California agency auction: 135 TON Locomotives for sale

[TimFox]

Re: Disabling
... It might be extreme, but consider what a renegade locomotive operated by a terrorist might do.

Remebering when Ali G asked if no one is concerned about terrorists running a train into the White house.

"Keep on the tracks, no matter what" (from a children's book about a cute locomotive).
The turnouts ("switches") that route locomotives and trains from one track to another are usually remotely controlled.
In real disasters and disaster movies, the rogue unit is usually crashed into stationary equipment or otherwise derailed.

[RJSV]

   Ah;   2.4 MegaWatts,  thanks for that power figure.
   I had been musing, about how much power would a 'Solar Friggin Commuter Train'.   For that, would need a square footage figure, for, in that case, a typical shorter train, as for commuters, not a long freight train.
   It's a pretty pitiful fraction,   with train cars covered with solar panels...quick guess is 14%...or less, of power needed to run, direct solar.

[Gregg]

Shipping a locomotive could cost hundreds of times more than the initial purchase not to mention preparing a place for it at the destination such as getting it off commercial rails and onto your property.  I pretty sure it is next to impossible to connect a private spur to most commercial tracks.

[themadhippy]

I pretty sure it is next to impossible to connect a private spur to most commercial tracks.

not impossible,just a bit on the pricey side

[vk6zgo]

According to the web store page (https://www.caltrainstore.com/special-items/p/caltrain-emd-f40ph-2-locomotive-used):
"Locomotive engine must be disabled per a state grant funding agreement"

Moreover you have to tow (?) this 130 ton beast to some place. No thanks.

Maybe it's a good idea for a café or a fancy restaurant, provided that you find a suitable place to park it 

There are trucks which can, & have, carried locomotives, both diesel & steam.
Of course a service like that would cost "an arm & a leg"

[johansen]

   Re-use is not a new thing:
   I recall a children's book had an excavator Steam Shovel, that could talk and express emotions.   Eventually, the shovel was converted as it could not get out of the basement it had excavated!   Thing was converted into a BOILER, for building heat.

Seems like I'd prefer a passenger car, for a cute cabin or play space, out back of house.
OR, maybe a neighbor has complained about your old car parked.   Just simply 'park' the loco up near neighbor's fence....
(Don't,....there might be zoning and eyesore issues).

this reminds me of a very old children's story book about an excavator that was left in the basement of the 3 underground story basement house it had dug out.

i later realized some of these old stories messed me up more than i thought they did.. when i was a child.  -what i mean is even as an 8 year old reading the story i had the self awareness this is messed up and sad. 

fuck it might be the same one. 

[themadhippy]

There are trucks which can, & have, carried locomotives, both diesel & steam.

And here in the uk we even have a tv series all about them
https://u.co.uk/shows/train-truckers/watch-online

[forrestc]

this reminds me of a very old children's story book about an excavator that was left in the basement of the 3 underground story basement house it had dug out.

i later realized some of these old stories messed me up more than i thought they did.. when i was a child.  -what i mean is even as an 8 year old reading the story i had the self awareness this is messed up and sad. 

I don't disagree about some of the old stories being sick/twisted.  Especially nursery rhymes.   But in this case, the book actually has a pretty good message that could be applied to lots of things, such as overcoming stereotypes and adapting to change.

[Seekonk]

Always read the fine print.  I bough an electronics cabinet for a piece of inspection equipment at a mail bid auction.  I had visited the warehouse to inspect the item. At time of pickup I was informed it also came with a 10 ton piece of granite, from Rock of Ages.  I was lucky to know a machine tooling company willing to take it away for free as it was a large and quite expensive precision surface table. They had a heck of a time moving it.

[TimFox]

this reminds me of a very old children's story book about an excavator that was left in the basement of the 3 underground story basement house it had dug out.

i later realized some of these old stories messed me up more than i thought they did.. when i was a child.  -what i mean is even as an 8 year old reading the story i had the self awareness this is messed up and sad. 

I don't disagree about some of the old stories being sick/twisted.  Especially nursery rhymes.   But in this case, the book actually has a pretty good message that could be applied to lots of things, such as overcoming stereotypes and adapting to change.

The story "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel"  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Mulligan_and_His_Steam_Shovel  has a happy ending where the steam shovel becomes the boiler for the apartment building, Mike becomes the janitor, and they live happily ever after.
A much happier story than many of the Kinder- und Hausmärchen  of the brothers Grimm.  Don't ever read "The Robber Bridegroom" to a child.

[Analog Kid]

Although someone at Caltrans added some whimsical details about B&B, etc., [...]

Very common mistake: Caltrain has nothing whatsoever to do with Caltrans. I know; I used to ride Caltrain (not "Caltrains"!) to work.
The commuter line used to be under the California Dep't. of Transportation, but for the last 25 years or so has been owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties).

And that railroad is one gigantic cluster-fuck, but that's another topic altogether ...

[TimFox]

Although someone at Caltrans added some whimsical details about B&B, etc., [...]

Very common mistake: Caltrain has nothing whatsoever to do with Caltrans. I know; I used to ride Caltrain (not "Caltrains"!) to work.
The commuter line used to be under the California Dep't. of Transportation, but for the last 25 years or so has been owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties).

And that railroad is one gigantic cluster-fuck, but that's another topic altogether ...

Caltrans took over the service from the Southern Pacific in 1980, and named it Caltrain.
Further re-organization since then.

