It's incredibly sad when old machines die. But you have to face the fact that they are gone and it's best to let them rest in peace. Instead of prolonging they're suffering. Call me crazy but there are a lot of old cars, trucks,locomotives and old machines that just have so much passion and personality. Its because they are alive. They feel you just as you feel them. This locomotive tells a story of all the laughter,fear and hardships and good times it has seen. Maybe more than likely it killed someone at some point and the sorrow it felt.The bond it and it's engineer and conductor had. Before time took it's toll.
Rest in piece to the sd40-2. As much as a railfan I am. Thanks for posting this it’s cool to see how it’s done. Those parts maybe be used for other locomotives or help build a new one
Yes locomotive scrapping is rarely seen. I was happy to be invited to this yard to film this. I believe they made more SD40-2's than any other locomotive in history. So losing even half the fleet is no big deal.
Doing a quick search, EMD had produced nearly 4,000 EMD sd40-2 from 1972-1989. (1980 for the US, 1989 for Canada and overseas). The BN ordered 835 and the UP ordered 686 😱
@@florjanbrudar692 Yes scrapping is very uplifting and environmentally friendly. It's good to see how the scrap is chopped up ready for melting and reuse.
To be honest I'm indifferent to watching lcoomotives being scrapped. As for these SD40-2's It's a shame to see them scrapped but considering how many of them are left and how many of them are now unwanted surplus at this point it's probably for the best some of them get scrapped since it'd be more costly to keep most of them running than just to cut them up. Plus it gives machinists the opportunity to reuse the working components on other locomotives to repair them.
But these were only cut up for scrap metal and not salvaged parts plus EMD still makes parts for older engines like this due to there reliability and long lasting selves
I don't get it SD40-2's were the finest Diesel Locomotives ever built well at least these lasted about 45 years racking up millions of miles and I am sure that they still had life left in them. I was kind of hoping that when he was trying to cut the frame that the fuel tank would blow up just to show who was tougher.
Hello Traveling Tom: "The cutting torch is run off of propane which burns hotter than acetylene and is also cheaper. " Not true. Acetylene provides the hottest flame compared to other gases used in the oxyfuel cutting process. Acetylene - 3160° C MAPP - 2976° C Propylene - 2896° C Propane - 2828° C Natural Gas - 2770° C
This sad routine has been going on for generations... Many great locomotives have met this fate. For aircraft, they use guillotine or caterpillar type equipment to cold cut them into pieces...
Sure looks like old Burlington Northern locomotives. I always liked the cascade green color they were painted in --it was so much better than the new bizarre BNSF brown, orange and yellow they are painted in now.
I appreciate BNSF for bringing back the GN Empire Builder scheme for their "heritage" schemes, but god damn, it got old really fast... I think for their next scheme, the H5, they should bring back something else, NP or BN cascade green would be nice... and I'd also eventually like to see the ATSF Warbonnets make a comeback. At least they're better than UP and NS... while they scramble to patch and repaint every single piece of equipment they buy or inherit into the same boring standardized scheme.. BNSF is totally fine keeping units with their old BN or ATSF colors, as long as they don't need shopping or a rebuild.
The main deck of the locomotives are really built out of heavy steel and the tip on his torch has to be a monster , be interesting to know what number tip it is . Sure was some wide gaps the torch was making , he's a brave man to cut the engines up as theres so much old oil and fuel thats in every nook and cranny . Awesome video sir . Thanks for posting .
Holy fucking shit!!!! Those SD40-2 (repaired) were very usefull here in México or Brazil (for example the LFCD railroad, that is owner of some Ex BNSF SD40-2). Of course, Ferromex is scraping some SD40-2, but is because are wrecked or because they were used as part source to repair/mantain other SD40-2.greetings from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, my friend.
I worked at a steel mill. We ran exclusivley on scrap. Heavy scrap melted down in electric furnaces. 24 7 . Cut up heavy steel. From all over various scrappers. Everything has to end. Remember Only the young can stay.
for the record, propane dont have a higher temperature, its 5000, vs 6200 with acetylene, however what it does have is you can pump more of it at a time and higher pressure which would cause acetylene to explode, and therefore the propane can put out a larger volume of heat
True, which is why the largest cutting torches are fueled by LP and have no acetylene option. I have an Oxweld scarfing torch with cutting tips rated to cut twenty-nine inch thick billet. One day I might get a scrap job worth using it on. Looks like he's using a C-size or bigger oxygen hose. They flow serious CFM and usually feed off a "party bottle" (liquid oxygen dewar) or a tote with multiple compressed oxygen cylinders and a spider manifold.
