Scrapping an EMD SW1200 Locomotive Timelapse

One of Gershow Recycling's excavators, equipped with a hydraulic shear, rips apart Louisville & Indiana Railroad SW1200 #9321. About 45 minutes later, the locomotive was reduced to a pile of scrap metal (minus the frame and trucks). All of the scrap metal yielded from the locomotive will be processed and used to make other useful items. Will a piece of 9321 end up in your household? You never know!
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Built by EMD in 1957 as EMD 23763, 9321 served the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (#562), the Erie Lackawanna Railway (#457) and Conrail (#9321) before joining the Louisville & Indiana Railroad's roster. The locomotive ran on the L&I for many years before being sent to the New York & Atlantic Railway, a sister railroad to the L&I, to assist with the increase of rail traffic on the island. Unfortunately the engine was not used much because of it's reliability and only ran for a couple of years before being sidelined with several mechanical issues. It was moved to a storage track within Fresh Pond Yard where it sat for 9+ years before being moved to the Heritage Paper track on the Bay Ridge Branch in 2017. On January 28th, 2020, the locomotive was finally scrapped by Gershow Recycling, a longtime customer of the NYA located less than a half a mile away.

[@ACs_Trains]

RIP SW1200. It's sad to see it go. :(

[@crystalboutte9880]

I agree

[@SoulConsumer]

Alternative title: Giant Long-Necked Bird eats a metal meal for lunch.

[@florjanbrudar692]

Call me crazy but that title looks so accurately fitting

[@unity3596]

@@florjanbrudar692 yeah

[@tjmfarming9584]

Despite being an absolute steam train enthusiast I now too have a soft spot for diesels as well partly to the fact that I’ve watched long iron ore trains run through my backyard on a daily basis, I’ve learned to appreciate diesels and all forms of trains tractors and even cars... Seeing this, it’s an eye opener to what scrappage is really like Nothing that had a life being self-propelled rail, road or field deserves this I hope that more of these SW1200’s will be saved from scrap and even if they’re past use reuse them as a shelter facility for the homeless put them to good use just not scrap

[@snagletoothscott3729]

Even when being scrapped, EMD engines just don't want to give up.

[@theflyingscotsman9902]

Sw1200's . my favorite switcher ! Sad to see ! Rest in peace !

[@jamesparson]

Komatsu! Your day will come too!

[@RandomGeneratedMusic]

We got one of those locomotives here in Spencerville Ohio in operation under RJ Corman, it's nice to still see of them around and not all being scrapped.

[@CommuterTrainFan]

I was the remains of the train next to some scrap in hoppers on the L

[@jerseyman9346]

It will be missed :(

[@osbean4342]

I'd definitely steal the train just for the giggles

[@smootherthemaskedengine4303]

Yup

[@Copium-Detector]

Lol same

[@southwestlimitedproduction9738]

We lost another Comrade

[@smootherthemaskedengine4303]

Yup

[@timothyghost8899]

Good, the e2s will be restored

[@duncantheretard6049]

@@timothyghost8899 well i dont think so becuse i know you are gonna hate me for this but the class E2s functioned AWFULY so scrapping it made sense

[@jaysontadlock1871]

E2s were genuinely horrid engines

[@timothyghost8899]

That’s not very true

[@floridianrailauto9032]

That engine block sure was fighting back wasn't it

[@kansasthunderman1]

Yes, it's amazing that the engine could withstand the force of that shear.

[@RailfanJalen]

it's makes me cry that SW1200 is getting scraped. rest in piece SW1200 😢😭

[@MrBlueRBLX]

You aren't alone.

[@CANRAIl]

All the 0-6-0 switcher steamers be like: look who's outdated now!

[@evanstraintubeyt6950]

My dads close to getting a real life sw1200 I’m gonna make a video about it tomorrow

[@suprememeowmix9613]

Cry me a river babes

[@justaP42DC]

R.I.P

[@tfs4499]

Sad sight!

[@theaveragerailfanner7447]

Awesome video! I never really saw what it was like to scrap a locomotive like that from start to finish, so it was a super neat thing to watch.

