| Posted by on December 26, 2013 | |
Note the rare MK50-3 in the background. Only 6 were built by Morrison-Knudsen as MK5000C's with 5000 HP CAT 3612 V12 prime mover and demonstrated on several railroads as MK attempted to break into the new road locomotive business. Unfortunately the CAT diesel proved to be ill-suited for the rigors of the railroad and a host of mechanical troubles led to them being returned to Boise and then purchased by the Utah Railway, who repowered them with 645's from retired SD50's.
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Sweet looking tank cars! Assuming the date is correct on that shot, what are these cars being used for these days?
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| Posted by Roy S. on December 26, 2013 | |
I've never been a fan of Armor Yellow, but it sure looks good on tank cars!
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We MAY well see cars like these again as railroads experiment with using natural gas as a locomotive fuel. The distances between CNG refueling points could bring back the concept of "fuel-tenders."
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Perhaps in the future someone will design a fuel tender from the ground up that can withstand the forces of locomotive service...
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I know nothing about it on a technical standpoint, but I do know that the BN used fuel tenders as an added fuel source for years in and around the Crawford Hill area back in the 80's. (I also got photos of them on the "Joint Line" in Colorado). Sandwiched in between two (or many times three) SD40-2's, they seemed to do well for themselves as they were used in helper service on many a coal train. I do not believe they were ever used on the C 30-7's and other GE units of the day. The two ways that I never saw them was with a GE unit, or on any other train other than a coal train. Looking forward to what U.P. and BNSF come up with as they experiment on alternative fuel sources out here in the Southwest USA.
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