Cote d'Ivoire: New locomotives

[stuartrayner]

While visiting Abidjan last month spotted an ex SAR 33 class working in the docks. But things are looking up for the 1m gauge national rail system which runs inland to Burkina Faso as this article from UIC wed site clearly indicates. I presume the locos are from China (?)

Ivory Coast: Sitarail procures two powerful new locomotives
Tuesday 20 April 2010

At a ceremony last week, Transport Ministers Albert Flindé (Ivory Coast) and Gilbert Ouédraogo (Burkina Faso) and the heads of Bolloré Africa Logistics, which owns Sitarail Group, inaugurated two high-performance GT26 3300-HP locomotives.

“The purchase of these new locomotives marks the beginning of a fresh boost for Sitarail in the transport of goods and passengers”, Minister Albert Flindé was pleased to announce, whilst reiterating that in 1994 the company acquired rail transport operations between the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. For him, the new acquisition will further boost the significance of the exciting rail adventure between the two countries. He subsequently reminded listeners that the priorities of the railways were, among others, to renew hauled stock and meet the challenge of strong, profitable and sustainable growth for all. “We must strive to make this railway the future of our nations”, urged Mr Flindé.

Shortly before, his Burkinabe counterpart Gilbert Noël Ouédraogo had acknowledged the “partnership between our States and Sitarail, which strives to develop the railways in the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso”. Bolloré Africa Logistics’ CEO Mr Dominique Lafont pointed out that Bolloré’s strength stems from its meshing strategy in Africa. According to him, Abidjan is a strategic corridor, and Sitarail its backbone. Given that, he says, “the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso combined represent 40% of Bolloré’s 20 000 staff in 40 countries.”

Finally, Executive Board Chairman Mr Lanciné Diawara unveiled that the two locomotives required 2.9 billion CFA francs’ worth of financing. He also announced that the rail company’s new investment plan involves injecting 73 billion CFA francs towards improving track and another 60 billion CFA francs towards renewing stock, with priority given to passenger services.

[John Ashworth]

Thanks, Stuart, and welcome to the forum - your first post, I believe. Any railway news from other parts of Africa is always welcome.

[Ian Roberts]

Found on a Burkino Fasso Government page and translated by Google translate from the original French with some logical corrections to the translations:

"Technical details of GT-26

Made in 11 months by the National Railway Equipment Company (NREC) located in Illinois in the United States on special order of SITARAIL, the two GT-26 locomotives, with a cost of 2.9 billion F CFA come as reinforcement to the twenty locomotives CC 2200 (or GT 22) that are already at work on SITARAIL. They have a power of 3300 horsepower and a towing capacity of 2,600 tons against 1250 T for old locomotives CC 2200. At a height of 4, 05 m, a length of 18, 55 m and a width of 2.8 m, the GT-26 has a weight of 102 tons.

The major innovation with these machines is that they are equipped with a computer called "NFORCE" that controls the slipping and monitors the operation of all major items (diesel engine, compressor, traction motors, alternators). Band TELOC [Editor's note: responsible for recording the route mileage and the instantaneous speed of the locomotive, the train is that the black box is the airplane] is now digitized these models. The reservoir of the GT-26 is a veritable walking tank with a capacity of 7000 liters of fuel."

This is the old General Motors EMD division sold off to National Railway equipment so, for a change, not Chinese.

[stuartrayner]

Thanks for clarifying that...if I had known it was US iron I think I would have summed up the courage to go poke around and see if I could find/photo one!

[Mel Turner]

These 2 locomotives were actually part of an order for 4 placed with NREC late 2008/early 2009 by Bolloré Africa Logistics.

Camrail CC3301-2
Sitarail CC33201-2

It is not known if the frames were new fabrication, or GT26C ex Croatia. Assembly was at Mount Vernon in the USA. Cab and hoods new, balance of parts refurbished. Similar mix to your 39-200's.

NREC has no financial connection to EMD. EMD is now a wholey owned division of NREC's competitor Progress Rail Services, a 100% owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. In the past NREC has built locomotives under subcontract for EMD, as have MPI and Standard Steel among several other fabricators in North America and Mexico. NFORCE is NREC's late entry clone of WABCO's Q-Tron, ZTR, Quantum, etc., this type of control is now almost in the commodity class.

I had a close look at FCAB 1443/1444 in Antofagasta in April (NREC 2009 rebuilt G22C), from photos the cabs on the West African units look like they were also fabricated off the same set of drawings, as those on the Chileans. NREC will have obsolete GM drawings on file, and perhaps jigs, left over from their days as a contractor. NREC has also built SD50 clones for Saudi Arabia which are basically similar (if you discount the camel hump air filter), plus their E-Series, which use the same cab with a sloping front.