I can see one main use for acetylene. A fab shop. Quicker light-offs on plate, cleaner sharper kerfs. Anyone using it on demo jobs is nuts in my opinion. It's true that acetylene will light-off a little quicker than propane, but once you start the cut, there's no difference. The recessed tips for propane last a million times longer than the acetylene flat-face tips, and don't plug near as often. That constant snapping off at the tip is bad, and it would be a huge issue when you expose the tip to conditions where the tip is overheated from proximity to hot slag or being deep in a cut or surrounded by hot metal. More expensive by far. The tanks are super-dangerous in the demo environment due to likely abuse. Idiots running high pressure are a possibility. Propane is the absolute way to go. MAPP is hotter by several hundred degrees than propane, but why use a more expensive and limited availability product without much to gain!! Acetylene is more fun though, like when you catch it in an upside-down paper cup and then stomp on it!!
That's not death, it's recycling performed by skilled workers. Good job wearing the PPE too. That's how you live into retirement without respiratory problems.
Very good video; amazing to see how much effort and knowledge go into disassembling a loco. What do they do about the fuel tanks? Do they clean them before cutting?
I was about to ask the same question re fuel tanks! Might they be cut out intact and sent to a scrap yard? If being cut up onsite I would think they’d backfill with nitrogen that won’t support combustion.
Imagine living in the housing development seen in the background! Has OSHA inspected this workplace and methods used? Are workers adequately protected?
Yes the Big Boy 4014 was traded for a SD40-2 in California. There is several SD40T-2's in museums. I am sure there is many more but there is still so many SD40-2's out there that they are really not considered that valuable as a museum piece yet.
How can that man live with himself. this is murder. Ask yourself, is this what an engine deserves, after years of dedication to his or her railway? I don't think so
Torch cutting is rather fun and satisfying. Scrap goes into new products including locomotives. Scrap is vital to the global economy. So are recycled parts. You are free to buy all the old locos you wish when they are auctioned off and restore them to your hearts content. Some people do.
Yes it's a pretty nasty job. I remember I was cutting a piece of railroad track and after I cut it, the whole pile shifted pinning my leg between two rails. Could have snapped my leg like a twig but I got lucky. We had one guy fall off a rail car and get cut in half. Dangerous work. I was cutting a pipe once and I saw just about every color smoke you could imagine. I shut off my torch and gave my two weeks notice.
LP uses more oxygen but tolerates much greater withdrawal rates making it preferable for heavy cuts. Running cutting torches is fun if a bit warm, and for the really thick stuff an oxygen lance is even more entertaining (and faster). It's typical to run off a LOX Dewar with heat exchanger for heavy cutting but a skid of cylinders feeding a spider connector also works well. The removed components will serve to keep other machines running (donor parts are cheaper than new). Steel recycling is quite efficient.
It's very unusual for scrapyards to let pepole in to record them at work on health and safety grounds. I've tried and failed in a bus scrapyard in the late 90's here in Dublin Ireland. ( hammond lane in Dublin docks) being a woman didn't help. I'm the only irish female transport enthuiast, the workers couldn't work out why a woman would want to photograh them at work. It was the bus being broken i was intrested in not the workers , akthiugh the workers were decent . It was a KD class double decker bombardier. Well done at getting in to that yard and getting excellent film.
Believe it or not one of the employees contacted me and asked me if I wanted to film them cutting up the locomotives. Of course I went down there as quick as I could. Normally filming or photography in scrap yards or steel mills is nearly impossible. I have tried many times and they usually won't even let you take photos from the parking lot. I got very lucky with this one.
@@Tenny_RW I liked this two. I like steam loco scrapping even more. Steam locomotives are quite interesting to cut up as the whole thing is pulled apart including the boiler tubes and the firebox to extract the copper. Where as with diesels large components such as the engine and generator set are removed in one go and sent off site for processing. Then it's mainly cutting of thin body panels and frames. I wish we had a whole new generation of steam to break up!
This has always pained me, ever since the first day I saw this, like can you at least just slice them up if they’re destroyed in a wreck or something? I know that does happen also, but the lcoos must live until it breaks down.
The reason why they do this is because a lot of engines that are in scrap yards today were built 1970-1990 so they are really starting to age and as new technology and more reliable locomotives come out companies just send the old ones to be scrapped. Or if a certain part breaks and it is no longer made it would be sent to scrap. Railroading is more or less a business where sentiment is not allowed to stand in the way of progress.
True there was a General Electric u-30-c with dirt stuck in the Piston shaft via exhaust the engine blew up and the locomotive had to be hauled away and scraped
For those of us who love locomotives watching this is like observing the autopsy of a loved one…unbridled desecration and mutilation. Yeah…it has to be done but it’s still hard to watch.
NiffIncentro At6/5 That was the best of the cutting action. Scrapping locomotives is great, but the bit where parts fall off or get cut through is the most exciting!