[@jeffholt6236]

I dont

[@RICARDOGARCIA-wr9hx]

No its not i true railfan will never get excited about watching a locomotive get scrapped.

[@ichabod0391]

That headlight on the rear, would have been a nice collector piece.

[@verastaki]

That's sad, I remember seeing these EMD SW1200 switcher Locomotives shunting, sorting rail cars at the rail yard that was across from our house, when I was a teenager. Now, GP38-2, GP40 even SD 40-2's took over. I'm glad to see some of the existing SW1200 & SW1500 still in service today. It's very odd to see normal locomotives such as SD40-2's performing switching duties.

[@TeimonKauppa739]

SD40-2's are getting scrapped

[@dangrub4347]

Where I live gevos are doing the switching

[@jlmadethat]

Yea this was right under the Livonia L station. I saw when it got picked up and everything. I was on the way to school. But alot of homeless people used it as a shelter.

[@mod2966]

That locomotive could have had potential being a tourist train or something

[@PRL2204]

@Fat Dummy it's not as simple as that 😂

[@PRL2204]

@Fat Dummy because I work on a class 1 railroad lol nobody does this for free, get real. Not every piece of equipment needs preserving or is worth the money. Do you have any idea the checks and balances in place that would get all involved in trouble, if a locomotive were "sneaked" away? Railroads are federally mandated and watched, you cant get away with some fiction fantasy idea like that.

[@PRL2204]

@Fat Dummy management and supervision. Most people that work for the railroad arent buffs or preservationists. Most people wont be on board for the simple reason that "it must be saved". When trains move unaccounted for, it means money is being spent for no payment back and managers are in charge of making sure everything has a reason.

[@PRL2204]

@Fat Dummy fuel consumption of the engines moving, money paid to everyone who is on duty involved (dispatcher, crew etc)

[@PRL2204]

The railroad doesn't work for free. Everything that moves spends money and if it's not paid work, it's not performed.

[@phiayang9449]

If thomas was watching this right now he would say oh no what's happening

[@jamesleopard8518]

Nothing would of escaped from scrap like how Douglas saved Oliver and Toad

[@LookOutForTheTrain]

Interesting, also nice song choice lol

[@joevaccarino9659]

Lol

[@collinparsons3363]

The way the excavator picks it apart, it's like a vulture eating a piece of roadkill.

[@AlfTrains]

Great vídeo

[@goober239]

Guys there's like hundreds of thousands of these left. Why get so hot and bothered by this? The prime mover was seized, the generator needed repairs, it was scrap years before this.

[@LongIslandCityLayout]

Sad to see it go!

[@ned272]

damn i used to walk them tracks all the time many years ago. memories.

[@suprememeowmix9613]

Ngl this is pretty swag. Cool look into the process

[@jeffholt6236]

Not to me

[@Mnrr6131]

Rip Sw1200

[@Jaidyn228]

That is pain staking and sad to see the end of a locomotive’s life. And happy music was used during the process

[@MrNJT]

Better scrapped than laying around

[@TeimonKauppa739]

@@MrNJT yes because of its state it looks like scrap and because of the amounts of graffiti on it you can see it was abandoned

[@MrNJT]

@@TeimonKauppa739 it was clearly not needed, or had some sort of problem and therefore was retired. Sucks that it’s not preserved but you can only do so much

[@justinmta8892]

Oh no what's happened to the SW1200 Switcher.

[@MrProfessional1969]

When a locomotive is from the early 70s they scrap them because they become old 40 years later

[@HyperTastic]

Nice song

[@c418stal5]

1992 T.Y its shooting stars

[@jaysontadlock1871]

It's cancer snap tracks are for people who can't write songs

[@anasiacameronelijahedcpndc4324]

Angus Paul would enjoy this and laugh! LOL😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@anguspaul1438]

You're right!

[@suprememeowmix9613]

Angus Paul is a smelly rasict😱

[@bdvids7930]

@@anguspaul1438ew

[@kkoch666]

They should be running dual lines(spools) on that shear.

