ELMA, Wash. — Shortline powerhouse Genesee & Wyoming has begun removing older locomotives from its roster as part of a consent decree reached with the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year. Part of the agreement requires G&W to disable or upgrade more than 70 locomotives to address Clean Air Act violations [see “Genesee & Wyoming agrees to settlement …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 25, 2023].
Several G&W railroads in the Pacific Northwest have locomotives on the list of locomotives to be eliminated, most of them classic first-generation EMD units. These include:
Portland & Western: P&W SD7 No. 1501; GP9 No. 1801; SD9s Nos. 1842, 1854.
Puget Sound & Pacific: P&W GP9 No. 1803
Cascade & Columbia: CSCD GP10s Nos. 1001, 1002.
Final disposition of these locomotives have yet to be determined; however, P&W No. 1803 has been non-operable for some time at Elma, Wash., and is slated for scrapping.
The EPA agreement requires G&W to either permanently remove the units from service by disabling their prime mover or replace their power plant with one that meets emission-standard requirements.
Share this article
