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When Conrail took over operations back in 1976, they retired many of the first generation diesels that had been in hump duty, leading to a major shortage of those engines. In his RMC article listed on the SD-38 References page, Ken Goslett mentions how Allentown hump went from using CNJ RSD-4's to leased BAR Geeps and P&S switchers. While I remember the BAR units, I must have missed the P&S switchers!By 1978, however, Conrail's "real" hump engines had become their former Penn Central SD-38's, says Goslett. Still, a pair of painted-out PC SD-9's worked the Allentown hump for quite a while after the leased power left; my last photo shows them there in 1978. Over at the Rutherford hump, a pair of GP-30's did duty on one end until the hump closed. I shot painted-out PC 2204 and PC 2208 there from 1978 until 1981, if the dates on my photos are correct. So there was quite a variety pulling hump duty, not just the SD-38's! Since the 2,000hp of the SD-38's were plenty for hump duty, Conrail decided to construct a fleet of slugs using worn-out Alco RS-11, RSD12, and RSD-15 units in 1978 and 1979. For a detailed roster of these units, the Alco units which they came from, and where/when they were rebuilt check the MT-4 or MT-6 roster pages. Conrail removed the diesel engine, generator, and cab from the original units. The underframe, trucks, traction motors, and blowers remained. The hoods were chopped down and patched up. Details of individual slugs varied depending on the original unit and what the shops had on hand. For instance, the former-RSD-15 MT-6's are slightly longer than other units due to the longer RSD-15 frame. Those slugs that came from four-axle Alcos were classed as MT-4's (Motor Trailer 4-axle) and those from six-axle Alcos became classed as MT-6's (Motor Trailer 6-axle). Back in 1975 Penn Central in their DeWitt shops did create one six-axle slug from an RSD-5 carbody with portions of an RS-1 hood. Created from PRR 8450 and numbered as PC 9949. In 1976 Conrail renumbered this as CR 6849 and paired it with an "AEH12" also numbered 6849, which was an RSD-15 that had been repowered with a 12-cylinder EMD 567 prime mover, producing only 1,200hp spread across 12 traction motors. In 1979 the mother and slug were set aside and renumbered around December that year as 6899. The units were retired 1/30/80, then sold to NI&M scrappers. (X2200S #72, p24) Conrail began rebuilding their MT-6 slugs around 1988. The original 3-axle Alco trucks were replaced with EMD trucks from retired SD-7's and SD-9's. By May 1999, only 4 MT-4's remained on roster, while only 29 MT-6's remained in active duty. These units were transfered to CSX and Norfolk Southern in June 1999.  Photos for personal use only. All rights reserved by original owner of image. Reproduction or redistribution in any form without express written permission is prohibited. |
