SILVIS, Ill. — Santa Fe No. 537 sparkled in the paint booth of the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America shops during a Friday night dinner and unveiling of the repainted GE B40-8W at the former Rock Island Railroad Silvis Locomotive Shops.
The RRHMA hosted its “Trains & Tractors” event on Friday and Saturday, October 18-19, at the former shop facility.
BNSF Railway donated No. 537 in June 2023 [see “BNSF donates locomotive …,” Trains News Wire, June 214, 2023]. Restoration work soon began on the former “Super Fleet” diesel, built in October 1990 and delivered in the railroad’s classic Warbonnet paint scheme.
Alex Beams, RRHMA chief mechanical officer, said the paperwork that came with the locomotive indicated it was bad ordered and stored with a non-functioning air compressor. The first work was to replace the batteries, rotted radiator hoses, and two cab windows. The engine room was power washed and power assemblies checked. The locomotive was then started, and traction motor cables reattached.
Once the engine proved to be mechanically sound, work began on restoration of the body. Welder-fabricator Scott Dolanc did most of the bodywork.
The battery boxes which were rotted away, were refabricated by Dolanc.
“We used a lot of body filler and replaced a lot of metal which was rotted through,” Beams said. “It was a big project, and it took a lot longer than I anticipated. We wanted to get it right, and it’s not exactly an easy paint scheme.” BNSF supplied original blueprints for the design, but the warbonnet “cigar band” nose-logo drawing was missing.
Dolanc went to work, asking friends across the BNSF system to measure and photograph other B40-8Ws in storage lines. Soon, Beams had dozens of photographs to choose from and matched dimensions. ‘’The large Santa Fe on the side of the loco was easy,” said Dolanc. National Railway Equipment, which closed its Silvis operation, still has several locomotives stored there, including one of the original Santa Fe SD40s. “We just measured the lettering,” Dolanc said, “and matched it for the vinyl letters.”
Walcott Collision of nearby Walcott, Iowa, began preparation for the repaint by sandblasting the entire locomotive. It followed that with a primer coat, used Imron paint for the Santa Fe scheme, then painted clear coats, lightly sanding between the three coats, said Beams.
A detail that many people would overlook was the restoration of the original GE builder’s plates. “When I got them, they were tarnished, worn, and bent,” Dolanc said. “I used 8000-grit, ultra-fine sandpaper on the stainless steel. I hand-masked the GE logo and painted it with Imron.”
RRHMA President Steve Sandberg is pleased with the finished product: “Warbonnet, there was never any question, that’s what God intended it to be,’’ he said, thanking employees, volunteers, and the community for the work and support for the project.
Dolanc looked at No. 537 as it rolled into the morning sun on Saturday morning, and said, “I feel like a proud parent.”
I remember seeing No. 537 when it was was brand new coming through Chillicothe, Illinois. The awful merger with Burlington Northern was only five years away.
The Santa Fe Warbonnet was one of my favorite liveries. Great job RRMHA!
Hello question : will RRHMA or other train museums can preserve an ATSF dash 9 or dash 8-40CW?
It is good to see one of these handsome machines looking factory-fresh again.