[Analog Kid]

Yes. Actually, they (Caltrans) named it CalTrain (note camel case); JPB changed it to Caltrain in a rebranding ~2000.

People were still calling it "Caltrans" or Caltrains" in the late 90s when I was a rider.

[TimFox]

The advertisement was issued by a souvenir store operated by Caltrain, who also sells tee shirts.
The original purchase was by Caltrans sometime around 1985:  who actually has title to it now?

[Analog Kid]

Who has title? Probably the JPB.

And I wonder about the requirement that the locos be disabled by the buyer: that sounds like a state of California edict (environmental/climate-change). But what if the buyer moves it out of state? Seems like a bad deal; those units are well-cared for and could offer rail service for many more years. I know there are people who have bought locomotives (and even airplanes) and turned them into B&Bs and such, though.

[TimFox]

The original ad states that sales and shipping are only to  California.
If you really want to run this on a tourist railroad, you need to pass all sorts of FRA regulations.
Most railroad right-of-way is private property, but railroad regulations go back to the 19th century.

[Analog Kid]

If you really want to run this on a tourist railroad, you need to pass all sorts of FRA regulations.

Well, for sure. That part of California has a bunch of operating tourist lines: the Skunk trains up in Marin, the Roaring Camp & Big Trees in Felton, several others. Some still operating steam.

[coppercone2]

choo choo

[TimFox]

If you really want to run this on a tourist railroad, you need to pass all sorts of FRA regulations.

Well, for sure. That part of California has a bunch of operating tourist lines: the Skunk trains up in Marin, the Roaring Camp & Big Trees in Felton, several others. Some still operating steam.

I was photographing once (4 by 5 inch field camera) at the railroad museum in Ely, Nevada while they were rehabbing a steam locomotive for use at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.  Certified boiler technicians were installing new fire tubes:  very interesting to watch.

[RJSV]

   My experience is that 'CALTRANS' is a freeway planning and funding gig.   That means also being a rather large landowner,  which is a big source of contempt,  from Caltrans Tenents,  renting their residence under State management (have to recite the word...;  'Incompetant', to describe that management).

   Apparently, the diesel engine cylinders were ruined,   in the sales agreement,  by way of ruining the cylinder seals.   Would be interested in hearing or reading the basic logic for doing that.
   Imagine a Craig's List AD:
   "Recently Sabotaged Locomotive for Sale...doesn't run,  but you could sleep there.

Ridiculous.

[Xena E]

   
   Apparently, the diesel engine cylinders were ruined,   in the sales agreement,  by way of ruining the cylinder seals.   Would be interested in hearing or reading the basic logic for doing that.
   

I'll field that question Rick.

It's because a bunch of snowflake shitheads thought they were doing something good for the environment.

X

[Analog Kid]

   My experience is that 'CALTRANS' is a freeway planning and funding gig.   That means also being a rather large landowner,  which is a big source of contempt,  from Caltrans Tenents,  renting their residence under State management (have to recite the word...;  'Incompetant', to describe that management).

Again, Caltrans (California Dep't. of Transportation) has nothing whatsoever to do with Caltrain (operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board).

[RJSV]

Thank you, Xena;   I know you read the detailed contractual offering for auction,  and thanks for information that the engine cylinders were 'seized up',  apparently by introducing things into the fuel.
   But,   would be able, please,  to recite some of what you read,  there in the on-line stuff ?
I'm currently on a broken-screen smart phone and no laptop,  so I'm not fully accessing things out there.
   I'm fairly interested in crooks and scams,  and can appreciate a clever rip-off tale.  (Never arrested, so I don't even get to brag,  in a bar...unless I lie.
   That's that old,  flirty bar pickup line,  lifted from Star Wars:

   "I'm wanted in 4 provinces !"

   So,  can you recollect anything that was stated, regarding REASONS,  not the actual destruction.
Like,  maybe the auction description said:
  'According to CA 4103-6 any surplus offering must be in non-service condition...'

   I know about the non-service aspect,  but just interested in the delivery,  of that news.

Scams,  fraud,  murder coverups are all interesting...from an armchair distance that is.

New smartphone was supposed to be September...oh well,  it will happen.
Thanks.

[AVGresponding]

It's likely to do with taking diesel engines out of service and replacing them with electric: "Locomotive engine must be disabled per a state grant funding agreement."

Haven't dug very deep, but these are probably the relevant links:  https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/12/05/california-to-receive-6-billion-federal-investment-for-high-speed-rail/ and https://dot.ca.gov/programs/budgets/state-transportation-grants -> https://dot.ca.gov/programs/transportation-planning

[Analog Kid]

Speaking of gigantic crocks of shit, California's entire HSR project is exactly that. Something that will never come to fruition, or that will never be completed in our lifetimes.

And I speak as someone who really, really likes trains--when they're well done, which most of the dunderheads in the US seem incapable of doing (unlike in Yurp and Asia)--and would love to be able to jump on a nice comfy HSR from the Bay Area to LA. (Turns out HSR can actually be faster than flying in some cases, as the trains go from city center to city center and not some outlying airport requiring extra transit connections.)

If you want to read about some of the many, many fuck-ups that have made this (HSR) a pipe dream, check out this blog which covers both Cal HSR and Caltrain (the SF peninsula commute service), which are joined at the hip in this scheme (the initial run from SF will supposedly share the Caltrain ROW). (Caltrain is run by a bunch of fucking idiots.) They know where a lot of the bodies are buried and reveal a lot of the gory details.