NiffIncentro At6/5 Notice how I always win the debate. I'd don't ever question your railfanning or abuse you. Be the bigger person. Accept different viewpoints including the scrapping enthusiast's view.
And while the locomotives were stuck on the south parking lot of the Minnesota Zephyr property about 5 years ago the owner David Paradue considered scrapping the engines on site. The government of the city of Stillwater was mean and controlling to the Minnesota Zephyr operation. They restricted how many trips the trains could take per week,,, yet federal regulations restrict local governments power over railroads. Then in an effort to have one less impediment to getting a new bridge over the St.Croix River, the city of Stillwater forced the abandonment of the BN Railroad tracks through downtown Stillwater, which was the Minnesota Zephyr connection to the Union Pacific tracks to the south. Then after one contractor failed to haul one of the locomotives from the Zephyr property the Stillwater city government threatened to remove them from the city and bill the Minnesota Zephyr operation. Stillwater Minnesota city government, what a bunch of jerks!
you know whats sad? scrap yards. you see a train like union pacific, bnsf, cn, conrail or norkfol southerrn being scrapped and you search up the train like csx 7027 or up 2771 before being scrapped theres like a moment where the train had a life and when it gets scrapped, its like its dead
I can see why very few "scrappers" want locomotives. It's a lot of work and materials needed to disassemble one of these. If there's a chance that cutting them apart in such a fashion that the valuable components can be salvaged and sold (and THAT itself relies on the market demand for those particular components), then more of the cost can be recuperated, and it can even become profitable to be in the business. But, having a loco scrapper in every town, just wouldn't work, so there are just a handful of used loco dealers/scrappers across the continent, and it works.
Yes this is true. I previously worked for a company as a locomotive mechanic and they bought six locomotives to scrap them. It ended up taking four guys months to scrap those locomotives and in the end the company had to pay contractors to finish the job. They said it was one of the worst decisions they ever made. I was also a burner in a scrap yard cutting up large scrap. Stuff like this is very difficult. We took in some ladles from the steel mills and it took forever to cut those up. I worked all day on one of those (with the same type of torch) and never made any progress. It was taking too long to cut them up so we had to sell them to other scrap yard. This guy in the video is really a excellent burner. Not many scrappers out there can cut the way he is cutting.
Traveling Tom I don't think there is any money in the steel frames. But thick copper cabling and motors/generators could be good. Can even sell some of those components complete if it is a class still being used in service. Swings and roundabouts though. Back in the 1960s, some contractors discovered certain steam loco fireboxes were solid copper, and they had only paid for steel, so a nice earner!
I now of a railway that called the Dakota Southern that runs the State owned Mitchell to Kadoka ex Milwakee Road line that goes to Rapid City thet uss a ex Milwaukee EMD SD7 DSRC512 that was built in 1952 and ex SP EMD SD9E DSRC 4427 they have been rebuilding thier line with federal grants and recently acquired he lightly used SD 40 - 2 which is considered brand new to them and there has been instances or a BNSF shuttle train with a GE Evolution series for power and the sd9e had to push the piece of crap GE to get it moving again.
ruclips.net/video/GNyDhaLNA8k/видео.html in this video length of the 4427 has been repainted since this and the line has been completely rebuilt mrs. Old 60 lb rail from the Milwaukee Road era that you'll see in this video
YOU MONSTER THE EMD SD40-2 was one of the most amazing and successful engines EMD EVER MADE THEY Could HAVE EASILY Been REBUILT OR SOLD TO SHORTLINES THEY ARE FAR BEYOND USELESS!
Oh, no... Not an SD-40-2! Good they salvaged the motor and the generator... *Q: How do they purge the fuel tanks so they don't catch on fire??? - **14:15* Booom! Was wondering if he was cutting thru the Frame - 20:19 Just find a guy who is crazy or stupid enough to cut on top of a gas tank... 26:11
What PAPR helmet are you using, I like the simple no nonsense design. Everything I find on the web is for welding and not for scrapping. Right now I'm using a face respirator with a #3 grinding face shield and it is hot and uncomfortable!
I always wondered how the guys using those cutter torches are able to see what they are doing. I took a welding class in high school once and all I could see with that helmet on was a bright glow
I worked in a scrap yard for a year and I used to use cutting torches like that. Sometimes with the smoke and the molten steel you can hardly see what you are cutting. Majority of the time we are looking at the end of the spark stream. If you see a lot of molten steel shooting out you know it is cutting good. If there is little or no molten steel then you are moving too fast and not cutting good. You can also listen to the sounds the cutting torch makes. Like any other job practice makes perfect.
Your helmet had the wrong shade or tint lense, or you needed short range prescription glasses, or perhaps magnifying lenses in your helmet. Instructors should watch for that. We did and kept "cheaters" to issue students so they could determine what works. It's easy to see torch work by comparison.
