Re: (erielack) NJT PL42

[Steven Kay <s.kay4_@_verizon.net>]

> From: "Gary R. Kazin" <gkazin_@_yahoo.com>
> Reply-To: "Gary R. Kazin" <gkazin_@_yahoo.com>
> Date: Sat, 05 Mar 2005 12:55:39 -0800 (PST)
> To: EL List <erielack_@_lists.railfan.net>
> Subject: Re: (erielack) NJT PL42
> 
> 
> --- bill guimes <vze3fhdr_@_verizon.net> wrote:
>> Additionally part 1, unless you are a NJT employee who has a monetary
>> interest in said locomotive, why would you care?
> 
> My tax dollars at rest...

Your tax dollars are safe and there will be plenty more when Bush shuts down
Amtrak.
> 
>> Additionally part 2, unless you are Alstom, why would you care?
> 
> I hope there is a late delivery penalty of several thousand dollars a day
> for each unit.  My tax dollars at rest.

The engine delivery schedule is actual doing very well since the consensus
was that the the locomotives would not make the tier I emissions based on
the development time required for this type of locomotive. Not making the
EPA Tier I standard would have placed the entire order in jeopardy.

Remember that this was not an off the shelf engine and much preliminary
design work had to be done in cab environment, emissions, HEP, etc, however,
all PL42AC locomotives have met the EPA tier I emissions standard and the
engine has been run at speeds up to 100 mph at Pueblo, Colorado. Concerns of
the mechanical department and the engineers have, for the most part, been
answered and the remaining locomotives will be completed with most of the
problems fixed. Engines will go through a 3,000 mile shakedown on the WNY&P
with a Comet V cab car to correct any compatibility and  conditions of use
problems. Hopefully these issues will also be corrected before the engines
are delivered.

This is not bad development to completion time frame since the hard mockup
of the locomotive cab and it's attendant environmental issues were not
approved by the BLE Ergonomics Committee until December, 2004.

Correcting these concerns is far more important than a far too optimistic
delivery date since the object of all these machinations is to deliver a
locomotive ready for service with optimum reliability right from day one,
something Transit was not able to do with the Comet V equipment.
> 
>> Additionally part 3, technically, they're not late. The locomotives had
>> to have had been delivered before 12/31/04 to be exempt from Category II
> 
> The delivery schedule announced when the contract was awarded was the
> first unit to Pueblo in July, all delivered to NJT in October and all in
> service by the end of the year.  The first unit reached Pueblo in October.

Again, much quicker than we had realistically any reason to believe
considering the development problems and the contractor doing the work.
> 
>> emissions. The first two were completed and running before that date.
>> The only modifications made were of an ergonomic nature, and in no way
>> affected the performance of the locomotive. And, we suspect that if the
>> locomotives, or at least one, had not been running before 12/31/04, the
>> FRA/EPA would have granted an exemption from Category II emissions.
> 
> There's no way to know that, is there?

Again, there is every chance that the whole contract would have gone into
the crapper had not the EPA issues been resolved, which they were.
> 
>> Additionally part 4, NJT trains are running fine without them, so why do
>> you care?
> 
> It's my tax dollars at rest.  NJT has plenty of cars now that the Comet II
> rebuild is done, the Comet V cars have arrived (though many have Alstom
> making fixes on the ticket holders, seats, loose panels, etc), and few
> Comet I cars have been retired.  More train sets can be made up if there
> are more locomotives on hand - to run more trains, of course, and the
> worst performing GP40-rebuilds could be retired before they die on the
> road, as intended.

The Alstom order is for 33 locomotive. To be retired are the 13 ex-CNJ
GP-40PH-2 rebuilds and the 15 GP40FH-2 for a total of 28 retirees. This does
not leave a whole lot of engines to run new trains even if there was a place
to run them to. Additionally, with the Comet Vs out for their first of two
modifications there is no way to retire the Comet I cars and even the Comet
III cab cars which were to be downgraded to trailers have been kept running
as cab cars until the Comet Vs are back in service.

I really doubt that any Comet cars will be retired until the Bombardier
multi-levels are delivered sometime in early 2007.

Also put back is the rebuild of the Comet III cars and the development of
the replacements for the Arrow III cars.

Perhaps you would consider your tax dollars well spent if all the engines
were painted in EL passenger colors.

Steve
- -- 
Chauffeur to the masses
Www.ble272.org

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