HUGE Locomotive Demolition!

[@jr56440]

This was one of 3 Progress Rail PR43C locomotives, rebuilt from old EMD SD50s. This specific locomotive started life as Norfolk Southern 6525, built 7/84 by the Electro Motive Division of General Motors. Originally this had a 3500 hp V16 16-645F3 engine. After conversion it had Caterpillar C175 and C18 engines totaling 4300 hp.

[@UltraMagaFan]

The C175 makes sense to put in a locomotive. That’s a monster 85 liter V16 engine. But why a C18? It’s a small 18 liter inline 6 engine that was primarily used in semi trucks.

[@jr56440]

@@UltraMagaFan I’m guessing the C18 provided power for idling, moving around light, and an extra kick if needed at higher speeds.

[@MrJeep75]

Thanks for the history

[@epistte]

I knew something was different. It had an old style AAR cab but also had SD70 flared radiators. The recent paint job was also a tell that this was not your typical SD40-2 being scrapped.

[@SuperDcopeland]

That loco don’t look to beat down or old. Wonder why demo instead of doing updates and keeping it in operation

[@dr.a006]

Wow! There’s some thick steel on trains.

[@railfanjeremiah8654]

R.I.P to that NS rebuild SD50

[@paulbergen9114]

I first remember seeing some locomotive frames being scrapped in the 1970s @ McCook IL but they were smaller and had a lot more rust. Because of the thickness and the effort and even the cost sometimes you'll see old cranes and Earth Movers sit for years and years. Thanks for the comprehensive look at how this is done

[@GrandyDancer]

Great video. I've been around railroads and locomotives my whole life. This gave some incredible views of components that are usually difficult to see because of there placement in relationship to other things. I would have loved to see a video of when the owner started removing usable parts., and when they took the axles/trucks out. I hated to see the locomotive get cut up but it was a great video.

[@southsidetom]

Big claws and fiery torches! Great vid!!

[@PRR5406]

I’d like the control box, switches, etc. It would make a great experience in a children’s museum.

[@Comm0ut]

Contact any rail scrapper and bring money.

[@mdwait]

@@Comm0ut I will .. IN all honesty.. cuz I don't have a clue... what is a realistic monies ? I understand $$$ is required and desired.. and would spend.. just want to have a ball park

[@OldMan3P420]

Worked at midwest steel and alloy youngstown oh. late 80's. Pulled battery's,prime mover,generator,air compressor,oiling rack,fuel tank 2 a day. Burning line had 4 burners cutting locomotives. Day and a half to cut 1 loco per burner,no shear track help,crawler track crane with magnet.

[@OldMan3P420]

2ft by 4ft pieces

[@allangoble3840]

Absolutely awesome to watch. Love to see more of these

[@caseyvillemodelrailroad3877]

Great vidio, love the wrecking, looking forward to doing a diorama of this in 0 gauge for the Yard layout. Thanks for the morning coffee...

[@mt5144]

In the UK there is a company when scrapping Locomotives cuts out the numbers on the side of the Loco's, If you want you can buy this panel for the Scrap cost Price of the metal holding the number & use the panel for your Man Cave/Garage Wall.

[@SD40Fan_Jason]

Neat to watch! I've often wondered if the value of scrap offsets the cost of fuel with the Oxygen and Acetylene to chop it up. I know for a while there, the company I worked for was taking a loss, but they needed to get the railcars cut up or pay taxes on them. Taxes on scrap metal versus whole cars is a whole lot less, even if they are derailed, beyond repair and off their wheels...

[@jlmicki4246]

We did complete locomotive and tank car demo, motors and all. Was using a Volvo 380 with a claw. The electric motor and combustion engine gave us a run for our money. Close to 46k lbs each. Even with a big machine it’s very awkward to handle that weight. I’ve got picture if you’d want to see

[@tomt9543]

I would imagine that some of those sections were really pushing the limits of that Grove crane! I think that’s a 50 ton unit, but when you look at how incredibly heavy a locomotive is built, you see that it doesn’t take long to get super heavy!

[@jacksonsnyder4970]

do you have the number boards for this unit still? i would be interested in buying one or both of them off you if you still have them

[@kevinrice7635]

Heavy equipment come a long way...our outfit torched most everything.

[@leechjim8023]

That loco was built like a battleship!!!😮

[@paulwho3444]

Thanks for sharing mike I know it takes time to film edit and post I appreciate u showing your side of bussiness

[@timothybrimm6299]

I so to speak "cut my teeth" on operating these machines loved every minute ,equip operator for 35 years !

[@eliaguastini7960]

that's wild, amazing job man

[@leeloolab]

scrapping trains is murder

[@danielferrovias]

Its a piece of machinery dude. And besides, all things come to an end

[@sandletters39]

Being recycled.

