All BHP AC6000CWs scrapped

Were they worn out?  Other reasons for getting rid of them?

Wow, what a sight! Those engines must have been put through the ringer! I imagine the desert conditions beat them to the ground?

Interesting post and thanks..i follow some of the down under mining rail action.worlds longest trains from there i believe.

Something fishy there, in the second photo. That unit without any cab or hood is an EMD unit and not a GE, as the prime mover & main generator can plainly be seen. So,,,,,,why are they also destroying EMD units?

Hot Water posted:

Something fishy there, in the second photo. That unit without any cab or hood is an EMD unit and not a GE, as the prime mover & main generator can plainly be seen. So,,,,,,why are they also destroying EMD units?

Jack,

They also scrapped older SD40, locally rebuilt Dash 8 & ALCos (with Pilbara cabs). Here is the link to a page by a local Western Australian railfan, Toad Montgomery, whose pictures I have been following for the last 10 years.

These are just my opinion,

Thanks,

Naveen Rajan

Ex Southern Pacific SD40 in Western Australia

These were unique locomotives. In addition to the like teardrop-shaped front windshields, the fuel tank (on what would have been the conductor’s side, had they run 2-man crews) had spaces for extinguishers. The handrails had another, horizontal restraint & even though they operated in a hot arid environment, they also had snowplows on both ends. These locomotives & their later SD70ACe had flaps that usually laid flat on the short hood but could be flipped up to cover the front windshields if these locomotives happened to be configured as mid-train remote helpers, so that the abrasive iron ore did not wear the windshields when travelling through the barren landscape.

They were originally delivered in the older blue & white paint scheme but were later repainted into the newer orange, silver bubble scheme.

Here are some more pictures I found online of these BHP AC6000CW.

These are just my opinion,

Thanks,

Naveen Rajan

Dominic Mazoch posted:

Were they worn out?  Other reasons for getting rid of them?

These units were built in June and July of 1999, making them 16+ years old, which is not old for a locomotive. However, as mentioned earlier, these units are unique and a lack of available parts for general upkeep probably did them in. 

Laurence Park takes it on the chin.......While EMD wins the bacon.   No surprise here !

Snow plows and fire extinguishers?  Wonder how often they get used together.  

Dominic Mazoch posted:

Were they worn out?  Other reasons for getting rid of them?

Dominic,

Unless someone from GE or BHP Iron Ore comments on this thread we can speculate on the reasons why these locomotives were scrapped. Here is my speculation.

AC6000CW was too heavy for other railroads in Australia, many still operating narrow gauge & broad gauge lines. The downturn in mining has forced BHP to be more efficient forcing them to scrap older locomotives & maybe they don’t anticipate the demand to reach the peak seen in the last decade when a lot of locomotives were needed.

Last decade there was a pressing need for iron ore (& other raw materials) driven by the growth in China. BHP had this captive rail infrastructure built to unbelievable axle loads (40 – 44 tons / axle) that is uncommon in other parts of Australia. At one time the demand for more locomotives was so urgent that they managed to get some EMD locomotives being built for BNSF that are still in the BNSF pumpkin scheme, not the BHP bubble scheme.

But now the growth in China has relatively slowed down driving down the demand for raw materials forcing BHP to be more efficient. These trains operate in one of the most remote places on earth. So remote that it is quite hard to find willing & qualified operators. I read on some online forums that these mining companies have to fly in personnel from the nearest population center in Perth (1,024 miles away by road) for 2 weeks on site followed by a 2-week break. The labor issue also influences the way these railroads operate. They couple 3 trains back to back to back, each with 2 locomotives & 100 ore cars, driven by 1 operator all the way from the mine to the port. Now both BHP & Rio Tinto have started operating autonomous (not remote controlled, think Terminator) trucks & Rio is also testing autonomous trains with GE Evolution locomotives.

These are just my opinion,

Thanks,

Naveen Rajan

jaygee posted:

Laurence Park takes it on the chin.......While EMD wins the bacon.   No surprise here !

Jaygee,

Before you celebrate the scrapping of these AC6000CW, here are some images of BHP SD70ACe being sent for scrap. Owing to the remote location of this railroad, they ordered 1 or more spare SD70ACe, like their past locomotive orders. After cannibalizing this donor locomotive for parts, they recently got rid of SD70ACe too.

These images are also from the Western Australian railfan e-magazine from January 2016, published by Jim Bidsee.

These are just my opinion,

Thanks,

Naveen Rajan

The 6,000 HP locomotives were not good performers. Unreliable, high-maintenance and not worth the money or the cost for the extra horsepower. 4,000 to 4,400 HP engines were a much better fit.

I don't remember who, but one of the forum members explained this all very well in another thread.   A lot of detail was put forth on tractive effort, horse power, and how it all works and fits together.  After reading through that, it was very clear why the 6000hp units from both manufacturers failed.  That said, the AC6000 is one of my favorite modern locomotives, although in general, I prefer EMD.

Notice how the EMDs are picked clean of parts. Just a frame with some sheet metal.

Naveen, Thanks for the post. Some really good info.