Under the dark night sky we get a last glimpse of what may be the final stand for the SD60 series locomotives on the NS locomotive roster. Trying to keep up with rival company CSX on this "Precision Schedule" motto, Norfolk Southern had to store a large portion of the locomotive fleet for the time being. With a surprising decision as of January 23, the railroad continue forward with certain changes, and officially retire the rest of the SD60s, SD60M's, and SD60I's, and put them on the market for other opportunity else where. What can you say about the 60 series, other than the fact that the first generation of the SD60's was a sorta come back move by EMD from the failing SD50's that had all sorts of mechanical issues in the 1980s. A total of 1,144 of these locomotive including the early safety cabs was produce since their debut into road service in the 80s, and 90s, NS 6787 was one of 75 SD60M that got it humble beginning with Conrail til the 99 split off where 30 of the SD60M's was sent to CSX and, the rest of the 44 60M's were sent to NS. From a stand point of a railfan seeing a EMD SD60 series is one worth catching especially in the world of GE, but we also have to remember that the railroad like Conrail, Norfolk Southern, and CSX had got their money worth out of the 2 to 3 decade old locomotives, and it was time to pass the torch of modern locomotives on to a new generation of diesel locomotive that will pave a way for the future of railroading. Thus is the end of an era for now. Note: Photo was taken from Public property on the fence line.
The EMD SD (special duty) series are a strong and reliable kind of locomotive which still serve America's rails today. They have proved themselves reliable by clocking in several million miles of freight service over several decades.
