An F Unit From That Railroad

I know of a few railfans who dislike a certain railroad that was once the largest railroad in the United States, had the slogan “Standard Railroad of the World,” and had its headquarters in Philadelphia.

It merged in 1968 with its arch rival, which was known for lighting stripes and a water level route.

It is early in 1968 after that merger was consummated on Feb. 1 and an FP7 passenger unit of one of the merger partners is reposing in a rail yard.

The photograph isn’t sure where he made this image, but it might have been in Cleveland.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Charger Locomotives Set for Testing

The first Charger passenger locomotives have been sent to Colorado for testing.

Two SC-44 diesels built by Siemens are being tested at TTCI’s Pueblo facility.

The locomotives are part of an order of 32 being built under a $228 contract for use on Amtrak corridor routes in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, California and Washington state.

The Chargers can operate at up to 125 mph and come with a Cummins QSK95 prime mover rated at 4,400 horsepower.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is expected to take delivery of the first Chargers in December.

The units are being assembled in Sacramento, California.

Siemens is also building additional Chargers for use in Maryland and Florida. The Chargers are compliant with EPA Tier 4 emission standards.

Cummins Delivers Diesel to be Used in Passenger Locomotives Being Built by Siemens in California

A diesel locomotive to be used in locomotives being built for Midwest, California, Florida and Washington state passenger service has been shipped to the factory assembling the locomotives.

Cummns Inc. said the first production 95-liter, 16-cylinder QSK95 engine built to a rail specification has been received at the Siemens plant in Sacramento, California, that is assembling the Charger locomotives.

The engine is rated at 4,400 hp (3,281 kW). Siemens is building the locomotives as part of a 35-unit order placed by the departments of transportation of Illinois, California, Michigan, Missouri and Washington.

The Charger locomotives will also power the trainsets for All Aboard Florida.

Cummins said that the QSK95 can support a top locomotive speed of 125 mph, which achieves the highest output of any 16-cylinder high-speed diesel

The company said that the combination of its Modular Common Rail Fuel System with quad-turbocharging allows the engine to deliver reduced noise and good response in a smaller footprint than medium-speed diesels traditionally used in locomotives.

The engine is compliant with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier 4 emission standards.