900's

Man, that list is just awful, I wonder if I put it into a spreadsheet that would keep the info from compressing.

Without checking the last of the 900's were retired by the end of 1986, however a few lanquished in the deadlines at Springfield until the spring of 1987. I haven't updated my list in quite a while but I believe only the ones that went to the MRL & KCS are left running.

As for the SD40-2's all are still employed by BNSF. They were purchased by BN at the end of thier 15-year lease in 1993, however they are probably stored because of the recession at this time.

As for the other Frisco units on the BNSF, only the SW1500's & GP15's are endangered. Rumour has it that the they want to eliminate all SW types from the roster this summer and replace them with rebuilt geeps & neutered SD40-2's. As for the GP15's, BNSF does not like unusal type locomotives, that is why the B30-7, GP40-2 & GP50's left right after the merger. I haven't run a GP15 in years and I don't recall if they had the dash-2 hardware. I do remember they were pretty peppy though, you could put it in the 1st notch with the brakes set and it would start moving. Some of these have already been sold.

The GP38AC's are on shakey ground because of thier pre-Dash 2 hardware, the only thing saving them now is their large fuel tanks. However I doubt very much if they would scrap them when they could be rebuilt into Dash-2's. Some of us still remember the mistake the BN made in the mid-1980's when they scrapped much of the GP35 fleet only to realize that there was and still is a need for these type of units in work train & local service. BN had to spend top dollar to buy old GP30 & GP35's when the rebuild program began in the early 90's

As for the ex-Frisco GP38-2's BNSF loves em', these are the ultimate all-purpose diesel. Easy to maintain and just enough horsepower to be used in any kind of service plus those big fuel tanks. If I were to bet, these would be the last Frisco units to leave the roster, they still have a lot of life left in them.

My 2 cents,

Roger

 

Roger -

I seem to recall seeing some Wisconsin Central SD45's in Green Bay that, as I recall, were supposed to be ex-Frisco. Does that sound right?

I assume the Frisco SD38-2's are still humping away in Tulsa and Memphis?

What ever happened to the five Frisco MP15's?

Ken

 

Last time I was in Tulsa (at the Great Train Expo last month) I swung by Cherokee Yard, and all I saw on the hump was a variety of four-axle diesels. What few six-axle units they had looked to be SD40-2s, so I wonder what happened to the SD38-2s.

Back in the late 1980s I did get a shot of one of the ex-Frisco '38-2s mated to a TEBU on the hump at Cherokee. Sadly, it's my only pic of this model of diesel Frisco had.