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Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 3:59 pm
by NS3322
I did not see this one coming. Looks like MSO will once again have a new parent company (if approved):
https://patriotrail.com/media/patriot-r ... customers/
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 4:47 pm
by penn central
And the ND&W things are gonna get interesting.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 5:21 pm
by SD80MAC
Bye-bye GP9s, GP16s, and GP20s.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 5:26 pm
by Chip
SD80MAC wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 5:21 pm
Bye-bye GP9s, GP16s, and GP20s.
As much as I love seeing the vintage power still in action it's time to get some newer, more efficient power on some of these short lines whenever it's feasible.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:34 am
by jrgerber
What types of locomotive power does Patriot Rail use?
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:36 am
by jrgerber
More consolidation should lead to lower overall corporate overhead. I assume the equity funds that own Pioneer are cashing out. They did a solid job of moving Pioneer into a safer more modern shortline company.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:13 am
by SD80MAC
jrgerber wrote: ↑Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:34 am
What types of locomotive power does Patriot Rail use?
GP15s, GP38s, SD40s etc.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 10:23 am
by NS3322
SD80MAC wrote: ↑Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:13 am
jrgerber wrote: ↑Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:34 am
What types of locomotive power does Patriot Rail use?
GP15s, GP38s, SD40s etc.
They do operate GP9s on the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific (3) and the Utah Central Railway (1).
SW1500s on the Columbia & Cowlitz Railway (3), Kingman Terminal Railroad (2), and Tennessee Southern (1).
MP15ACs on the Golden Triangle Railroad and Salt Lake (1), Garfield and Western Railway (1).
MP15DCs on the Merced County Central Valley Railroad (1) and Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railway (1).
GP39-2s on the Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railway (1), Georgia Northeastern (1), and Utah Central Railway (1).
GP9u on the Tennessee Southern (1).
A GP9R, GP10, and a GP18 are used for power on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad.
Patriot leases power from FTRL as well.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 10:33 am
by jrgerber
Thanks for the replies on Patriots motive power.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 4:20 pm
by LansingRailFan
Prices are very high right now for shortlines. Great time to sell.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:04 pm
by joeyuboats
This may be a dumb question, but---why would the new company get rid of all the older locos? I am aware that newer ones may be more fuel efficient, but how much more? I also would think that even with parts availability possibly getting poor for the older locos, that they are paid for and working, so why go into debt to buy/lease newer ones? I am sure that somewhere Pioneer has a stash of parts, or locos that can be cannibalize to keep the better ones in service.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 7:33 pm
by SD80MAC
567 parts are getting hard to source and are only going to get harder and more expensive in the future. Better to get rid of all of the museum pieces.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 5:21 pm
by MQT1223
joeyuboats wrote: ↑Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:04 pm
This may be a dumb question, but---why would the new company get rid of all the older locos? I am aware that newer ones may be more fuel efficient, but how much more? I also would think that even with parts availability possibly getting poor for the older locos, that they are paid for and working, so why go into debt to buy/lease newer ones? I am sure that somewhere Pioneer has a stash of parts, or locos that can be cannibalize to keep the better ones in service.
When the bulk of your fleet dates from the 40's and 50's and even some creep up into the 30's you are bound to have more issues then just parts becoming a problem. Gotta think that an early GP7/9, even rebuilt into those GP16's is working far longer then it was probably intended for. At the core of that you have a 65-80 year old locomotive. You can only rebuild something so many times. Some of Pioneer's really old end cab switchers are from the late 30's... eventually parts won't be the issue as much as integrity.
I'm sure Class 1 railroads are going to face the same issue here soon, with SD40's, GP38's and GP40's being from the 60's and 70's now hitting the half century mark and some being rebuilt for the second or third time.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 6:22 pm
by NS3322
MQT1223 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 11, 2022 5:21 pm
Some of Pioneer's really old end cab switchers are from the late 30's... eventually parts won't be the issue as much as integrity.
The oldest unit on their roster is an NW2R (PREX 109) built in 1939. Everything else is 1945+, but most of the fleet is from the 1950s and 1960s.
Here is a better age breakdown of the roster:
1930s: 1
1940s: 4
1950s: 41
1960s: 21
1970s: 2
1980s: 0
1990s: 0
2000s: 3 (GP15Ds & GP20Ds)
Locomotive model breakdown:
CF7: 2
F7A: 2
GP8: 7
GP9: 10
GP9RM: 1
GP10: 3
GP15D: 1
GP16: 15
GP20/GP20u: 23
GP20D: 2
NW2/NW2R: 2
SW8: 1
SW9: 1
SW1200RS: 2
SW1300: 1
SW1500: 2
*With all of the new changes to Pioneer some of this info may be incorrect. Please let me know if I am missing anything.
I've been trying to keep this page updated regularly:
https://railroadfan.com/wiki/index.php/ ... nes_Roster
* Updated to reflect that the sole GP7R was sold in 2019.
Re: Patriot Rail to acquire Pioneer Lines
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 9:37 pm
by NS3322
