No. 405 makes it debut on Jan. 4.
Metra
CHICAGO – Chicago area commuter railroad Metra is expected release newly painted Milwaukee Road heritage unit No. 405 for revenue service on Thursday, a source close to the railroad tells Trains News Wire. The locomotive is tentatively assigned to Metra train No. 2119 departing Chicago at 1:35 p.m. and arriving Grayslake at 2:56 p.m. It will return on train No. 2142 departing Grayslake at 3:58 p.m. and arriving Chicago at 5:10 p.m.
Metra announced the locomotive, it’s second in heritage colors, on Jan. 4. The Boise-built MP36 locomotive was recently overhauled by Metra and was scheduled to receive a new coat of paint as part of the rebuild process.
The commuter carrier operates two former Milwaukee Road routes: Chicago to Fox Lake and Chicago to Elgin (Big Timber). With the locomotive based out of Metra’s Western Avenue shops, a former Milwaukee Road facility, No. 405 will see plenty of service on the two former Milwaukee Road routes.
Metra’s first heritage locomotive was Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific-inspired MP36 No. 425 which debuted in January 2018. Locomotive No. 425 was repainted to honor Metra’s outgoing CEO Don Orseno who began his career on the Rock Island in 1974.
Love it!
Looks great!
Towards the end of MR, it did have a yellow scheme also (On the commuter hauling) locomotives, Remember? I do because I would see them when I was growing up
Those interested in the Milw. Rd. are encouraged to join the Milw. Rd. Hist. Asso.(MRHA), which publishes an outstanding quarterly magazine edited by Mike Schafer. Membership is nominal in cost and the organization sponsors interesting annual meetings and funds various restoration projects, including a major project at the IRM.
As to the Milwaukee’s paint schemes…. sometime in late 1954 or early 1955, the UP grew unhappy with the C&NW’s Chi-Omaha main and proposed to switch over to the Road, which thereupon upgraded its Chi-Omaha line, much of which had been downgraded and single-tracked during the Great Depression. Subsequently, the Milwaukee and UP began pooling rolling stock and motive power for the “Cities” trains, and the Milw. began the systemwide conversion of all passenger equipment to the UP Armour yellow and grey scheme, a process which took some years. The afternoon parade of the “Cities” trains westbound on the Milw. out of CUS is well documented before “the fall.”
Looks great, it would be nice to see one of their newly acquired Ex Amtrak F59PHIs in a heritage paint scheme as well.
E9 36A in same yellow/ grey paint scheme on static display in Deer Lodge Mt. also.
Gentlemen (below): Question, didn’t MILW passenger yellow show up to match UP rolling stock when UP trains moved onto MILW? I may be wrong, I guess I just conjured that up. Is that the case?
The Milwaukee Road E9s were in passenger yellow and gray until retirement. The two preserved units, 33C and 37A, at the Illinois Railway Museum are in this scheme.
The Milwaukee Road was the last railroad with separate freight (orange/black) and passenger (yellow/gray) passenger paint schemes. The passenger scheme outlasted the railroad.