Why were they wasting time with a gas axe? A simple hydraulic shear could be run as an attachment on an excavator and would be up to 20x faster than gas axing it, and with the added beenfit of reducing burnt emissions caused from flammable materials catching on fire!
ALL N ALL THESE SD40-2 's WOULD HAVE OUT LASTED , OUT RUN ANY THING THAT THEY BUILD TODAY ! BN SD40-2 's LIVE ! AS DO ALL DASH 2 's WHAT A WASTE OF TECHNOLGY !!! 😎
+SteamLocoScrapper I have watched this a couple of times! It really is pretty! Love those snap-offs! I am sure they will be picked up, melted down & repurposed into a new product which will be useful for it's life! Then, the cycle will repeat! Very nice!
+Cockroach. Yes, nice to see an experienced torchman. This guy does not waste any time. I'd like to see him tackle a steam loco, the boiler would be sliced apart in no time.
Scrap is valuable. Countries wanting surplus locos are free to bid for and buy them. Some do as with trucks. Those locos aren' floating about without owners. They are valuable as steel and purchased for recycling.
It's incredibly sad when old machines die. But you have to face the fact that they are gone and it's best to let them rest in peace. Instead of prolonging they're suffering. Call me crazy but there are a lot of old cars, trucks,locomotives and old machines that just have so much passion and personality. Its because they are alive. They feel you just as you feel them. This locomotive tells a story of all the laughter,fear and hardships and good times it has seen. Maybe more than likely it killed someone at some point and the sorrow it felt.The bond it and it's engineer and conductor had. Before time took it's toll.
that... was... beautiful...
I stand by you there!
wow...you just made me cry...
Anthropomorphize much?
@@ecreamer81 Sodor does
They are machines and so therefore cannot feel
Growing up I saw BN SD40-2s every day. They made me the railfan I am today. It's like losing an old friend.
It was csx
SD 40-2s for me
Rest in piece to the sd40-2. As much as a railfan I am. Thanks for posting this it’s cool to see how it’s done. Those parts maybe be used for other locomotives or help build a new one
Yes locomotive scrapping is rarely seen. I was happy to be invited to this yard to film this. I believe they made more SD40-2's than any other locomotive in history. So losing even half the fleet is no big deal.
Doing a quick search, EMD had produced nearly 4,000 EMD sd40-2 from 1972-1989. (1980 for the US, 1989 for Canada and overseas). The BN ordered 835 and the UP ordered 686 😱
Dad: "Why are you crying so damn loud?"
Me:
So true
Agreed
Thanks for all the great history sd40-2's
Goodnight, old friend.
Rest In Peace,
8042
7008
Other diesel.
😢
Yea that hurts to see 1970’s bn sd40-2 scrap
Loss of a great locomotive. Long live many other SD40-2s.
Best bits at 30:55 and 20:17
THE STEAM ENGINES WON. YEA AAAAAAAAAAAA. NO MORE DIESELS
@@PreservationEnthusiast You enjoy watching steam scrapping.
@@florjanbrudar692 Yes scrapping is very uplifting and environmentally friendly. It's good to see how the scrap is chopped up ready for melting and reuse.
only time I am agreeing with you that's it@@PreservationEnthusiast
At least the metal from the scrap can be used to rebuild parts for other locomotives
Stfu, this locomotive was grand
It's gonna be used to build 2021 Toyota Priuses
@@dominator9833 a powerful locomotive reduced to a Toyota Prius. That's my sad story for the day 😭
Steel is a versatile reusable material but it could well be cat food tins or washing machines this loco is used for... we just don't know!
@@PreservationEnthusiastyou built like a cat food tin💀
RIP Burlington Northern 8042
Birth: 1972 to 1989
Death: 1/2/13
This locomotive served its Railroad well.
To be honest I'm indifferent to watching lcoomotives being scrapped.
As for these SD40-2's It's a shame to see them scrapped but considering how many of them are left and how many of them are now unwanted surplus at this point it's probably for the best some of them get scrapped since it'd be more costly to keep most of them running than just to cut them up. Plus it gives machinists the opportunity to reuse the working components on other locomotives to repair them.
But these were only cut up for scrap metal and not salvaged parts plus EMD still makes parts for older engines like this due to there reliability and long lasting selves
I don't get it SD40-2's were the finest Diesel Locomotives ever built well at least these lasted about 45 years racking up millions of miles and I am sure that they still had life left in them. I was kind of hoping that when he was trying to cut the frame that the fuel tank would blow up just to show who was tougher.
Ikr
Maybe it was involved in a wreak and Damaged Beyond Repair
They empty the fuel tanks and ventilate before cutting. They are not stupid!
