Heritage unit explained
A heritage unit or commemorative locomotive is a railroad locomotive painted in an honorary paint scheme; usually the paint scheme is that of a now-defunct railroad that merged with or was acquired by the locomotive's owner.
Among North American railroads
Heritage units are popular among North American railroads. As of 2023, all major Class I railroads have official heritage units, except for BNSF Railway.[1] [2]
The Union Pacific Railroad painted six EMD SD70ACes in stylized paint schemes of six of its predecessors between 2005 and 2006.[3] The Norfolk Southern Railway did the same in 2012 with 20 of its locomotives for its 30th Railroad Anniversary.[4] 10 of them are EMD SD70ACes, while the others are GE ES44AC units. For its 40th anniversary in 2011, Amtrak painted four GE P42DCs, a P40DC, and an EMD F40PH converted to an NPCU into its older paint schemes. Several more were painted for its 50th anniversary in 2021.[5]
In 2019, the Canadian Pacific Railway, now Canadian Pacific Kansas City, painted nine EMD SD70ACU units in a maroon and gray paint scheme with a different font style. In late 2020, the Canadian National Railway revealed five new heritage units after they had been first spotted a month earlier. These included four GE ET44ACs and one EMD SD70M-2. They were painted in honour of the 25th anniversary of CN's initial public offering.[6] [7] Beginning in 2023, CSX revealed its first of many heritage units, ES44AH 1827 with a Baltimore & Ohio paint scheme.[8]
List of heritage units
Below is a list of heritage units in active service by various railroads.
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: CN heritage locomotives sighted, but company won't comment. Trains. 13 October 2020. 15 October 2020. 1 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201101101813/https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2020/10/13-cn-heritage-locomotives-sighted-but-company-wont-comment. dead.
- Web site: Canadian National Puts New Heritage Units into Service. Railfan & Railroad Magazine. 17 November 2020.
- https://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/heritage/index.htm Our Heritage
- Web site: Norfolk Southern's Heritage Locomotives . 2018-11-13 . 2017-07-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170728154956/http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/news/norfolk-southernsheritagelocomotives.html . dead .
- https://history.amtrak.com/exhibit-train/restoring-the-exhibit-train/designing-the-heritage-paint-schemes Adapting the Heritage Paint Schemes
- Web site: CN heritage locomotives sighted, but company won't comment. Trains. 13 October 2020. 15 October 2020. 1 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201101101813/https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2020/10/13-cn-heritage-locomotives-sighted-but-company-wont-comment. dead.
- Web site: Canadian National Puts New Heritage Units into Service. Railfan & Railroad Magazine. 17 November 2020.
- Web site: Baltimore & Ohio heritage locomotive is the first of many to come, CSX confirms . 2023-05-12 . Trains . en-US.
- Web site: Canadian Pacific releases two SD70ACU heritage locomotives. Franz. Justin. 16 September 2019. Trains. 5 November 2019.
- Repaint for record-breaker as EMR marks end of HSTs Rail issue 926 10 March 2021 page 30
- Web site: 2024-09-05 . News photo: MBTA’s ‘Cranberry’ locomotive . 2024-09-06 . Trains . en-US.
- Web site: Guss. Chris. August 18, 2020. Metra unveils C&NW heritage locomotive.
- News: Metra unveils Burlington-themed heritage unit.
- News: Metra unveils State of Illinois-themed heritage unit.
- News: Metra unveils Milwaukee Road-themed heritage unit.
- Metra unveils Rock Island-themed heritage unit.
- Web site: News photos: Metra unveils first SD70MACH (Updated) . 19 October 2022 .
- Web site: Franz . Justin . 2022-10-14 . NJ Transit Paints GP40PH-2 into DOT 'Bluebird' Scheme . 2022-10-14 . Railfan & Railroad Magazine . en-CA.
- News: NJ Transit reveals heritage locomotives . Trains News Wire . October 5, 2019.
