CHICAGO — This morning, Amtrak Hiawatha train No. 329 departed Chicago Union Station for Milwaukee behind a new SC-44 Charger locomotive, No. 4620. This is the first solo revenue trip for the Illinois Department of Transportation’s SC-44 locomotives since arriving in the Windy City this spring. This locomotive and its counterparts are owned by a consortium of states.
IDTX Nos. 4611 and 4604 were the first to arrive in Chicago from Seattle in March following several months of testing in the Pacific Northwest. Since then, many additional Chargers have arrived, with many testing on various routes out of the Chicago area.
The Siemens SC-44 order encompasses 69 locomotives built for the Departments of Transportation in Illinois, California, Michigan, Missouri, Washington, Wisconsin, and Maryland. The 33 SC-44s ordered by Illinois will be used on the state sponsored trains into and out of Amtrak’s Chicago hub.
I go to the mariners game all the time which is right next to Amtrak maintenance in Seattle. There has been a line of new locomotives for the last two months yet these appear to be the first ones in service and I have not seen any in operation here in Washington State. I haven’t seen any testing.
Notice that the trailing “gelded” F40PH on the rear is the Veterans Unit, itself a very snazzy looking engine.
I think that is the best looking new locomotive to come along in a long time. I really like watching the video.
Great video and great looking locomotives!
I agree with George Benson, they do look good. But they don’t hold a candle to slant-nose E-units. 😉
These new locomotives from Siemens are right on schedule, but the new passenger cars from Nippon Sharyo are way behind schedule. The passenger car order was to be completed by the end of September 2017, but so far, none have been delivered.