Hello Traveling Tom:
"The cutting torch is run off of propane which burns hotter than acetylene and is also cheaper. "
Not true. Acetylene provides the hottest flame compared to other gases used in the oxyfuel cutting process.
Acetylene - 3160° C
MAPP - 2976° C
Propylene - 2896° C
Propane - 2828° C
Natural Gas - 2770° C
The legendary SD40-2 the greatest locomotive ever!
I would have to agree.
This sad routine has been going on for generations... Many great locomotives have met this fate. For aircraft, they use guillotine or caterpillar type equipment to cold cut them into pieces...
😢 it's like death row for locomotives.
I need a couple guys that can cut like that man!
The ones that died will leave a way to the ones who live
😭😭😭😭😭😭. RIP SD40-2! We will always remember you 😢😢😢😢
BNSF is getting rid of Dash 9s now their lease has expired recently on 4770 to 4999 series hope the other ones will stay in use for longer
Yes the dash 9's are pretty cool. Hate to see them go.
Poor locomotives! They will never run again.
Girl: You don't even know what sad is
Me: 10:54
Sure looks like old Burlington Northern locomotives. I always liked the cascade green color they were painted in --it was so much better than the new bizarre BNSF brown, orange and yellow they are painted in now.
I appreciate BNSF for bringing back the GN Empire Builder scheme for their "heritage" schemes, but god damn, it got old really fast...
I think for their next scheme, the H5, they should bring back something else, NP or BN cascade green would be nice... and I'd also eventually like to see the ATSF Warbonnets make a comeback.
At least they're better than UP and NS... while they scramble to patch and repaint every single piece of equipment they buy or inherit into the same boring standardized scheme.. BNSF is totally fine keeping units with their old BN or ATSF colors, as long as they don't need shopping or a rebuild.
@@trainknut I think bringing back the Warbonnets would be nice but I still like the GN inspired colors
The main deck of the locomotives are really built out of heavy steel and the tip on his torch has to be a monster , be interesting to know what number tip it is . Sure was some wide gaps the torch was making , he's a brave man to cut the engines up as theres so much old oil and fuel thats in every nook and cranny . Awesome video sir . Thanks for posting .
This ritual has been going on for generations... Many great locomotives have met this fate.
Holy fucking shit!!!! Those SD40-2 (repaired) were very usefull here in México or Brazil (for example the LFCD railroad, that is owner of some Ex BNSF SD40-2). Of course, Ferromex is scraping some SD40-2, but is because are wrecked or because they were used as part source to repair/mantain other SD40-2.greetings from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, my friend.
*No words can describe the sense of loss we fell after this terrible tragedy.*
Not really
There were almost 4000 of these things built
It's a locomotive, not your grandmother.
It’s sad to see them go but at the same time them being scrapped means they have done their job well.
That’s alot of work! My lower back hurts just watching this 😂
I worked at a steel mill. We ran exclusivley on scrap. Heavy scrap melted down in electric furnaces. 24 7 . Cut up heavy steel. From all over various scrappers. Everything has to end. Remember Only the young can stay.
I played this while listening to Garycome home. Try not to cry!!
for the record, propane dont have a higher temperature, its 5000, vs 6200 with acetylene, however what it does have is you can pump more of it at a time and higher pressure which would cause acetylene to explode, and therefore the propane can put out a larger volume of heat
True, which is why the largest cutting torches are fueled by LP and have no acetylene option. I have an Oxweld scarfing torch with cutting tips rated to cut twenty-nine inch thick billet. One day I might get a scrap job worth using it on. Looks like he's using a C-size or bigger oxygen hose. They flow serious CFM and usually feed off a "party bottle" (liquid oxygen dewar) or a tote with multiple compressed oxygen cylinders and a spider manifold.
I can see one main use for acetylene. A fab shop. Quicker light-offs on plate, cleaner sharper kerfs. Anyone using it on demo jobs is nuts in my opinion. It's true that acetylene will light-off a little quicker than propane, but once you start the cut, there's no difference. The recessed tips for propane last a million times longer than the acetylene flat-face tips, and don't plug near as often. That constant snapping off at the tip is bad, and it would be a huge issue when you expose the tip to conditions where the tip is overheated from proximity to hot slag or being deep in a cut or surrounded by hot metal. More expensive by far. The tanks are super-dangerous in the demo environment due to likely abuse. Idiots running high pressure are a possibility. Propane is the absolute way to go. MAPP is hotter by several hundred degrees than propane, but why use a more expensive and limited availability product without much to gain!! Acetylene is more fun though, like when you catch it in an upside-down paper cup and then stomp on it!!
That's not death, it's recycling performed by skilled workers. Good job wearing the PPE too. That's how you live into retirement without respiratory problems.
You can't keep all the old locos (or other old rolling stock) and as you say the most valuable parts are reused.
