SILVIS, Ill. —Chicago commuter railroad Metra is donating one of the two remaining historic F40C commuter locomotives to Railroading Heritage of Midwest America. Built in 1974, Metra No. 611 spent its entire service life hauling commuter trains on Milwaukee Road lines west and northwest of Chicago Union Station. It is currently in transit from Chicago to RRHMA’s facility in Silvis.
“Metra has a deep appreciation for its history, and we are grateful they have chosen RRHMA to receive this unique locomotive,” said RRHMA President Steve Sandberg. “Our collection includes Milwaukee Road steam locomotive No. 261, along with several Milwaukee Road passenger cars, including a Skytop observation car, Super Dome, and sleeping car. Adding this locomotive — one that also once wore Milwaukee Road lettering — advances our mission of preserving significant artifacts of Midwestern railroading.”
Only 15 F40C locomotives were built by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division in 1974. They were purchased for use on Milwaukee Road commuter services operating from Chicago Union Station to Elgin and Fox Lake, Ill., with one round trip continuing west to Walworth, Wis.
The service was subsidized by two local agencies — the North West Suburban Mass Transit District and the North Suburban Mass Transit District — which funded the acquisition of the locomotives. They were numbered 40–54 on the Milwaukee Road.
When Metra was created in 1984, all 15 locomotives were transferred to the new agency and renumbered 600–614. They continued to operate on the former Milwaukee Road commuter lines until being replaced by newer equipment in 2003–2004. All but two — Nos. 611 and 614 — were eventually scrapped.
The two survivors briefly returned to service between 2009 and 2012 before being placed in storage. Metra later donated No. 614 to the Illinois Railway Museum [see “Metra donates F40C …,” Trains.com, Feb. 21, 2025].
RRHMA plans to eventually return No. 611 to operating condition at its Silvis, Ill., shop facility, where it is currently rebuilding Union Pacific steam locomotives 4-6-6-4 Challenger No. 3985 and 2-10-2 No. 5511.
The locomotive will be on display at RRHMA’s Open House at Silvis on April 25. The organization is seeking funds to begin restoration of 611. For more information or to make a donation, visit the RRHMA website.
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It seems a second adventurous life awaits this veteran 3200 hp EMD F40C loco on the rails and that’s fantastic.
A meaningful gesture from Metra… Note that METX #611 was built as MILW #51 and named “Village of Ontarioville.”