"Slugs!" That's what one of my aunts would say when a less polite expletive was warranted. That could have been what I was thinking when I caught this shot of power pushing cars over the hump at Selkirk yard in June of 2005. CSX fans might not think such things but pre-merger fans would. I'm actually talking pre-Conrail merger in 1976. This is the 3rd paint scheme I've seen on these units, and fourth on their types.
One of the few things Penn Central did right was to continue to develop uses for the modern Selkirk yard, then known as "Perlman Yard". It was envisioned by the New York Central and it's leader Alfred E. Perlman in the 1960's to streamline operations. I guess it was inevitable given the shrinking traffic of the times. A regional yard such as this made too much sense to ignore. The yard allowed traffic flow efficiencies for the whole region, reduced many smaller yards and even affected other railroads once the PC got started. It seems to have been a good long-term move and probably was a bit shaky when the owner was the largest bankrupt company in the country to date. Conrail naturally enhanced the place and relied on it to further rationalize operations elsewhere. Conrail could bypass the entire Anthracite region with east-west traffic thanks to places like this. Located where the Boston line splits off the old NYC West Shore line, it is quite a significant place for New England railfans.
The main thing to lament, and the reason for the post, is the remnants of the Alco RSD-12's that were once used in the yards for constant low speed heavy shoving. The six axles provided good traction and medium horsepower deterred slipping. PRR got a bunch of these brutes for yard work. Some of them were eventually chopped down into slugs to work with their EMD counterparts, often SD38's. Of course, even the old brutes once hauled around even older slugs or boosters to add tractive effort. At least the distinctive notch nose was left as a reminder of sorts. I'm sure other items like the frame, which really doesn't have many components to wear out regularly, are still left over. Conrail replaced the Alco trucks with EMD's, probably wisely. The prime mover of course is long gone, as is the cab and other associated gear. A slug doesn't have to look like much, it just has to hold the traction motors on the rails.
It's probably fitting that some remnant of Alco remain at Selkirk since the old Alco plant was just up the road in Schenectady. Maybe someone thought of that. Maybe not.
Before you get too involved with the slug, how about SD38's? They could be a candidate for slug duty. Penn Central and Conrail saved those for hump yard service like the RSD-12's and I've seen them at Conway, Pitairn, Buckeye and other yards around the system. With their more powerful cousins the SD40-2 disappearing, these too may go sooner than we'd like. They are already gone in the photo. They are getting up there in age, my guess is near 40 years. Here they once worked for their latest owner, and I can remember them doing the same thing 32 years ago when I caught my first photo of a PC black one at Pitcairn. Day in and day out, pushing cars over the hump. Sounds kind of dull when you think about it, but it also seems like a lot of work to expect out of any machine.
I heard NS is thinking about retiring their SD38's. At least we saw a blue one working the Conway hump last summer before they disappeared. Can you say; "six axle low-emission hybrid"? I wonder if those new-fangled rigs will last 30+ years.
BC
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