Locomotive 1501 has just cleared the Queen Avenue crossing on Thursday, July 6, 2023.
Well, I was wrong last month in thinking that we may have seen the last of Locomotive 1501, the 71-year-old switch engine working in the Albany railroad yard. It’s still on the job, as I discovered on Thursday. But for how long?
In a story posted on June 15, I had speculated about the demise of this locomotive after seeing a newer engine belonging to the Portland & Western working in the yard.
On Thursday I saw old 1501 again because of a bit of luck, both good and bad.
The bad part was that when I was on Queen Avenue the bike’s rear tire went flat. The good part was that I stopped at the Queen Avenue crossing, where there happened to be some concrete rubble that made a decent place to sit while changing the tube.
The crossing gates were down when I stopped. By the time they went back up, maybe 10 minutes later, I had the tube replaced and pumped up enough to get going.
And here came Locomotive 1501, looking just as battered as ever, but doing the job.
All this may be of no great interest except that 1501 is one of five locomotives the Portland & Western is supposed to take out of service under the terms of a consent decree filed in federal court in Delaware on Jan. 24, 2023.
I was reminded of this on Monday, when I saw a similar locomotive, Engine No. 1852. This one was stopped above the underpass on the Cox Creek Bike Path as I went through there.
Turns out that 1852, working mostly in Portland & Western’s Millersburg yard, also is on the list of engines to be retired.
According to the consent decree, available on the Internet, the Environmental Protection Agency had filed a complaint against Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services Inc. and five of its subsidiaries including the Portland & Western, contending that some of its locomotives failed to meet emission standards.
The consent decree settled the complaint. It required the railroad companies to retire 88 locomotives according to a schedule. Twelve were to be taken out of service by the end of last year, and the others, in groups of 17, then 28 and finally 31, by the ends of each of the next three years.
The decree says the railroad must either sell the locomotives for scrap or replace their engines with ones that meet emission standards.
The decree names all the locomotives affected, including 1501 and 1852, the two in the Albany area. But it doesn’t say exactly when each has to stop working.
I’ve emailed an inquiry about this to Genesee & Wyoming. I’ll add details to this story if and when I get a response. (hh)
Here is 1852, pausing atop the Cox Creek underpass while switching cars in the Millersburg yard on July 3, 2023.
I am puzzled. As near as I can tell, ALL of the P&W locomotives were built prior to 1980. Which means, to the best of my knowledge, NONE of them were built to meet ANY emissions standards at all. These particular regulations didn’t come about until the 1990s. Maybe someone among your followers can enlighten me as to why they’re singling out the oldies (pre-1960). Oldies which use essentially the same two-stroke diesel engines as the newer (post-1960) built locomotives. The biggest difference, besides displacement, is that most of the newer ones utilize turbocharging instead of a roots blower for filling the cylinders with air while scavenging the exhaust. (necessary for a two stroke diesel).
Seems to me that the railroad will be left with no choice but to buy, or lease, newer locomotives. And, hence, pass that cost on to their customers.
“Seems to me that the railroad will be left with no choice but to buy, or lease, newer locomotives.”
That’s what it says…
“The decree says the railroad must either sell the locomotives for scrap or replace their engines with ones that meet emission standards.”
All costs, across all industries, are passed-on to the consumer. As are all costs due to pollutants. It may be the devil, or it may be the lord, but you gotta serve somebody.
I just want to say, “Thank you Mr Hering for doing such a variety of reporting! I look forward to your story every day!
Thank you so much!
I can’t wait for another Hasso post telling us that climate change is not that big of a deal.
So, just where did HH say that in this article?
Cow farts cause more greenhouse gasses than all the cars in the US combined.
And when cow farts are outlawed, like they are in California, only outlaws will have farting cows.
This climate cult is getting way out of control.