[@SpheroJr3289]

These sucked ass anyway lmfao PR43Cs are like some of the worst rebuilds out there 😂

[@huntersmith7127]

That Poor Locomotive😞😞😞 Rest In Peace, Norfolk Southern 4300😢😢😭😭😞😞

[@carolinarailfanning]

This was owned by progress rail.

[@gmac8852]

The engineers that ran these locomotives are glad to see them go to scrap

[@MattyC62185]

The SD-50 was the beginning of the end of EMD. I am honestly not all that upset seeing an SD-50 get chopped up. Prior to this EMD was the clear leader in this country as a locomotive producer, but they lost a lot of business because of it and all the problems it had. This to EMD was their version of the 737 max to Boeing.

[@sc1338]

@@MattyC62185I’m curious why

[@Slim_Slid]

​@@MattyC62185 These PR43C rebuilds were actually far more unreliable and useless units than the GP50's & SD50's. Most GP50's & SD50's received swapped power assemblies from 645E3's which solved the problems for the most part of the 645F3's. The problem with two stroke diesel engines is that displacement needs to be increased depending on the horsepower,opposed to four stroke which can produce more and at lower RPM,and this is where and what EMD failed. EMD's downfall was EPA regulations and the fact that GE was always ahead of them in terms of being technologically advanced with better traction motors,tractive effort,and dynamic braking including microprocessors and wheel slippage prevention for their units. The biggest mistake EMD created was the SD90MAC H1's & H2's. Even the SD9043MAC's were problematic involving cracked frames. CAT/PRLX resurrected the same errors with the SD70AH-T4's which made all other EMD units highly preferred instead.

[@thejunkyard5695]

Awesome video, thank you for posting! - Would love to see the weigh outs of all the metal you got from it.

[@adamcraker9629]

Closest youll ever get to seeing a bathroom get cleaned on a NS engine.

[@dr.tyrell7083]

The accuracy of this comment won’t get recognized by those who don’t know how accurate this actually is. Gotta keep an std test with ya every time you use one

[@masaharumorimoto4761]

Super cool!!! Thanks for sharing dude!

[@strobx1]

It only had one Diesel Engine. The EMD/GM DDA40X was the last loco with two diesel engines= 2 20V645E3A two strokes = 3300 Hp a piece.. That gave 6600 HP

[@jr56440]

It was rebuilt into a PR43C genset around 2010.

[@Corky3D]

It was previously a SD50. Like JR said Progress rebuilt it into a PR43C. They took out the old EMD 645 Prime Mover/Engine and replaced it with 1 Caterpillar C175 and 1 Caterpillar C18 engines. So it did have 2 diesel engines.

[@jasonpeters3228]

Cool to see how heavy they are built.

[@MrStevesTrains]

Keep the # Boards and the frame around them. 👍🏻🚂

[@johnnyhalf6558]

I'm assuming the camera Man is the fire watch guy ? On those big pieces you should have a rope on to steer it ! That's what Iron workers due with gaint I Beams ! Good job .His cuts are very straight.

[@JOHNNYCARROLL-f9e]

the end of an era for that locomotive.

[@rickmarkham2584]

Making that liquid oxygen dewar look like a snowball!

[@gilesbennet9295]

Love the video, keep them coming

[@RailPreserver2K]

Have people asked you if you could save stuff like horns number boards and cab controls and whatnot? You'd be surprised at how many rail enthusiasts would pay good money to get that stuff

[@northcoast261]

thought about the same thing. guess they don't give a fuck or care to look into it.

[@Rwalt61]

It's interesting to note that I watched a video on KZbin once where they said a locomotive was one of the few places you could survive a direct tornado hit because they are so big and heavy.

[@joshuapaul349]

If you can get some of those big copper wires out whole you can make some bad ass jumper cables or have a very nice main power wire for car audio.

[@DXT61]

Ive heard a locomotive intact is around 200 tons give or take.

[@gp40railfan44]

They are! Especially one that size!

[@wheelslip]

Man have you seen on Ebay how much you can get for those number boards you destroyed?

[@valenzaplumbing]

Peanuts compared to the steel he just recycled.

[@blav2417]

Cool video. Im sure I built that old genesis pro series shear when it was new years back. Nice to see it still cutting away.

[@matthewmcgrew2597]

bet the crane took a big bite out of end payday

[@ssweeps]

Is there a part 2 to see more? 😊

[@NickManCuso59]

I hate to see equipment like this getting scraped !

[@harrimanfox8961]

don't worry, these things were horribly unreliable, lost the railroads tons of money and were an overall failure.. scrapping this model of locomotive is the best you can do with it.

