Any Info on this Engine?

Hi All.
I shot the attached pic in June or July of 2005. UP9404 at the service racks in West Colton. It seems to have some sort of fire damage on the long hood, which will make an interesting weathering detail when I get around to modelling it. What I can't figure out, though, is what the placard on the side of the nose is. At first I thought maybe some sort of maintenence note about the fire, but the link below has tow pics of the unit taken 5 years earlier, and the placard is on both sides.
http://ncespee.railfan.net/UP/updash8-4041cw/up9404.html
Anybody know what this is/says? It would be nice to include on a model

Thanks,
Chris
 

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Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Cory, the author of the site you posted says 9400-9403 received "Locotrol III", I suspect 9404 received the same thing. The sign on the front of the hood looks very much like the signs U.P. has posted where they run remote control locomotives in switching service. It would appear from the description that U.P. is experimenting with remote control for helper service.
 
Thanks for the leads. The Utahrails.net site stated that "UP 9405 has a nose plaque commemorating the J. C. Kenefick Safety Award given to Don Englert of Green River, Wyo." I thought this sounded like what I saw on 9404, so did a google search and found this:
http://ncespee.railfan.net/UP/updash8-4041cw/up9405.html
Interesting coincidence; the plaque is not the same, but look at the fire damage on the side of the long hood. Same place as 9404, but opposite side from my pic.
Units 9406 and 9407 have the same plaque, but I can't read it in any pic I've found.
http://NCEspee.Railfan.net/UP/updash8-4041cw/up9406a.jpg
The format for the signs does look like the ones I have seen stating that "Remote controlled locomotives in use...", so maybe it is something to do with the Locotrol system, though the photos I found of 9400-9403, noted as having Locotrol installed, don't seem to have any external notification. I'll have to keep digging, and keep my eye out for the units next time I'm taking photos.

Thanks,
Chris
 
I think it's probably one of the J. C. Kenefick Safety Award plaques, which seem to have been applied to a number of different units, but the border on 9405 (confirmed Safety Award plaque), is different than the border of the plaques on the units stated above. I'll have to find a close up of one of these plaques.

Chris
 

babydot94513

Member in training
Russ, are you serious? Robo-jobs are now six-axle power?

JD

Russ Bellinis said:
Cory, the author of the site you posted says 9400-9403 received "Locotrol III", I suspect 9404 received the same thing. The sign on the front of the hood looks very much like the signs U.P. has posted where they run remote control locomotives in switching service. It would appear from the description that U.P. is experimenting with remote control for helper service.
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
babydot94513 said:
Russ, are you serious? Robo-jobs are now six-axle power?

JD

I think it is more likely to be used in helper service than for switching, but some of the lashups I've seen U.P. switching with would suggest that anything is possible.
 
That is indeed a safety award placque. UP 9404 is a DC unit and not set up for DPU service as a control unit. DPU control units are AC with additional computer programs to run the units via radio signals. They are used in helper service as unmanned units. DC units can be used with DPU units as helpers but they are MU'd to the controling AC units. We use them as switchers in the yard at times, but not in RCL mode. Those 9400's are nearing the 20 yr mark and getting tired. Often they are trailing units due to the inside of the cabs being in rough shape. The damage you see on the long hood is from a fire.

Greg
 
Thanks for the info Greg. Now I'll just have to find an image of one of the plaques so I can make a decal of it for the model some day. And the note you made about them often being used as trailing units is helpful, too, as it'll help add a little rhyme and reason to loco consists for modelling operations.

Chris
 
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