EMD F40C

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EMD F40C
standard gauge
Length68 ft 10 in (20.98 m)
Width10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)
Height15 ft 7.5 in (4.763 m)
Loco weight364,000 lb (165,000 kg)
Prime moverEMD 16-645E3B
Engine typeV16 diesel
Cylinders16
Performance figures
Power output3,200 hp (2,390 kW)
Career
OperatorsMilwaukee Road, Metra
LocaleChicago, Illinois, and its northwest suburbs
DispositionOne preserved, one in storage, remainder scrapped

The EMD F40C is a 6-axle 3,200 horsepower (2.4 MW)

EMD SD70MAC locomotives operating on the Alaska Railroad, the F40Cs were the last six-axle passenger locomotives in daily service in mainland North America
until the delivery of Metra's first SD70MACH in 2022.

As of March 2022, all but one of the F40Cs has been retired, though none are operating. They were replaced by the MPI MP36PH-3S in 2003–2004. Locomotives 600-609 and 613 were the first to be retired in 2003 and had their road numbers unregistered with the Federal Railroad Administration. They were all retired before 2007. No. 610 was unregistered in 2004 and was sent to National Railway Equipment in Dixmoor, Illinois. It was scrapped on September 24, 2020.[2] The only F40Cs that remain are Nos. 611 and 614. No. 611 is currently stored in Metra's Western Avenue rail yard, while No. 614 has been preserved and has been sent to the Illinois Railway Museum for restoration.

Design

The F40C is derived from the

EMD 645E3B, producing 3,200 horsepower (2,390 kW). It uses the same frame as the EMD SD40-2, giving it an overall length of 68 feet 10 inches (20.98 m).[3]

History

In the early 1970s, the

Canadian Pacific's C&M Subdivision, and the Milwaukee District West Line to Elgin via the CP's Elgin Subdivision. The operation of these lines was subsidized by local transit agencies. In 1974, two local agencies, the North West Suburban Mass Transit District and the North Suburban Mass Transit District funded the acquisition of 15 F40Cs for use on the Milwaukee lines.[4] The locomotives were numbered 40-54, and were passed to Metra on the latter's creation in the 1980s, being renumbered to 600-614, but they continued to operate on the ex-Milwaukee lines.[5]

The F40Cs were withdrawn from regular service with the arrival of new

railyard. Both were reactivated in January 2005 after problems with the MPI MP36PH-3Ss.[8] In 2005, Kansas City Southern signed a contract with Helm Leasing to use 12 for nine months.[9]

In the spring of 2009, Nos. 611 and 614 were returned to revenue service on both of Metra's ex-Milwaukee Road commuter lines. This was done while the oldest units in Metra's EMD F40PH fleet were being rebuilt. Towards the end of 2016, with many F40PH-2 and F40PHM-2 locomotives being sent out for rebuild, there was an increased likelihood that 611 and 614 would be put back into service, but this never came to be.

Currently, No. 611 is left to fill the roles of locomotives that have broken down or are being rebuilt. Despite this, it has not seen regular service since 2012. Metra at one time did have plans to rebuild both remaining F40Cs to test new prime movers and control packages, but due to a lack of bidders, this plan has been put on hold indefinitely.[10] No. 611 continues to remain stored in Metra's Western Avenue rail yard, while No. 614 was donated by Metra to the Illinois Railway Museum in February 2025. Plans call for No. 614 to eventually be restored back to operating condition.[11]

Notes

  1. ISBN 0-395-70112-0
    .
  2. ^ "RailPictures.Net Photo: METX 610 Metra EMD F40C at Dixmoor, Illinois by Nick Hart".
  3. ^ McDonnell 2002, pp. 142, 144
  4. ^ Milwaukee first to get new EMD commuter locomotives Railway Age April 29, 1974 page 52
  5. ^ McDonnell 2002, p. 145
  6. ^ Metra mothballs the F40Cs Trains April 2004 page 21
  7. ^ Solomon 2012, p. 160
  8. ^ Metra brings its two F40Cs out of storage Trains April 2005 page 12
  9. ^ Like the FL9, the F40C refuses to die Trains May 2005 page 25
  10. ^ "Metra Powerhouse: The F40C". Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority. 13 October 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Metra donates F40C locomotive to Illinois Railway Museum". Trains. 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2025-02-21.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to EMD F40C locomotives.
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