[@WA1LBK]

Sad to see this old girl go. 🤐 This looked like the mechanical equivalent of a T-rex dismembering its prey.

[@MrDjh66]

Gershow baby!!!!

[@lynneferencik1378]

Rest in pieces-rick ferencik

[@NewBrunswickRailfanner]

101 literally watching its comrade get torn apart

[@MasaShiranuiVideoProductions]

I was wondering if a few of my friends and I can make a comedy skit of the scrapping of this locomotive? If so, the original video and you will be credited. If not, I understand and thank you for your time.

[@mr.skellyboy9700]

So literally I would be sleeping on my bed, but it actually is a train!?!? bruh... I guess trains don't die after all essentially. :) LOL!!! XD

[@TheTransportationFanfromCA]

Shut up

[@MaminakaMrpaperbag]

We just witnessed an execution

[@Nickthejoker2003]

Is this in Queens NY? Looks like the old Chiclets gum plant in the background. Queensboro Plaza?

[@edwinbullock7393]

It "MAKES YOU want to CRY 😢 😭 💔 Real loud "NOOOO" to see it Distroyed like that!?!?😥😢😭☹️

[@Copium-Detector]

I was genuinely expecting that train to start flying or something cuz of the shooting stars song

[@scottpool4777]

Yeah that’s sad very very sad they’ve been around since 1968 but I have two of them on my model railroad that’ll keep me going.

[@davewallace8219]

it's sad....but funnee!

[@The_Phone_Bin_Diver]

Why is the background music “shooting stars”

[@jamesleopard8518]

I never saw the train scrap yard in real life before!!!!!

[@phiayang9449]

What happened to the diesel tell me the story

[@lashondatalbert8271]

From watching this video we all know what the smelters yard claw does now

[@marcialrivas5870]

Remember that the komatsu heavy equipment is built by the cane Caribbean corporation

[@jacobtompke8677]

Hopefully the horn, bell, and other cool pieces off of it were saved!

[@SpheroJr3289]

Same

[@pizavala_11]

“Thomas has never seen such horror before….”

[@harleystrainchannel78]

That was a y class loco

[@harleystrainchannel78]

@superchief 88 I am talking about the Victorian Y class locomotive

[@Tornado_Siren_Railfan]

What RR line is this

[@gregorygrice]

Please read the description. Thanks.

[@sd70macproductions24]

I like this locomotive why you abandoning and scrapping them?

[@jeffholt6236]

Ok

[@claudiagutierrez453]

5:00 Subway train 😊

[@careycummings9999]

At 1:42, NY&A #101 passes by to pay its respects. RIP sister SW1200 :(

[@metrolinxfan3005]

Whoever did that will be scrapped next

[@unity3596]

CALA 9158

[@jensswales]

rest in pieces..

[@brownhornet1975]

YO GREG IS THAT THE SCRAP LOCOMOTIVE THAT WAS RIGHT NEXT TO THE L Line?

[@gregorygrice]

Yes sir!

[@brownhornet1975]

WOW

[@darrelgibbs4898]

Hay What New In 2022 The Last One I saw Was NRE And I love It But It Is Gone Now Noting There So I Hope To See A lot From Your Video

[@tankthehedgehog105]

What I Thought When I Was Younger: A Steam Engine’s Revenge

[@BlueRailz]

😭

[@Tombola1993]

A victim to the cutter’s claw.

[@hikiy]

this is so relaxing

[@TheTransportationFanfromCA]

You monster

[@TheTransportationFanfromCA]

You train hater

[@User-uy1vo]

It is IN HELL

[@danielferrovias]

Well minus one old piece of scrap

[@futurepilot6749]

So hard

[@jamesleopard8518]

This looks like the episode Saved From Scrap Thomas and Friends season 2

[@bigtoysforbigboys2873]

About how much does this sell for in scrap?

