While tripping merrily through the mail, Bob Wallace was overheard
 AH>Here in New Zealand we have a fleet of 48 GE u-bangers, all of which are 
in
 AH>service. These are approaching 25 years old, and are still going strong.
 AH>I really dont know why the americans get rid of locos that are only 25-30
 AH>years old when they have good life left in them.......
 AH>ahh well,..
 BW> 
 BW> Without going into any discussion of the latest in technology going
 BW> into American locomotives currently, how efficient are those engines
 BW> now 25-30 years old in comparison with those less than, say, ten years?
A lot of the reason has to do with the tax laws re: depreciation etc, also,
the majority of locomotives on US railroads are leased rather than owned,
giving advantages to disposing of them before the end of their useful life.
It's more complicated than I can understand though.
Don
... The light at the end of the tunnel is a train coming this way.
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