CSX Transportation opened the year, painting ES44AH No. 1776 for the U.S. military and veterans; ES44AH No. 911 for fire fighters and first responders and ES44AH No. 3194 for police and law enforcement. The Class I railroad — which had only placed decals on the noses of engines in recent years — also repainted and donated a Chesapeake & Ohio-painted caboose. And supposedly, these are the first of others to come.
On the East Coast, NJ Transit unveiled three locomotives in heritage paint: GP40PH-2 No. 4109, repainted to resemble a Central Railroad of New Jersey livery; Bombardier ALP-46A No. 4636, an electric locomotive painted into a Pennsylvania Railroad scheme; and dual-mode Bombardier ALP-45DP No. 4519, with an Erie-Lackawanna paint scheme. These accompanied six Bombardier bi-level coaches wrapped for CJN, Conrail, E-L, Pennsy, the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Line, and the NJ Department of Transportation.
In the Midwest, the Wisconsin Great Northern, repainted its SW600 No. 1280 into a Chicago & North Western scheme, while Chicago’s Metra painted MP36PH-3S No. 405 in bold orange and chocolate Milwaukee Road colors in addition to painting F40PHM-2 No. 211 in Chicago, Burlington & Quincy colors.
Union Pacific added to its commemorative roster this year with Employee Pride Locomotive SD70ACE No. 1111.
And if that’s not enough, Canadian Pacific announced that it will paint 10 new SD70ACU units in classic CP maroon-and-gray paint in addition to five more SD70s painted to honor U.S. and Canadian militaries.
Did we miss one? If so, let us know. It’s been a heck of a year for pretty locomotives.
Additional research on units done at https://www.heritageunits.com/
I am still waiting for BNSF to do something, would love to see Frisco again.
MARY – Surely BNSF would do better than METRA’s Burlington retro. METRS’s Burlington retro is the only “fail” among many glorious successes in the nationwide retro movement.
Which Great Northern would you rather see, the old green and orange, or the mod blue black and white?
Of course the picture caption makes no reference to the location being old Milw. Rd. nor can one expect an “heritage scheme” in maroon and orange.