For those that care.

The 324 is now a turbo unit and was converted back to a turbo unit about 8-years ago. The reason it threw oil as it was equipped with the wrong compression pistons. When you de-turbo a unit the compression is to low for a roots blown system to work correctly and results in souping out the stack.

This locomotive was taken out of the lease deadline at WRIX as a favor to EWG after they had an unfortunate accident with the 1617. We never took it through the shop and simply got it running as fast as possible to help a good customer.

If SP5103 would like to swing by the office we can provide him with the daily inspection report for the last 3 year showing an average availability rate of appx 95%. No where in the mechanical records does it reflect it being a lemon locomotive. I would like to find out how long ago you worked for the DMVW and if you would provide me your name I would like to check into if you are still working there or your are retired. It puzzles me as to why someone would disseminate this kind of information without checking the current facts.

IN FACT -- your experience with this locomotive dates to 9 to 12 years ago. Western Rail has a good reputation out there for supplying good locomotives and does not need this kind of post without checking the facts.

The turbo in it is almost new. The wheels are almost new. The 2-4-6-8 throttle problem is probably an interlock or a stuck relay in the MU system which can be easily repaired and will be addressed when the EWG has time to stop using the locomotive so it can be looked at. Remember some problems manifest themselves when a railroad does not have a daily mechanic to fix things and have to call in help. Many railroads in the US are like this and sometimes it delays service work on a locomotive. In addition remember the locomotive has been stored for 7-months and bugs need to be worked out when you first put a locomotive back into service.

Thank you for your consideration and my friend Bruce for bringing this to my attention.

Todd Havens
President
Western Rail, Inc.