Railworks America

Hello all :) I'm brand new here although I have been traversing this site for around 4 years now. A bit about me: I am a locomotive engineer for Norfolk Southern. It is great fun I got into this sim because I wanted to explore routes other than the good ol' Chicago Line. Anyway, I would like to hear your guys opinion about NS's SD70ACU, a rebuilt SD9043MAC. Here is a link: http://www.altoonaworks.info/rebuilds/ns_sd70acu.html

EngineerSeth18 wrote:Hello all :) I'm brand new here although I have been traversing this site for around 4 years now. A bit about me: I am a locomotive engineer for Norfolk Southern. It is great fun I got into this sim because I wanted to explore routes other than the good ol' Chicago Line. Anyway, I would like to hear your guys opinion about NS's SD70ACU, a rebuilt SD9043MAC. Here is a link: http://www.altoonaworks.info/rebuilds/ns_sd70acu.html

Hello and Welcome!

My dad works for the BNSF out of Tacoma Washington so ima have to wait to answer the SD70ACU question until he gets to run one (provided one ever gets out here).

Hopefully myself will be able to see one soon. I heard about these beasts about 2 months ago from a friend on Steam.



Greetings,
Erik"Gorbi"Hamilton

If its like any other EMD POS I've run from you guys I'm sure it'll be a rolling dumpster CC claim.
Hello 32.5 miles.

BNSFdude wrote:If its like any other EMD POS I've run from you guys I'm sure it'll be a rolling dumpster CC claim.
Hello 32.5 miles.

As you can see... Anthony is our special forum welcoming ambassador. He means POS in the nicest possible way and just loves EMDs. The SD70ACe in particular has an extra special place in his heart (or eardrums....take your pick). When he steps in one, the fun begins and he knows his shift is just gonna flyby.


Welcome to RWA forums EngineerSeth18!

Believe me, I love my EMDs. I just don't like anything newer than a 70MAC. :please
Welcome, brother. Sorry about Autorouter!

I guess i should introduce myself as well My Name is Quincy and i have been an engineer for over 9 years im currently employed with CSX i have also done stints with UP and NS i have a combined 14 years of railroad exp and well i woukld''nt trade it for anything....and well i do have a love/hate relationship with Gevo's sometimes i hate em sometimes i love em

Do you guys count driving miniature trains on a 7/14 inch gauge line as workin on the railroad? if so count me as a member of our little brotherhood of loco engineers...

Thank you all for the feedback :). I visited the shop yesterday and work seems to be going pretty good. Will post more updates when I can.

I think it's great that NS is rebuilding/upgrading these older units. I literally have ZERO experience of any locomotive though. The real question should be, as an engineer for NS, what do YOU think about the program? And more importantly what's your favorite unit to run?

The problem with NS' "rebuild" program is all they do is put lipstick on a pig can call it good. Back during the power crunch I frequently had our SD75s on oil cans and they were absolute junk. 2 years later NS gets them, paints them, and they're still junk.

Do you mind elaborating on what makes them junk? Just trying to learn since I'm just a sim/railfan.

The cab insulation is all shot, the engines don't output rated horsepower (4300 rated, 4000 actual possibly) because they're so wore out. The dynamic brakes on them are pretty worthless too.

That makes me wonder why they even purchased them.

It was cheap.

Unless they plan to rebuild/upgrade, seems worthless to me.