[@TrainFan119]

Probably about $10,000-$30,000. This locomotive was probably about worth $15,000

[@joecummings1260]

About 120 short tons of scrap, I guess a few tons of that is copper, probably a lot of silver in the magnetic contactors, but it's a lot of work to tear it all apart. It really comes down to what the market is paying at the time for prepared scrap, and the market can change drastically with time or location. In one piece like it rolled there on the rails, it's really not much but if you have the equipment to do it and the location it can be quite profitable to tear it apart for scrap. In the past 10 or 15 years, I've seen the price of prepared number one scrap range from $80 per long ton, to something around $400 for a long ton Prepared number one is cut down to no more than 2 ft wide, and 5 ft long

[@MLIW265-FAN]

Rip :(

[@kevinrichards3288]

RIP EMD SW1200 locomotive

[@elirosen1391]

Dear lord, what a tragic sight. It's always gut-wrenching to watch a rail vehicle be cut to pieces, especially if you've been raised on Thomas. What exactly happened to the one in this video that saw it cut to scrap?

[@robertclark6349]

Age probably caught up with it. These are 60 year old machines.

[@elirosen1391]

@@robertclark6349 still it's a tough sight to watch. It was decimated in minutes.

[@adriankingston4338]

Dont chop the loco up nooooo!!!!😭

[@mamaciminohandmade]

And I thought that the only killed steamers 😞

[@annstenson324]

Looks like the brakes are totally shot to bits

[@marktwain3531]

The song chosen tho.

[@ajschannel162]

Every steamies' dream

[@TheAustinSubRailfan]

Sad.. but I don’t think this locomotive could’ve Ben restored anyways

[@traingamer2037]

The small majority of the internet that was still simping for lady dimitresceau in a nutshell.

[@TrainFan119]

Depression

[@TeimonKauppa739]

soo sad *starts to cri* :(

[@harrimanfox8961]

Why wasn't the prime mover saved?

[@AbelG8781]

Likely too old and required major overhaul

[@1atech]

Where is this at?

[@-watermelonking]

gershow

[@JungleYT]

Guess that's *sand* pouring out there? - 2:17 Guess all that colored *fabric* was from Bums setting up shop inside?

[@gregorygrice]

Correct.

[@waldemarogandotrens.8063]

Registro muito importante, mas é lamentável ver uma relíquia sendo baixada, tornou-se obsoleta é necessário renovar a frota

[@brandonmoss8519]

Wow it so 😥

[@aceadman]

One very very sad video. But pretty cool to see. Was the block too heavy for the excavator?

[@alexandergrube6437]

Yeah, you can see the rear of the excavaor rising up a bit when the operator tries to lift it

[@trainboy20072009]

we have a couple SW's and a couple alco s-2 here at the MD&W rail road. soon we'll start seeing genset's in most rail yards. everything now days are losing a uniqueness.

[@mikesirois2189]

Almost looks like they’re made of cardboard. Sad to see these go as they were from my era.

[@orangefan200]

NO NOT THAT TRAIN

[@thenamesmichael7335]

That's how diesel ten woulda killed lady and thomas on the magic railroad alternate scene by cutting them up to pieces from pinche

[@nolantherailfan5048]

I wish I could have saved it

[@ReadingAreaRailfan]

Couldve been easily restored. Paint job and new horn and bell

[@connie1758]

Easily? I would love to hear what you know about locomotives,

[@jeffholt6236]

It takes lots of hard work you have to work for a train yard company to restore it

[@ReadingAreaRailfan]

@@jeffholt6236 its easy for them

[@GNF54]

I wouldn’t be surprised if it had a rusted frame. The unit was pretty bruised

[@ReadingAreaRailfan]

@@connie1758 I literally work for a railroad lol

[@JerichoWhiskey]

No handbrake on.

[@gregorygrice]

Didn't have a handbrake. That's what the big block in front of it was for.

[@c418stal5]

gregorygrice you mean back

[@modelmainline7278]

Nooo!

[@fiberrabit8229]

Looks like allot of wasted things on it that could've been saved for repairing other emd locos

[@kevonlooney5777]

NOOOOO

[@PRR5406]

Good vid; lousy music.

[@ConrailSD80MAC]

Now I have depression

[@CelestinaakaClonaClox9999]

This is really sad...