The song 'Everything Old is New Again' best describes railroads' push to breathe new life into outdated locomotives.Hundreds of decades-old units are being transformed into modern and more efficient motive power through remanufacturing efforts or overhauls. Railroads are turning to locomotive shops to remanufacture units,which can improve performance and extend ser- vice life by 15 to 20 years,says Jim Wurtz,vice president of marketing and sales for National Railway Equipment Co.(NREC),which builds and remanufactures locomotives.The head-to-toe makeovers call for stripping all components and subsystems,rewiring the unit,making structural repairs and upgrading the cab. 'When we remanufacture a locomotive,we disassemble it to the frame,' says Wurtz. During the remanufacturing process, NREC might install its NFORCE module-which features excitation and transition control,traction motor management and diagnostic tools-to improve a locomotive's reliability and adhesion,or replace the brake system with a modern electronic one,he says.
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