[@Slim_Slid]

Nothing to cry about...It was a unreliable SD50 for most of it's time and then was a short lived EPA rebuild as a PR43C which was even more junk in my opinion.

[@paulmartin8212]

Good job. I just ran across your channel. Very interesting how heavy those things are built. no wonder they last so long. I'll check out some of your other stuff.

[@railron1935]

Sometimes I really hate the future. It's my worst fear I'm dealing with.

[@alanbiancardi2531]

You need meds

[@railron1935]

@@alanbiancardi2531 LOl

[@johnc8112]

That was so great never seen a train scraped before. How much total weight ?

[@allencollins7219]

You have a great crew. Cool job.

[@joshthetrainfan]

DAMN THE NS PR43C GOT SCRAPPED... 😭

[@harrimanfox8961]

nothing to cry about, these things sucked.

[@joshthetrainfan]

@@harrimanfox8961 They did ik but still

[@Slim_Slid]

The PR43C's made the SD50's look like a rookie mistake with all the mechanical malfunctions the units presented. There's a reason why only about a dozen were even completed and the program was scrapped...The units were junk. At least with the SD50's,most times swapping power assemblies or changing governor settings solved the reliability issues. Just like with derating the horsepower on the SD45's,SD45-2's,SD45T-2's,or SD45M's in order to avoid crankshaft failures and stress.

[@joshthetrainfan]

@@Slim_Slid I mean yeah-

[@Attakai_The_Kitty]

@@harrimanfox8961foxxo

[@Wjp2024]

Very cool vid .. you got a new subscriber from it.

[@gmac8852]

Scrappers torches is my thing 😊.

[@BrucePerkins-mc3hp]

Those units or locos average a total weight of 440,000# fully assembled

[@JTTTTx]

I hope that the fuel tank was properly decommissioned. I would be careful with the torch!!

[@northerngm6431]

It's diesel fuel. You can cut or weld on it, not the same as gasoline.

[@JTTTTx]

Number 2 fuel, when properly atomized will burn quite easily and that’s what I meant by decommissioning. The vapors could flash. The temperature of a cutting torch is well above the flash point of diesel fuel.

[@northerngm6431]

@JTTTTx I've been working on diesel trucks for a long time, I've cut and welded on tanks when they still had fuel in them, just use proper safety precautions and there won't be any problems. You aren't gonna atomize fuel that's sitting in a tank without pressure through a small orifice like an oil burner on a furnace. Get a gallon of diesel fuel and throw sparks in it till it lights, I'm willing to bet you will be there forever, even if you were to get the residual fuel to catch its not going to case any issues.

[@northerngm6431]

@JTTTTx I disagree, I've cut and welded on fuel tanks that had fuel in them and never had a fire. In fact, it's better to fill them up completely.

[@JTTTTx]

I agree with you about the atomization, I am in the heating industry. I only mention it because it can on rare occasions cause a problem. In my state, those tanks couldn’t be transferred or transported without being properly cleaned and certified by an agency. DEP rules etc. We did have a case where a couple of guys were removing a pipe bushing with heat and it did “ cause a problem “.

[@gunnerhelton2824]

It would’ve been cool to have one of the three in some form preservation

[@strobx1]

That's not the bumper. It's a snow plow

[@jasonlieu5379]

I would have pulled the doors off there are a lot of inthusists that would like to have one of those

[@dakotapicou]

man if i could have gotten ahold of those numberboards...

[@rival3825]

What a fun job

[@threepea1151]

Glad to see a SD50/PR43C is being scrapped, those things were junk

[@sc1338]

Why’s that

[@NorthernWinter]

This was cool to come across my feed - subscribed! I'm pretty curious what the total weight of the whole thing was, would you be able to do a breakdown video or something? I'd love to know what scrapping is like as far as the costs of the gas for the torches, crew, crane service, trucking etc. and how much that eats into the scrap payout (if it's something you're comfortable sharing with the world)

[@beeble2003]

Large North American railroad locomotives like this weigh about 200 tons.

[@jtb3797]

Makes my heart hurt

[@graphtonix6607]

I'm so sad that this happened to Amtrak F40PHR unit 275 when it was scrapped by LTEX Rail.

[@Dawsonsrailfanadventures74]

I hope you guys kept the Plastic Numberboards from the front of the cab they would look cool in your office

[@raginroadrunner]

there a whole bunch of these on abandoned side tracks in southern Arizona and New Mexico..

[@SPUPRR]

Man,I want that coupler/Drawbar assembly.

[@JohnViinalass-lc1ow]

whew!...good, safe working, guys

[@danmathers141]

I can see you didn't touch the fuel tank. Is there a chance left over fuel or fumes may cause a fire?

