Railroad Trains for the Soul: New Amtrak Locomotives
Earlier this month, Trains Magazine reported that Amtrak is introducing a new diesel-electric locomotive model as a new face of long-distance travel. It will also unveil a new standard paint scheme as well as a commemorative scheme in honor of the agency's upcoming 50th anniversary. When it comes to previous passenger diesels, the early 2000's considerably marked the last time Amtrak purchased locomotives from American builders. The types included the Electro-Motive F59PHI for corridor services and the General Electric P42DC GENESIS primarily for long-distance services.
By early 2002, new crashworthiness and exhaust emissions standards resulted to the end of building passenger diesel locomotives in their existing designs. For companies like EMD and GE, which have been manufacturing numerous diesels predominantly for freight duty, it can be difficult and expensive to engineer a modern passenger locomotive compliant to those requirements. After more than a decade of silence, though, EMD returned to the passenger duty market by designing an AC traction diesel with a Caterpillar prime mover in preparation for the Tier 4 emissions standards by 2015. This led to the introduction of the F125 model, which has been built solely for commuter rail operation on Metrolink in Southern California, to date.
On the other hand, Amtrak decided to choose German builder Siemens for a custom design of a Tier 4-compliant passenger locomotive, and Siemens began production of the 4,400-horsepower SC-44 Charger. The agency began operation of the Charger initially for corridor services, including Amtrak California, Pacific Surfliner, Cascades, and Amtrak Midwest. The acquisition of these units was funded by the states of California, Washington, and Illinois. The SC-44 Chargers had replaced the EMD F59 diesels, which found a new career in Chicago's Metra commuter rail system. A similar locomotive was recently planned to standardize Amtrak's fleet of units built by Siemens. It is called the ALC-42 for long-distance services, and it will produce the same power output as in the GE P42 while providing the latest technology and achieving greater fuel efficiency.
While the Siemens ALC-42 is currently in the works, it will be a farewell to the 1990's-era GE GENESIS series, which has been very common on Amtrak's roster but relatively unusual for a freight locomotive builder. The P42 was GE's last passenger diesel model, and it will certainly become an important piece of history of the days when the government-owned company purchased locomotives from an American manufacturer. Otherwise, the new Siemens diesel will be an exciting way to celebrate Amtrak's age of a half-century in 2021!
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Photo credit: Amtrak
