New NB Southern Locomotives Coming

I understand that the New Brunswick Southern Railway will be leasing two more locomotives, from Helm Financial. These will be SD40-2 engines, a little different than the GP38 fleet that NBSR has now.

You may recall that NBSR is already leasing four GP38 engines from Helm, HLCX 906, 911, 913 and 917.

I'm told they will be arriving in late December 2011 or early January 2012.

Why an SD40 instead of a GP38? Well, the obvious difference is that SD40s have "C" trucks (3 axles) instead of "B" trucks (2 axles) like the Geeps have. This means about 50% more tractive effort, so they can haul heavier trains than the Geeps can. SD40s are heavier than GP38s but the extra wheels mean they put about the same load on the rails per wheel.