Oakway 9001 Spotted in St. Louis

[B_Kosanda]

I caught this great pair today north of St. Louis on the BNSF Hannibal Sub. They're headed to St. Louis pulling a bare table train.

Bill

 

[Tacoma Tom]

Great shot! I also noticed that the Oakway is in it's true colors which tells me it is one of the 50 left on the BNSF roster. The others are leased out to someone else and their Electro motive and GM stickers are gone which makes the locomotives look like crap.

The Oakways are my favorites and I am pleased to see this photo as they must have taken some out of storage. That's a good sign traffic is increasing on the railroads.

 

[setxrailfan]

On the company computers some show as EMD and others show as EMDX.

 

[Abilene Ks Railfan]

Nice catch! I caught a couple as leaders recently, the dispatchers referred to them as EMDX

 

[Royal Hudson 2850]

I managed to capture 3 between August 28, 2011 and November 23, 2011
units were 9025, 9026, and 9063. EMDX 9063 was pulling BNSF geometry train thurough New Westminster, BC. I report that paint on all three units is in great shape.

Here is 9063 since it is the best quality shot.

 

[Tacoma Tom]

That paint has really held up well over the years. I remember in the mid 80's when BN first received the Oakways in Denver for coal service. Even though I was a teenager at the time, they let me hang around the diesel shop anytime I wanted and let me ride around in the locomotives.

The Oakways were different when they first came. They had a different whine of the engine, the on board computers were futuristic, even the spit valves made a different sound. It was also a very uplifting and colorful paint scheme which the BN desperately needed. The management was drooling all over those new Oakways. They even had their own track near the round house treating them like royalty. I can't say I blamed them. Half the yard was full of beat up C30-7's and U boats.

The Oakways are special because they have probably made history of being the longest leased locomotives in a single run. We are talking around 25 years and still going. That is incredible considering most railroads don't even keep locomotives 25 plus years even if they bought them. It is also amazing that nearly the entire fleet is still intact.

I have had the pleasure of not only photographing the Oakways over the years but also riding in them and working around them. They have lasted this long because they are simply one of the best and most reliable diesel locomotives ever made. Engineers love them and even to this day it is not uncommon to see a Oakway leading a couple of brand new units.

 

[Abilene Ks Railfan]

All the ones I've seen were quite clean, and sounded great