Elected officials, rail representatives, and North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper gathered at the agency’s locomotive and railcar maintenance facility in Raleigh this week to annoint two refurbished locomotives that will soon enter revenue service.
NCDOT No. 1871 and No. 1984, both EMD F59PHs, were originally built in 1990 for GO Transit. As part of the state’s federally funded Piedmont improvement program, the locomotives were completely rebuilt mechanically and electrically. In addition, the 3,000-horsepower engines were also upgraded to environmental Tier 0+ emission standards.
Norfolk Southern’s Juniata shops in Altoona, Pa., handled all rebuild work for the locomotives. The agency purchased the units for $2.15 million, an investment the agency says is far less than the $6 million to $7 million for a comparable new passenger locomotive.
The locomotives will provide motive power to passenger trains running between Raleigh and Charlotte on tracks also used by Norfolk Southern.
See the news release online.
Great to see these good looking locomotives!
Now those are some serious snow plows!
I agree with Jim Norton. Fast, sleek high speed trains are great, but what most regions need are clean, modern trains that run on schedule and frequently.
Good news. These new locomotives will be needed when a 3rd daily Piedmont RT is added sometime in the next year.
What is the deciding factor for if these are rebuilt or converted to NPCU? I know they have been gutting some of their F59s as cab control units.
North Carolina is a model for passenger rail nation wide.