Susquehanna
Alco Updates.
the
former Cartier units..
The Cartier units are
a fabulous group of eight big 6-axle Alco Centurys and MLW's that appeared
out of
nowhere in Cohocton,
NY in late 2002.
(Cohocton, NY is the
Bath & Hammondsport yard, B&H is operated by the LAL.)
They are all former Cartier
Mining units, from Quebec.
the units remained in
Cohocton for 2 years,
from late 2002, through
all of 2003, and finally in late 2004 some of them were leased
to the Susquehanna:
October
4, 2004.
first reports
on-line that Susquehanna will be getting 3 of the units.
41,45,78
October
17, 2004.
first report
of one of the units in Binghamton. 78.
November
21, 2004.
45 spotted in
Binghamton.
December
20, 2004
41, 45 and 78
are all confirmed with Susquehanna, only 78 is operating.
January
20, 2005.
47 and 77 reported
on NYSW property.
that makes five!
As
of February 2005,
Five of the units
are with the Susquehanna in Binghamton, 41,45,47,77,78
and three remain
in Cohocton. 43,75,85
April
16, 2005
three of the
units, 41,47,78, make a run on the CSX mainline between Utica and
Buffalo!
they did it again
May 1 and 2, 2005
they sat
outlawed for 2 days near Batavia.
On
June 3, 2005,
the sixth unit,
#43 left
Cohocton and was interchanged with NS at Gang Mills.
That leaves only
75 and 85 still in Cohocton as of June 5, 2005.
the other 6 units
are with the Susquehanna.
3 of the units
are confirmed operating, 41,47,78.
43, 45 and 77
are with the Susquehanna, but have not been confirmed operating
yet as of June
5, 2005.
June
4, 2005
Rumours have
been going around that the Susquehanna plans to buy the units, re-number
them,
and possibly
repaint them into NYSW yellow & black!!
(although repainting
is probably just a rumour..it could happen, but is unlikely for awhile)
June
4, 2005
45 was reported
outside the Utica shop numbured on the cab as NYSW 6366.
but still wearing
the original Cartier colors.
She was being
load tested, operating, nearly ready for service.
June
6, 2005
43 confirmed
operating.
77 was reported
possibly operating a few months ago, that was false, she has not yet been
operating.
It has been reported
in past months that 75 and 85 may be of interest to the WNYP.
but it has also
been rumoured that WNYP doesnt want them, and they will also go to
the Susquehanna..which
way is true isnt certain yet.
stay tuned....
August 1, 2005
2 of the units
were briefly renumbured in the 6300 series.
and are now in
the 3600 series.
Cartier 45
was
the first renumbured, to 6366, photographic proof of renumbured 6366 taken
on June 4, 2005.
On July 30, the unit was spotted renumbured a second time, this time to
3666.
So this unit went from Cartier 45 to NYSW 6366 to NYSW 3666. hopefully
settled down now.
Cartier 43
was very briefly renumbured to 6370..perhaps only a few weeks in July 2005.
by late July she was renumbured to 3670.
this unit went from Cartier 43 to NYSW 6370 to NYSW 3670.
Current numbering status as of August 1, 2005:
41
- still #41, operating with NYSW
3670 - was briefly
numbured 6370, perhaps only a few weeks in July,
was Cartier 43, operating with NYSW
3666 - was numbured
6366 for approx 2 months, June and July
was Cartier 45, operating with NYSW
47
- still #47, operating with NYSW
75
- still in Cohocton, not operating.
77
- with NYSW, but has not operated yet.
78
- still #78, operating with NYSW.
85
- still in Cohocton, not operating.
five of the eight
are operating!
three still await
a return to service.
"AR" means awaiting
repairs.
planned return
to service, but not operating yet.
August 19, 2005
The final two
units that remained in Cohocton, 75 and 85, arrived in Binghamton on 8-17-05.
they were renumbured
to NYSW 3672 and 3674 before they left Cohocton.
that makes it
official! all EIGHT of the Cartier units are now with Susquehanna!
as of 8-19-05,
it isnt clear if 3672 and 3674 are operating yet.
The units were
towed to Binghamton, not operating.
They never actually
operated as SIXX 75 or RRPX 85,
they had those
numbers "on paper", but were never physically lettered with those reporting
marks and numbers,
they recieved
their NYSW numbers before they left Cohocton.
see this
thread for photos.