We know, it’s just sad to see it go.
Very good video; amazing to see how much effort and knowledge go into disassembling a loco. What do they do about the fuel tanks? Do they clean them before cutting?
I was about to ask the same question re fuel tanks! Might they be cut out intact and sent to a scrap yard? If being cut up onsite I would think they’d backfill with nitrogen that won’t support combustion.
Imagine living in the housing development seen in the background! Has OSHA inspected this workplace and methods used? Are workers adequately protected?
Have any sd40-2s been given to museums by chance ?
Yes the Big Boy 4014 was traded for a SD40-2 in California. There is several SD40T-2's in museums. I am sure there is many more but there is still so many SD40-2's out there that they are really not considered that valuable as a museum piece yet.
Right in the feels.
How can that man live with himself. this is murder. Ask yourself, is this what an engine deserves, after years of dedication to his or her railway? I don't think so
Torch cutting is rather fun and satisfying. Scrap goes into new products including locomotives. Scrap is vital to the global economy. So are recycled parts. You are free to buy all the old locos you wish when they are auctioned off and restore them to your hearts content. Some people do.
What we are seeing is murder, sad people can't figure out these were still useful. No respect for this one.
They can't put new equipment in them?
BNSF needs to do what Norfolk Southern doing just put a new equipment in locomotives
At least it wasn't a rare one. We're not in danger of running out of SD40s anytime soon.
I used to do this years ago; it is very hard, dangerous work. I'm glad I did it, but I don't miss it.
Yes it's a pretty nasty job. I remember I was cutting a piece of railroad track and after I cut it, the whole pile shifted pinning my leg between two rails. Could have snapped my leg like a twig but I got lucky. We had one guy fall off a rail car and get cut in half. Dangerous work. I was cutting a pipe once and I saw just about every color smoke you could imagine. I shut off my torch and gave my two weeks notice.
I cut up locomotives for 5 months until I watched a guy get his hand smashed.
LP uses more oxygen but tolerates much greater withdrawal rates making it preferable for heavy cuts. Running cutting torches is fun if a bit warm, and for the really thick stuff an oxygen lance is even more entertaining (and faster). It's typical to run off a LOX Dewar with heat exchanger for heavy cutting but a skid of cylinders feeding a spider connector also works well.
The removed components will serve to keep other machines running (donor parts are cheaper than new). Steel recycling is quite efficient.
It's very unusual for scrapyards to let pepole in to record them at work on health and safety grounds. I've tried and failed in a bus scrapyard in the late 90's here in Dublin Ireland. ( hammond lane in Dublin docks) being a woman didn't help. I'm the only irish female transport enthuiast, the workers couldn't work out why a woman would want to photograh them at work. It was the bus being broken i was intrested in not the workers , akthiugh the workers were decent . It was a KD class double decker bombardier. Well done at getting in to that yard and getting excellent film.
Believe it or not one of the employees contacted me and asked me if I wanted to film them cutting up the locomotives. Of course I went down there as quick as I could. Normally filming or photography in scrap yards or steel mills is nearly impossible. I have tried many times and they usually won't even let you take photos from the parking lot. I got very lucky with this one.
@@travelingtom923 I'm glad you were able to get this excellent footage .
I enjoyed this thoroughly.
Go to hell
See you there. I'll be holding the gate open for you.
Why are you guys being judgemental people like what they want
I Like Trains but I respect the fact that you like Scraping
@@Tenny_RW I liked this two. I like steam loco scrapping even more. Steam locomotives are quite interesting to cut up as the whole thing is pulled apart including the boiler tubes and the firebox to extract the copper. Where as with diesels large components such as the engine and generator set are removed in one go and sent off site for processing. Then it's mainly cutting of thin body panels and frames. I wish we had a whole new generation of steam to break up!
Rest in peace SD-40-2
Interesting but also sad at the same time. It's the beginning for the end of another era.
Farewell forever
😔😔💐💐
This has always pained me, ever since the first day I saw this, like can you at least just slice them up if they’re destroyed in a wreck or something? I know that does happen also, but the lcoos must live until it breaks down.
The reason why they do this is because a lot of engines that are in scrap yards today were built 1970-1990 so they are really starting to age and as new technology and more reliable locomotives come out companies just send the old ones to be scrapped. Or if a certain part breaks and it is no longer made it would be sent to scrap. Railroading is more or less a business where sentiment is not allowed to stand in the way of progress.
If I were a locomotive, I'd rather meet this fate than continue to be owned by BNSF.
Windy City Rails lol
True there was a General Electric u-30-c with dirt stuck in the Piston shaft via exhaust the engine blew up and the locomotive had to be hauled away and scraped
It was an ex Burlington Northern locomotive used for switch Duty in Kingman Arizona it operated with an ex Santa Fe GP - 35
Why did they do that?It was probably perfectly fine!
