Last of the 40s: The Missabe Iron Range

[@Lynchfan88]

Great job catching this action. You do a really great job.

[@andybenfer6044]

Where was 5:26 shot at? Love the scene with the code lines.

[@lhsboyproductions3446]

Great Video! Thumbs up! Greetings from Poland! :)

[@SamLovesTrains]

Another amazing video!

[@CNSD75I]

CN isn't retiring any of these, are they? I'm assuming they'll find their way into normal local and yard service. At least I hope they do.

[@NorfolkSouthernModel]

CNSD75I No retirements. They'll all be cascaded down into alternative service.

[@Bob.W.]

Thanks.

[@j.padron8531]

Come railfan FEC when you can, SD40s still run like mad machines at 60 mph

[@railyardfilms6491]

How huge is this railroad line

[@NorfolkSouthernModel]

Railyard Films It's got two main segements: the Iron Range Sub from Two Harbors to the mines, and the Missabe sub from Duluth (Proctor) to the mines. They meet at Iron Junction. I'm not too familiar with the mileage, but it should be around 70-80 miles a piece for each end of the system.

[@GTRailFanProductions]

Hey. What type of camera do you use! The quality is amazing!

[@NorfolkSouthernModel]

GT Rail Fan Productions Canon G20

[@Bob.W.]

Question. What is the average taconite train weigh these days, loaded? How many cars? I can't seem to find this info online

[@NorfolkSouthernModel]

Bob Winzenburg The classic ore jennies are all 70-ton cars, and I recall most defect detectors reading back 604 axles. Substracting 24 axles for four locomotives, it leaves 580 for the cars. 580 divided by 4 is 145, so each train has roughly 145 cars. 70 tons multiplied by 145 comes out to 10,150 tons. So, there you have it!

[@Bob.W.]

Thanks. That seems light for some reason. The Yellowstones hauled heavier ore trains. Perhaps all that power from the SD40s is necessary to get the empties up Proctor Hill or the climb up from Two Harbors. IIRC, the ruling grade going to the docks is 0.62. Going up is almost 3 percent.

[@chrisrengo4104]

Bob Winzenburg ID’s are 145 cars and close to 20,000 tons. The proctor trains are 135-140 cars, and about 17-18,000 tons.

[@Bob.W.]

So they are using an ore car heavier than 70 tons obviously.

[@railsofthenorthland1181]

@@Bob.W. I’m a little late but that weight includes the weight of the jennies themselves.

[@BessemerLakeErie902]

That stinks they are replacing the Sd40s. Are the Bessemer ones going too?

[@RailroadStreet]

No they aren't.

[@NorfolkSouthernModel]

Bessemer & Lake Erie 902 It's all a matter of what fails first. They're running them until they have problems and then they send them off system for work. 904 is currently at MEI in East St. Louis, IL. They ran the DM&IR 403 until it cracked its engine block, and then sent it to MEI as well. IC 6250 had some major issues and went to MEI, but was just released into local service. The Bessemer 900s will probably disappear from ore service, but overall they seem to hold on the best. 901 and 907 have been holding down the miscellaneous road freight (MRF) from Two Harbors to Keenan, so those will probably outlast the rest up there.

[@BessemerLakeErie902]

+salamander078 Oh. I was hoping they would bring them back to the big b. Also, what's up with the CN hoppers mixed in with the B&LE ones?

[@NorfolkSouthernModel]

Bessemer & Lake Erie 902 Those are rebuilt Chicago Central hoppers, hence the "CC" reporting marks. They're replacing the Bessemer hoppers. If you go to Youngstown, two long lines are lined up for scrap. Sucks!

[@BessemerLakeErie902]

+NorfolkSouthernModel Really?! Dang! That sucks! Are all of them being replaced?

[@AlexTrain5249]

I find it strange that the some of the most unreliable locomotives ever made by GE are replacing the most reliable engines ever made by EMD.

[@Ntwadumela84]

I like SD40s as much as the next guy, but to say that the C40-8/C40-8W were some of the most unreliable locomotives ever made by GE is absolutely incorrect. These locomotive were light years ahead of the original Universal series engines GE put out in the mid 1960s. They also outperformed the EMD 50 and 60 series engines in horsepower, tractive effort, fuel economy, and reliability. It is true that early Dash 8s like the C39s Conrail and NSX acquired were junk, but these problems were mostly ironed out by the time the C40-8 arrived on the scene. This explains why railroads that were dominated by EMDs began to switch over. Chicago and North Western is a prime example. One could also point to the huge orders that UP, Santa Fe, Conrail, NS, and CSX made for Dash-8s. Nobody would have been buying them in such quantities if they were trash. They may or may not have aged so well, but that comes down to the individual railroad's maintenance policies more than the original design.