CHICAGO – Metra’s Chicago & North Western-inspired heritage unit, F59PHI No. 90, made its inaugural run on the UP-NW line on Wednesday. The train was a non-revenue move from Chicago to Crystal Lake and return. After the run, the cars were put away at the California Avenue yard, along with Illinois commemorative locomotive No. 402, while No. 90 headed back to the shop. The video shows the train accelerating away from the Norwood Park station after making a brief stop.
No. 90, a former Amtrak unit, was released Aug. 18 from the commuter railroad’s paint shop. The design incorporates elements of C&NW’s paint scheme worn on early passenger diesel locomotives such as EMD’s E6, Alco’s DL-109, and Fairbanks-Morse “Erie Built” units. It is the first of Metra’s 21 F59PHIs to be selected for a heritage paint scheme.
Previous heritage units include F40PHM-2 No. 211, honoring the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, released in October 2019; MP36 No. 405, released in early 2019 in Milwaukee Road-inspired paint; and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific-inspired MP36 No. 425, which debuted in January 2018.