Wait it was not wrecked!
@@TrainFan119 probally not
@@jordantherailfanner7506 😢Oh......
I wonder if it hurts when they do that
R.I.P all SD-40-2 was scraping
For those of us who love locomotives watching this is like observing the autopsy of a loved one…unbridled desecration and mutilation. Yeah…it has to be done but it’s still hard to watch.
what a disturbing video, I guess nothing can last forever.
30.55 and 20:17 Bob. These were the best bits I have selected.
heelfan1234 Those bits made me sick.
NiffIncentro At6/5 That was the best of the cutting action. Scrapping locomotives is great, but the bit where parts fall off or get cut through is the most exciting!
heelfan1234 You are sick and disgusting
NiffIncentro At6/5 Notice how I always win the debate. I'd don't ever question your railfanning or abuse you. Be the bigger person. Accept different viewpoints including the scrapping enthusiast's view.
That is very sad to see.😭😭😢😢
And while the locomotives were stuck on the south parking lot of the Minnesota Zephyr property about 5 years ago the owner David Paradue considered scrapping the engines on site. The government of the city of Stillwater was mean and controlling to the Minnesota Zephyr operation. They restricted how many trips the trains could take per week,,, yet federal regulations restrict local governments power over railroads. Then in an effort to have one less impediment to getting a new bridge over the St.Croix River, the city of Stillwater forced the abandonment of the BN Railroad tracks through downtown Stillwater, which was the Minnesota Zephyr connection to the Union Pacific tracks to the south. Then after one contractor failed to haul one of the locomotives from the Zephyr property the Stillwater city government threatened to remove them from the city and bill the Minnesota Zephyr operation. Stillwater Minnesota city government, what a bunch of jerks!
Did you see my video on the stored Minnesota Zephyr locomotives in Colorado? Here is a link ruclips.net/video/Y4yoC7rAYRs/видео.html
(Insert Shed 17 scream)
All the outsiders could hear. Was the engine screaming in pain...
you know whats sad? scrap yards. you see a train like union pacific, bnsf, cn, conrail or norkfol southerrn being scrapped and you search up the train like csx 7027 or up 2771 before being scrapped theres like a moment where the train had a life and when it gets scrapped, its like its dead
Hope these guy are makin good money... can’t imagine burning steel all day....
Poor BN 8042...RIP 😭
Great sound and visuals.
I can see why very few "scrappers" want locomotives. It's a lot of work and materials needed to disassemble one of these. If there's a chance that cutting them apart in such a fashion that the valuable components can be salvaged and sold (and THAT itself relies on the market demand for those particular components), then more of the cost can be recuperated, and it can even become profitable to be in the business. But, having a loco scrapper in every town, just wouldn't work, so there are just a handful of used loco dealers/scrappers across the continent, and it works.
Yes this is true. I previously worked for a company as a locomotive mechanic and they bought six locomotives to scrap them. It ended up taking four guys months to scrap those locomotives and in the end the company had to pay contractors to finish the job. They said it was one of the worst decisions they ever made. I was also a burner in a scrap yard cutting up large scrap. Stuff like this is very difficult. We took in some ladles from the steel mills and it took forever to cut those up. I worked all day on one of those (with the same type of torch) and never made any progress. It was taking too long to cut them up so we had to sell them to other scrap yard. This guy in the video is really a excellent burner. Not many scrappers out there can cut the way he is cutting.
Traveling Tom I don't think there is any money in the steel frames. But thick copper cabling and motors/generators could be good. Can even sell some of those components complete if it is a class still being used in service.
Swings and roundabouts though. Back in the 1960s, some contractors discovered certain steam loco fireboxes were solid copper, and they had only paid for steel, so a nice earner!
The parts when the locomotives clunk into the ground remind me of artillery being fired! Great stuff indeed.
Damn the sd40-2's decapitated cab.
What torchrs do. You use?
You could just let me have it as a small room
Do they resell/rebuild trucks and traction motors?
They do.
Was there at least a ceremony of some sort?
Poor SD40-2s aren't that old
no but you are clicking along anyway
Its sad
Austin Dreyer 40 year’s is long enough
I now of a railway that called the Dakota Southern that runs the State owned Mitchell to Kadoka ex Milwakee Road line that goes to Rapid City thet uss a ex Milwaukee EMD SD7 DSRC512 that was built in 1952 and ex SP EMD SD9E DSRC 4427 they have been rebuilding thier line with federal grants and recently acquired he lightly used SD 40 - 2 which is considered brand new to them and there has been instances or a BNSF shuttle train with a GE Evolution series for power and the sd9e had to push the piece of crap GE to get it moving again.
ruclips.net/video/GNyDhaLNA8k/видео.html in this video length of the 4427 has been repainted since this and the line has been completely rebuilt mrs. Old 60 lb rail from the Milwaukee Road era that you'll see in this video
USA: " Crying "
Chile: *S T O N K S*
They should at least keep the wheel base trucks. They look fine.
