M&ET had their traffic change - the cars kept getting heavier, and there was a regular move of a unit train across from the UP to their former Valley Lift facility which is now a transload. The 70 tons were just getting too old (50+ years) and too small, a couple SW1500s had already been purchased. It was originally thought that all the 70 tons had to be rendered inoperable as part of the use of clean air monies, but this proved to be false. M&ET scrapped several 70 tons - two of which had been wrecked (including the 606, former SP 5114, originally the second GE 70 ton demonstrator) and the former WCTU/SP 5117 they had never used. All the parts and remaining operable engines ended up being sold to a dealer, except the 600 which M&ET retained for historical reasons. The 613, originally SP 5119, was purchased by the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum at Campo, CA. It is operable and used on occasion, as time and funds allow it will be returned to SP 5119 as it was leased to the SD&AE most of its life on the SP, so it has in effect returned home.

GE 70 tons are scrapped on a regular basis and are getting rare. The three(?) remaining former Prescott & Northwestern engines were finally scrapped a few years ago. I'm not sure how many are still operable, much less with Cooper-Bessemer engines. The only remaining 70 ton in non tourist/museum operation I can think of in the west is one on the San Luis Central which is their back up engine.