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 Posted - March 27 2015 : 10:35:26 PM
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I don't think I really shared much about the trains that pass through my hometown of Brockton, MA.
The tracks running through here are owned by the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, acquiring the line from Conrail in 1997.) Their commuter railroad has a line going right through Brockton, with three stations right in our city; this is their Middleboro/Lakeville route. There are usually 25 trains a day passing through Brockton (this isn't counting any freight trains.) I've ridden on these trains quite a bit (especially since I had a job training program in Boston from November 2013 to March 2014.)
There is a North Zone (typically routes north of Boston, originating at North Station), and a South Zone (originating at South Station.) The Middleboro/Lakeville line is on the South Zone.
Usually on the Middleboro/Lakeville line, I see these trains powered by F40PH locomotives, painted this way:
This is what railfans have called the "lightning stripe" paint scheme. These locomotives date back to the 80s and 90s. These "lightning stripe" F40PHs can typically be found on the South Zone, but a few are on the North Zone as well.
Several F40PHs on the North Zone still have the late '80s paint scheme (like Walthers's HO-scale MBTA F40PH.)
These are their oldest locomotives currently in use:
They are GP40MCs. They were built out of old GP40-2LWs from the early 70s, rebuilt for the MBTA in 1997. These are really loud compared to the other locomotives. I don't see these as often as the F40PHs on the Lakeville line, but they still use them quite a bit. Both zones seem to have an equal amount.
The MBTA also has two MP36 locomotives...
They got them around 2011. There is usually one on the North zone, and one on the South. These have a different horn from the other MBTA locomotives, almost sounding like an Amtrak horn. Thus, I can easily recognize their sound, even if I can't see the train (like if I'm outside at work and hear a train passing by on the nearby railroad tracks, which happens to be the Middleboro/Lakeville line!)
They go pretty fast, too.
These are their newest locomotives. They started getting them last year, and have been running them more frequently now...
They are HSP46s, built by MotivePower Inc. and GE. They have a longer body compared to the other locomotives, and they sure look sleek. There are some on the South Zone, but I think the North Zone has more, because they have more older locomotives up there than the South.
Here's a GenSet switcher locomotive I've seen a couple of times in the rail yard among entering South Station.
They even have an old GP18! It's also usually used as a switcher nowadays. This past winter, they were using it to plow snow, so I got to see it in the rail yard when going to a furry convention in Cambridge.
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Posted - March 28 2015 : 12:00:20 AM
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OOOOOO!! *droooools!*
very nice
Note the F on the GP18!
It runs long hood forward! 
There should be HO models of MBTA too 
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Posted - March 28 2015 : 10:14:43 PM
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quote:OOOOOO!! *droooools!*
There should be HO models of MBTA too
Originally posted by microbusss - March 28 2015 : 12:00:20 AM
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Yes, I think have one of those, I think it's a Bachmann, in the silver and purple colors
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - April 05 2015 : 8:36:58 PM
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My Amtrak FP40H pulls like a wuss; barely two
coaches. Got like a pound of weight in it, at that.
Going to try some Bull Frog Snott.
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Posted - April 05 2015 : 8:38:42 PM
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My Amtrak FP40H pulls like a wuss; barely two
coaches. Got like a pound of weight in it, at that.
Going to try some Bull Frog Snott.
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Posted - April 06 2015 : 11:12:23 AM
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quote:
Yes, I think have one of those, I think it's a Bachmann, in the silver and purple colors
Originally posted by AMC_Gremlin_GTÂ -Â March 28 2015Â :Â 10:14:43 PM
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Bachmann did make an MBTA F40PH in the Spectrum line; it was based off the early 80s MBTA F40PH paint scheme:
I have a Life-Like MBTA F40PH painted like that, too.
Walthers is making an MBTA F40PH as well, in their Trainline series, but it has the late 80s paint scheme:
The MBTA is planning to phase out these older F40PHs and GP40MCs, with their new HSP46 locomotives (they've gotten a few more now.)
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