We never forget
RIP that BN.
What parts where saved? Trucks? Prime mover?
Generator, air compressor, and engine. Everything else was cut up.
Wow, not even the trucks?
@@harrimanfox8961 Trucks as well.
its like death row for locomotives ❤❤❤ 0:27
Glad to see railroads getting rid of useless junk.
YOU MONSTER THE EMD SD40-2 was one of the most amazing and successful engines EMD EVER MADE THEY Could HAVE EASILY Been REBUILT OR SOLD TO SHORTLINES THEY ARE FAR BEYOND USELESS!
Seeing one of those old POS sewer pickles scrapped makes me happy!!
Oh, no... Not an SD-40-2! Good they salvaged the motor and the generator... *Q: How do they purge the fuel tanks so they don't catch on fire??? - **14:15* Booom! Was wondering if he was cutting thru the Frame - 20:19 Just find a guy who is crazy or stupid enough to cut on top of a gas tank... 26:11
I hate scrapyards. What a waste of people’s time.
They could have instead plint them or run them as heritage unit.
Hi, can ask you. How much pay for this job?? I'm from Russia,us pay 0,5$ a ton.
They get paid by the hour. Usually around $18.00 a hour. Scrap metal is around 90 dollars a ton.
@@travelingtom923 thanks you so much , 🤝
@@travelingtom923 I could not do this job even for a million dollars I would to sad to do this
But Everything Is Sewn Up Nice and Neat for the Ex BN SD40-2
thank god they have to wear air packs now
Poisonous fumes? Where? Did somebody see poisonous fumes?
What PAPR helmet are you using, I like the simple no nonsense design. Everything I find on the web is for welding and not for scrapping. Right now I'm using a face respirator with a #3 grinding face shield and it is hot and uncomfortable!
I always wondered how the guys using those cutter torches are able to see what they are doing. I took a welding class in high school once and all I could see with that helmet on was a bright glow
I worked in a scrap yard for a year and I used to use cutting torches like that. Sometimes with the smoke and the molten steel you can hardly see what you are cutting. Majority of the time we are looking at the end of the spark stream. If you see a lot of molten steel shooting out you know it is cutting good. If there is little or no molten steel then you are moving too fast and not cutting good. You can also listen to the sounds the cutting torch makes. Like any other job practice makes perfect.
Starguard ! All these workers are locomotives 🚂 worst enemy
Your helmet had the wrong shade or tint lense, or you needed short range prescription glasses, or perhaps magnifying lenses in your helmet. Instructors should watch for that. We did and kept "cheaters" to issue students so they could determine what works. It's easy to see torch work by comparison.
R.I.P HLCX 8042
R.I.P😢
Painful to watch, soooo sad.
It is really sad to see the rail
Looks like fun.
You mean boring
what is the name of this man's profession?? Please tell me
Burner.
@@travelingtom923 ok, Спасибо)
All it's history going up in smoke
Awesome
Why were they wasting time with a gas axe? A simple hydraulic shear could be run as an attachment on an excavator and would be up to 20x faster than gas axing it, and with the added beenfit of reducing burnt emissions caused from flammable materials catching on fire!
This is torture for me
ALL N ALL THESE SD40-2 's WOULD HAVE OUT LASTED , OUT RUN ANY THING THAT THEY BUILD TODAY ! BN SD40-2 's LIVE ! AS DO ALL DASH 2 's WHAT A WASTE OF TECHNOLGY !!! 😎
R.I.P
this engine dosent deserve thata
Ikr
Looks like fun. For about ten minutes, or so.
This is just sad
Check out the best bits at 30:55 and 20:17 Great cutting action!
Yes cut right through the frame!
Excellent footage Tom, we don't often see scrapyard action like this, plenty of sparks, and going for the kill quick.
+SteamLocoScrapper I have watched this a couple of times! It really is pretty! Love those snap-offs! I am sure they will be picked up, melted down & repurposed into a new product which will be useful for it's life! Then, the cycle will repeat! Very nice!
+Cockroach. Yes, nice to see an experienced torchman. This guy does not waste any time. I'd like to see him tackle a steam loco, the boiler would be sliced apart in no time.
SteamLocoScrapper what is this, an internet troll reunion?
Locomotives should not be scrapped but donated to other countries in need
That is a great idea.. i support that 👍🏻
Scrap is valuable. Countries wanting surplus locos are free to bid for and buy them. Some do as with trucks. Those locos aren' floating about without owners. They are valuable as steel and purchased for recycling.