ex-BN Wrote:
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> Thank you for that information. I think the
> demise of the SDP40F reflects the shortest life
> span of a common locomotive from a) major builder.
> For those of us that remember the era of E's and
> F's and the debut of the SDP40F this has been an
> interesting topic for decades.

What has always baffled me is; the SDP40F was nothing more than an SD40-2, which railroads owned literally thousands of, some much heavier than the Amtrak SDP40F when filled completely with fuel AND both boiler water tanks (the BN alone had a number of VERY heavy SD40-2 units at over 400,000 pounds, ordered specifically for coal service), and never had any "derailment" problems. Yes, they did NOT operate of crappy track at passenger train speeds, but the fact still remains that it was NOT the locomotive's fault. On the other side of the coin, there was no way that Amtrak could "go up against" all those class 1 railroads, and win any arguments. Thus, the SDP40F units were "traded in" for F40PH units. What a scam!