September 19, 2005
3672
(#75) reported operating in binghamton.
October 10, 2005
7 of
the 8 units are now operating.
Only
77 is not operating, has freeze damage, still OOS in Utica.
5 of the units have been given their NYSW numbers.
3660
- 78, unrenumbured
3662
- 77, unrenumbured, only unit still OOS.
3664
- 41.
3666
- 45
3668
- 47, unrenumbured.
3670
- 43
3672
- 75
3674
- 85
above
list accurate as of 10/10/05
December 31, 2005
final
update for 2005!
7
of the 8 units are operating, and all 7 operating units have been renumbured.
Only
77 remains unrenumbured, and remains OOS.
3660
- 78,
3662
- 77, unrenumbured, only unit still OOS.
3664
- 41.
3666
- 45
3668
- 47,
3670
- 43
3672
- 75
3674
- 85
June
14, 2006
got a report from our intrepid Binghamton reporter Andy B. that
the big Susquehanna Alcos/MLWs arent doing well,
and some are currently OOS..although they might still return to service.
At the beginning of 2006 all 7 (of 8) of the Cartier units were operating,
(except for 77, which never operated with NYSW and has apparently become
the parts unit.)
As of June 14, only 3664, 3672 and 3674 are operating.
although hopefully the four dead units may return to service.
3664 - operating
3670 - OOS
3666 - OOS
3668 - OOS
3672 - operating
77 - parts unit
3660 - OOS
3674 - operating
July 29, 2006
3668
is spotted
back in service!
October 2006
3672
broke down on the road, and was set off on a siding
at Warwick.
Unit
broke down while on the move, and was dragged, creating a flat spot on
one set of wheels.
Axle
changed out, and unit was towed to Little Ferry on or around November 18,
2006.
December 20, 2006
at
the end of the year, 2006, this is the status of the eight Cartier units,
only
three still operating:
3664
- operating
3670
- OOS
3666
- OOS
3668
- operating
3672
- OOS
77
- parts unit
3660
- parts unit
3674
- operating
May 2007
Confirmed
that Alco C636 "SIXX 77" has actually been officially NYSW 3662 "on paper"
all along.
and
owned by the NYSW, same as the other Cartier units.
However
it has never operated as, or been renumbured as, NYSW 3662.
It's
still OOS and has never operated with NYSW, it's a parts unit in Utica.
May
8, 2007 - M636 3666 spotted back in service. she was given a new computer.
Status, May 2007.
3660
- Alco C636 - OOS - parts unit (ex-Cartier 78)
3662
- Alco C636 - OOS - parts unit (ex-Cartier 77)
3664
- MLW M636 - operating (ex-Cartier 41)
3666
- MLW M636 - operating (ex-Cartier 45)
3668
- MLW M636 - operating (ex-Cartier 47)
3670
- MLW M636 - OOS (ex-Cartier
43)
3672
- MLW M636 - OOS (ex-Cartier
75)
3674
- MLW M636 - operating (ex-Cartier 85)
July
5 2007
First
reports on-line that Susquehanna is going to sell-off all eight units!
and they will possibly all be bought by
the
Livonia Avon & Lakeville for use on the new WNYP line out of Olean!
Thus
ends the last Alco Era on the Susquehanna..sometime in June or July of
2007 was the last ever operation
of
a Susquehanna Alco..still looking for the exact date of that last run!
August
2007
Rumours
abound that NYSW may be selling the Utica Shops (later shown to be
untrue..although NYSW did move out all its locomotives)
August
2 2007
The
three Cartier units in Utica, NYSW 3660, 3662, 3674,are moved out to Syracuse.
the
other five have been gathered in a line in Binghamton.
August
9 2007
All
eight units have gathered in Binghamton, all OOS.
August
18 2007
The
first three of the units arrive
in Cohocton, back after being gone nearly three years with the Susquehanna.
The
three units are former NYSW 3664, 3666, and 3668, All MLW's.
Now
owned by Alco-C leasing, and being leased to the LAL/WNYP.
I am
going to stop updating this page at the end of 2007..
All
8 Cartier units have gone to the LAL/WNYP before the end of the year, 2007.
For
continuing updates on the saga of these engines,
and
all NY alcos, please see the NY
Alcos movements & migrations page,
which
will continue to be updated.
thanks,
Scot