[@John-c4b6y]

just a thought, how much would a railfan have paid for that cab. better than 10 cents a pound

[@Geeves8612]

I've seen photos recently of hundreds of train cabs sat in slowly growing greenery so seemingly the demand isn't as high as folks think.

[@grade8fabrication]

I can't imagine how to go about being able to do, in the sense of I never knew train companies allowed "private individuals" scrap their stuff. I figured something like this stayed in house. Wonder how much insurance is required to be out there and how often this happens

[@gregblanton9386]

Just Union Pacific alone has over 8,000 locomotives and there is 100's of them sitting in scrap yards throughout the US plus 1000's more from the other 3 class 1 railroads and defunct railroads.

[@frankiegauthier1319]

He definitely made bank with the weight of that baby

[@Gilpinshauling]

kind of curious to know the final weight on it and the rads.

[@danpags7023]

I may have missed it, but what was the total scrap weight? Cool video! Thanks

[@therailfanningskeleton359]

I know that engine was total JUNK according to some, but I would have payed a good few thousands for that cab😅

[@joshandkorinna]

I hate this. I understand that everything can't be preserved and someone has to do it and that it must be done but it still hurts to see it destroyed. It's like loosing history.

[@vincentstruckstrainsplanes34]

Agreed.

[@matthewrinehart9514]

Hopefully you got it for a good unprepared price and the #1 copper is the gravy. Sometimes cast aluminium in the fans. I'm in the same business at a shredder yard.

[@mattgelsomino6250]

I just found your channel. Good shit dude. Keep it up i enjoy watching the content.

[@ronaldfox5840]

Hello,How often do you clean the dirty in the yard of metals??That locomotive I am sure left alot of slag on the yard ground after all that torch cutting.

[@Holabirdsupercluster]

Really interesting video, thanks

[@jerryrigsit5400]

Now I'm jealous. I've always to demo a locomotive

[@Comm0ut]

About how much fuel gas and oxygen do you use on a job that size?

[@jamesdurwoodchance]

How much you think all of this bought after expenses?

[@ronaldgreen5292]

Amazing video, showing how these gigantic rigs are recycled!! Sad to see these mighty locomotive 🚂 "s be retired 😢

[@paulstaab1705]

Imagine the weight, when those engine's derail. Wow

[@jonwelch686]

Your second engine was actually just the air compressor system and radiators

[@TonyLoechte]

Excavator I Choo Choo Choose you loco ❤

[@tuckerhuff692]

I love NS

[@DavidGlaum]

Watching this I keep thinking about how heavy and big that is and dumb people try driving in front of one at a railroad crossing.

[@SCRAPIRE]

BEST SCRAP VIDEO EVER!!! HOW MUCH WE MAKE $72K??

[@bestfriendhank1424]

The back area would have had the air compressor.

[@StevenCasper]

Pretty cool.

[@loganmcdonald6821]

Curious if you got paid to cut this up along with keeping the metal or if you just did the labor for the scrap itself?

[@davidcotton7668]

would you be interested in selling those 4300 number boards in back ?

[@campervan-john]

Excellent video enjoyed it very much, thanks 👍👍

[@secondarymainlineproductio3033]

I would pay money for some pieces...number boards. Side panel with reporting marks, etc.

[@tythomas1991]

I would have loved to get the number boards off this locomotive from you.

[@alfrancisnh]

Very cool to see but a lil part of the foamer in me is tearing up watching a beautiful engine get demolished!!🥲

[@michaelleonard4452]

I remember seeing 4300 come through Grover, NC not too long ago. Sad, but I think I'd rather see them preserve the remaining SD40s in service as they make good money.

[@Slim_Slid]

The GP40-2's & SD40-2's have proved for many years how reliable and versatile the units are. Those units won't be retired anytime soon. The GP50's & SD50's were junk. By far not the worst EMD units built,but still were the result of cutting costs and failed promises. Most issues were fixed by changing governor settings or power assemblies but there was still other contributors correlating to the electronics. The PRLX PR43C's were actually far worse and continously had immense mechanical malfunctions. Basically anything EMD with a Caterpillar prime motor has proven to fail every time,and alongside that is the SD70AH-T4's...

[@craigbryant8493]

Please save the diesel tank for me. I would like to put it on my semi please. 😅

[@maurizio48ltt13]

they have the license to pollute and then that is not solid iron, it is welded sheet metal

[@RyanSmith-sb1mk]

That was a great video well done👍👍👍

[@oldodger]

P A Y D A Y !

[@thefs65ncfan]

It's pretty insane what scrapping equipment is capable of.

[@williamd6967]

Awesome.The Tank is my only concern if the R/R didn't Purge it.