On June 16, 1990, Santa Fe Railway GP60M No. 114 leads a westbound intermodal train near Ethel, Mo. These locomotives were originally purchased for intermodal service and have since been transitioned by the railroad to switching duties.
Tom Danneman
Q I’m a fan of BNSF Railway and have seen their ex-Santa Fe GP60Ms used in yard service in Southern California. Did Santa Fe use them for intermodal service? Were there any modifications that BNSF made for yard service? — Matt Brozowski, Germantown, Wis.
A The Santa Fe did originally use the GP60Ms in intermodal service. They were later used in various types of through-freight service. Today the locomotives are used in switch and local service. According to BNSF Railway, the “Desk Top” control console arrangement was modified with the conventional “AAR Clean Cab” control stand with controls mounted to the left of the engineer. — David Lustig
William,
Um, your question has nothing to do with GP60’s, but to answer your question about 2 men in the cab, I think it may have something to do with the greater danger to far more people. A truck has a load that is about 1/3rd of one freight car, so a 1-mile long freight is something like 250+ fully loaded trucks…and it takes a mile to stop. That’s a lot of mass rolling along for a long way. If we’re talking passengers, there could be several hundred more lives at risk on board a train vs. a bus.
Why are we considering two person crews on locomotives but nothing is said about the cabs of heavy truck?