Prototype News

Over the winter, the volunteer shop crew at the Prairie Dog Central Railway carried out their normal maintenance routine, including hydrostatic testing and cleaning scale from the tender of locomotive 3, a 4-4-0 built by Dubs & Co. of Glasgow, Scotland, in 1882 for Canadian Pacific Railway. Notably, it is the oldest operating steam locomotive in Canada.

In addition to the routine mechanical work, the crew made several cosmetic changes to the locomotive. Most noticeable was the removal of the fake diamond stack and headlight installed for a 1970s movie shoot, replaced with the Pyle sealed-beam headlight the engine carried in service with Winnipeg Hydro. The yellow striping on the tender was also removed, along with several plaques that had been added to the cab over the years. The locomotive now more closely reflects its appearance in regular service, both with Winnipeg Hydro and earlier with Canadian Pacific. 

Prairie Dog Central operates excursions from Winnipeg to Grosse Isle and Warren, Man., from May through October. The excursion trains are powered by locomotive 3 or one of the railway’s preserved diesel locomotives. —Glenn Courtney

The post Makeover for Canada’s Oldest Steam Engine appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

Railroad Heritage of Midwest America is raising money to put one of the last F40C locomotives in existence back into service. Metra 611 was donated to RRHMA earlier this year and moved from Chicago to Silvis, Ill., in March. 

RRHMA said it hopes to eventually use Metra 611 in excursion service. Last year, the non-profit used its ex-Union Pacific “Centennial” on an excursion on Iowa Interstate. 

Metra 611 was built in April 1974 as Milwaukee Road 54. The F40C design was unique to the North Suburban and North West Suburban Mass Transit Districts, which supported commuter service over the Milwaukee Road lines north and west of Chicago to Fox Lake and Elgin. The F40C is a six-axle, six-motor locomotive with a “cowl” design intended purely for passenger service. The locomotives’ sides were largely covered in stainless steel to match the Milwaukee Road’s bi-level commuter coaches. They were also equipped with head-end power (HEP) as built. Only 15 F40C locomotives were built, all in 1974 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors at the EMD plant in McCook, Illinois.

Metra 611 was used in daily service on the Milwaukee Road North and West lines until 2004, when it was removed from active service. It and identical F40C 614 were returned to service in 2009. In 2012, Metra permanently retired both units and put them into storage at Western Avenue. 

RRHMA owns the former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad shop complex in Silvis and plans to turn it into the largest historic railroad equipment restoration facility in the country. The non-profit is presently restoring UP 4-6-6-4 3985 and 2-10-2 5511. —Justin Franz 

The post Railroading Heritage of Midwest America Vows to Restore F40C appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.