The two locomotives, SDP40F No. 644 and F40PHR No. 231, arrived in Las Vegas on Friday Ca. No. 644 was built in August 1974 and sold to Atchison, Topeka & Santa, which regeared it for freight service in 1984. No. 231 was built in 1977 and retired in 2001. Both were acquired for preservation in 2002 by Dynamic Rail Preservation Inc., also known as Dynarail, a 501c3 preservation organization. Dynarail started in Portland, Ore., associated with the Brooklyn Roundhouse and its steam preservation/restoration groups. As all organizations at Brooklyn were forced to move when the roundhouse was torn down and the new Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation restoration facility was created with less track
space, Dynarail moved its locomotives to Ogden Union Station for display along
with other historic equipment.
After Ogden officials re-assumed management of the station and made plans to renovate the station, they requested the removal of the rolling stock. Dynamic Rail then initiated discussions with the Nevada State Railroad Museum in early 2018. The museum includes nearly five miles of a former Union Pacific branch, formerly serving Boulder City and supporting the 1930s construction of Hoover Dam. The new arrangement will allow for
the loan of the locomotives for display, with shop access for restoration and occasional operation. Both locomotives are in near-operable condition, requiring routine maintenance to return to serviceable condition.
NSRM Director Randy Hees says, “The Nevada State Railroad Museum curatorial committee has found them to have a connection to Nevada history. 231 was a regular on Amtrak’s Las Vegas trains, while 644 was used on the I-80 corridor across northern Nevada, and later as a AT&SF locomotive was used through Kingman, Ariz., less than 75 miles from
the museum.” The locos will be the first equipment to be delivered to the museum on its own wheels since 1993 as a result of a reconnection to the national railroad system.
I hope that they run again.
The 644, during its years in the Portland area, was actually leased out for service on the Portland & Western RR. I recall photographing it on the P&W’s ex-SP Tillamook Branch in Beaverton, Ore. back in 2008. The 231 was Amtrak’s “Operation Lifesaver” unit.
So was it just these two locomotives that had to go or is the entire collection at Ogden in danger?
Excellent great to hear that these 2 former Amtrak locomotives have found a home where they can get restoration work underway to return them to their original Amtrak Paint especially the SDP40F although I’ll classify it as an SDF40-2 for now as that was what Santa Fe called them after they acquired them through a trade with Amtrak for smaller freight engines to switch Amtrak’s yards; and removed the Steam generator and also added walkways to the front of the locomotives.