NSP FOLDS TO EPA, FORCED TO SEND CHERISHED EMD LOCOMOTIVES TO DEADLINE The NSP, well known for using old EMDs for everyday operations, has announced they have to send many of their cherished units to deadlines. The NSP released a statement recently, which says, “Today, the NSP has decided to make a choice for the better of the railroad, at the expense of our cherished SD45s, SD40T-2s, and SD45T-2s. The EPA has recently stated that if we don’t end the use of many of our older locomotives, they would seize and scrap them. To avoid this, we will be putting the units in our large Tucson, Hurricane, and San Bernadino storage lines, and some preserved in our heritage program and museum.” The locomotives that will be stored will be: SD45 8925-9150 SD45T-2 9171-9175, 9177-9275 SD40T-2 8280-8330 SD60M 5540-5549 SDP45 3201-3209 F45 2045 SD45R 1521-1522 SD45X 9502 This comes as a surprise, as the NSP uses many tier 3, tier 4, and battery electric units. Due to this, the NSP will be working with the EPA to try and get some of these units out of the deadline. The EPA has also shut down NSP’s 645 production, unless a unit needs it replaced. They will however let NSP continue producing parts for it. The NSP is also trying to get 9502 out of this, since it’s part of the heritage program, but for now, 9502 will be placed in the NSPRRM. 9171-9175 will also be stored adjacent to the museum, which will classified be museum grounds.
