he's retired) and wait fir something to come along. Last Tuesday he was in Vicksburg. On an eastbound CN freight directly behind the power was a former Minnesota Commercial   ALCO C636 dead in tow heading for Quebec. It's not often you see ALCOs these days.

Then on Saturday in Vicksburg again he saw another eastbound, this time with one Union Pacific engine pulling a brand new Sieman's Venture car trainset also heading for Canada. Two great sights in the same week! Keep on railfanning. You never know what will show up next.

I could not agree with you more that’s why every time a train goes past I make sure I look out my window or step outside and watch it. I have seen a lot of cool stuff go past that I would not have seen if I would not have looked.

Thank you for the good advice and information

GAP wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 19, 2024 12:36 pm

 Keep on railfanning. You never know what will show up next.

Hey GAP!

Good to see your post.

Thanks for sharing.

David Lang

Wonder where/ why that 636 ALCO/ MLW was going ???

joeyuboats wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 19, 2024 6:44 pm

Wonder where/ why that 636 ALCO/ MLW was going ???

Going to the Sartigan Railway.

Is it operable or will it become a part source?

From FaceBook regarding CFS 71.

Oh, OK, that makes sense,as SARTIGAN RWY. Is all Alco/MLW.

Really cool, the Sartigan's a class act and they've got a great paint scheme. Interesting that they note the unit as having a Cat engine...

Where is the asbestos region in Canada I wonder

Erroneous Monk wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 19, 2024 10:09 pm

Really cool, the Sartigan's a class act and they've got a great paint scheme. Interesting that they note the unit as having a Cat engine...

Where is the asbestos region in Canada I wonder

Yes, this particular unit was rebuilt by CP in the early 90s with a CAT diesel as a test to see if repowering their entire MLW fleet would be viable. It was not.

The asbestos region would be north and east of Montreal/Quebec. Remember that the old SJ&LC, in Vermont served an asbestos mine. That M636 was well taken care of by CP, in the St.Luc shops,and IIRC, was given the name of the foreman there,who was in charge of re--- engining it. I guess the cost of doing all the 636's was too much for CP to spend on older locos.Anyway, she is going home to familiar turf,so I guess that's a success.

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 20, 2024 9:15 am

Erroneous Monk wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 19, 2024 10:09 pm

Interesting that they note the unit as having a Cat engine...

Where is the asbestos region in Canada I wonder

Yes, this particular unit was rebuilt by CP in the early 90s with a CAT diesel as a test to see if repowering their entire MLW fleet would be viable. It was not.

What engine does it use and how much horsepower?

David Collins wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 20, 2024 2:16 pm

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 20, 2024 9:15 am

Erroneous Monk wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 19, 2024 10:09 pm

Interesting that they note the unit as having a Cat engine...

Where is the asbestos region in Canada I wonder

Yes, this particular unit was rebuilt by CP in the early 90s with a CAT diesel as a test to see if repowering their entire MLW fleet would be viable. It was not.

What engine does it use and how much horsepower?

CAT 3608, same 3,600 horsepower rating as the original 251E, IIRC.

David Collins wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 20, 2024 2:16 pm

What engine does it use and how much horsepower?

https://www.thedieselshop.us/CAT_repowers.HTML claims a 3608 as well. Per the site the CAT engine was installed by Peaker Services here in Michigan. Formerly CP 4711 and "re-classfied as a M630CAT."

joeyuboats wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 20, 2024 11:49 am

The asbestos region would be north and east of Montreal/Quebec. Remember that the old SJ&LC, in Vermont served an asbestos mine. That M636 was well taken care of by CP, in the St.Luc shops,and IIRC, was given the name of the foreman there,who was in charge of re--- engining it. I guess the cost of doing all the 636's was too much for CP to spend on older locos.Anyway, she is going home to familiar turf,so I guess that's a success.

Thanks, I thought it was just a google translate error.

I wonder what the Sartigan will think of the new engine given that CP was seemingly not fond of it and Minnesota Commercial has had it in storage for years.

IIRC non-railroad engine manufacturers such as Cummins and CAT seem to have had a hard time in the railroad market. Why is that exactly? Seems to me that semi-truck and loco engines have to put up with similar operating conditions.

The genset phase, that RR's went through-- remember seeing that alot used Cummins truck engines as power, which, is a good diesel.They had 2 or 3 of them, depending on what the load was. Do not know why they did not work out. The theory was valid, but , there must have been issues, as saw a video of, IIRC--- LTEX in Ohio, the other day, and there were a few ex UP gensets in the deadline. Others may have used MTU, or small CAT engines.