Engines of Amtrak - EMD F40PH

[Music] hey everyone amtrakguy365 here and today on this edition of engines of amtrak i'll be discussing the emd f40ph the f40ph needs almost no introduction being one of the most famous and popular diesel locomotives in the united states but to understand how it gained such a fan base and how some units are still running nearly 45 years later is what i'll be explaining today to do that we must go back to the year 1975 amtrak's current fleet of inherited f e units the sdp-40f along with the new p30ch started to show reliability problems on top of this they weren't equipped with head and power or hep for short this created a predicament for amtrak as their new replacement fleet of amfleet coaches were being rolled out into service and were electrically powered by agp amtrak went to emd who had already won a deal to build amtrak a long distance steam heated engine that being the sdp-40f and a second faster and shorter distance hep equipped a locomotive with that in place emd went back to their famous route with a brand new f-series locomotive this would become known as the emd f40ph dean ellsworth was amtrak's manager of the locomotive department and created the specifications required by the railroad its design was based off the successful emd gp40-2 freight diesel the main similarity being the engine which was an emd 645 e3 while passenger variants of the gp40 like the gp40tc and gp40p already existed they weren't built for long distance or corridor service like amtrak needed regarding technical specifications the f stands for full width towel body the 40 for the model series p for passenger gearing and h for being equipped with head and power they're rated for a top speed of 103 miles per hour being powered by an emd 645 e3 16-cylinder engine producing between 3 000 and 3200 horsepower they weigh in at 260 000 pounds the f40 comes in at a length of 56 feet 2 inches a width of 10 feet 7 inches and a height of 15 feet 7 and a half inches they're equipped with head and power using a delco 500 to 800 kilowatt generator amtrak's f40 phs came equipped with either a nathan k5la or p5 series air horn here's a few [Applause] samples [Applause] my [Applause] in may of 1975 amtrak placed an order for 30 at 40 ph's being numbered 200 to 229 these units were initially rated for 3 000 horsepower whereas later units would be equipped with 3200 horsepower regardless these new f40s were planned for service on the san diegan as well as unelectrified portions of the northeast corridor between new haven connecticut and boston massachusetts the sdp-40fs and p30chs would meanwhile continue long-distance service the f40s would then be rolled out into service beginning april 9th 1976. however two events eventually triggered a change in amtrak's thought process first was the sharply declining reliability quality and derailment issues of the stp-40f which you can learn about in engines of amtrak scp-40f second was the extreme winter of 1976 to 77 which suspended many of amtrix roots and older steam heated passenger equipment luckily though the f-40s were available and put through their paces pulling amfleet equipped trains as the new coaches were quickly put on the rails at the end of the winter season in 1977 amtrak had a new plan they adopted the f40 ph as their new long-term locomotive power for all trains and began work with emd to put this plan into action the first step was trading in 40 sdp 40fs to emd in exchange for 132 f40phrs number 230 to 361. these were f40s built using sdp-40f components like air compressors electrical components and they featured a larger fuel tank amtrak had realized the f40 was a do-it-all locomotive being suited for almost any kind of service required whether it be long-distance trains through the mountains or fast running corridor trains on flatlands other railroads like the regional transportation authority later known as metra the massachusetts bay transportation authority go transit via rail among other groups took notice of the f40 success and ordered their own units throughout the late 1970s and early 80s by this point for amtrak the f40 ph had become the poster boy for advertising and being heralded as the modern and prestigious diesel locomotive of their system next time you're planning to fly somewhere consider going with a carrier who has spent the last seven and a half years rebuilding its entire fleet a fleet that now offers you some of the newest most technologically advanced equipment in the world not surprisingly it's also among the most comfortable next time see what a thrill it is the f40 ph would be featured in several movies and other media further cementing its notability and being the icon of amtrak the f-40s would affectionately be nicknamed screamer by crews and rail fans as to supply electricity and climate control to the coaches the prime mover would constantly need to run at 900 rpm thus creating a deafening roaring noise by april 1990 amtrak had amassed a fleet of 215 f-40 locomotives after a purchase of six from go transit amtrak's units numbered 200 to 415 and eventually replaced the entire sdp-40f and p30ch fleet other railroads like via rail had managed to replace an especially old fleet of locomotives with their variant being the f40ph-2d this version had desktop controls ditch lights and other canadian specific details furthermore operators like metra had a custom cab variant known as the f40phm-2 mbta with the lengthened f40ph-2c and new jersey transit using the f40ph-2 cat named for its caterpillar built head and power generator amtrak's units despite four now being retired were still providing excellent service across their system as a matter of fact trains magazine estimated the average unit traveled 175 000 miles per year railroads like norfolk southern even began leasing out amtrak f40s for freight runs during power shortages as well [Music] on the flip side though many of amtrak's units were around 15 years old and amtrak had begun thinking of yet another long-term replacement engine in the late 1980s into 1990. they wanted a more fuel-efficient lightweight do-it-all locomotive that could also provide third rail support in tunnels out east this would culminate in the general electric amd 103 better known as the p40dc or simply genesis they were 25 percent more powerful than the f40 with 4 000 horsepower were 22 percent more fuel efficient than the f40 and had a single shell body design known as monocoque for a more streamlined aerodynamic appearance on top of this genesis was a fully computerized locomotive allowing it to maintain stable operations in the case of overheating low oil pressure and other situations this also helped in the reliability department another note was genesis was 14 inches shorter in height allowing for ease of operation on the northeast corridor's antiquated clearances essentially two genesis locomotives could do the work of three f-40s thus reducing operating costs clearly genesis was the better choice for amtrak in short genesis does what em don't [Music] that's a sega genesis nintendo console war joke [Music] before genesis was put to work ge had developed the p 32-8 bwh as a stop-gap measure until the p-40dc was ready in doing that the f-40s and p-32s spent a good amount of time working together eventually though the p-40 was rolled into service beginning in 1993 and the f40 replacement process soon began [Music] however rather than scrapping all of their surplus f40 phs amtrak decided in 1996 up to 2007 to convert 21 units into non-powered control units or npcu for short this involved removing the prime mover traction motors alternators among other parts and install the roll-up door on the side for baggage car service a functional control stand was left in place though to allow for push-pull operations the npcus earned themselves the nickname cabbage a combination of the words cab and baggage the first unit to get this treatment was number 368 now number 9368 despite this some f-40s continued service in the northeast on trains like the maple leaf up until around the summer of 2002. this would finally mark the end of common revenue runs for amtrak's emd f40ph even with the f40 ph retired holstering 26 years of service as powered units many amtrak f40 still exist in some kind of service whether that be as an npcu on corridor trains or even in revenue service rebuilt on other railroads as far as canada and panama f40 ph number 406 notably retained its original road number and lacked a roll-up baggage door even when converted to an npcu in 2011 after that it was used on amtrak's touring exhibit train finally it resumed npcu life on the downeaster but as of october 2020 is in the albany new york shops for upgrades regardless of individual thoughts and opinions on the f40 its legacy and impact is undeniable from getting amtrak out of a power rut in the 1970s to proving itself as one of america's most successful passenger locomotives still in revenue service today it cemented itself as the flagship locomotive for amtrak became an internet meme throughout the mid to late 2000s and to this day is revered as a fan favorite locomotive amongst many rail fans including myself i mean my icon clearly shows that you know what i'm saying as recent as october 2020 f40 phr number 281 was powered up for excursions for the first time in five years at the california state railroad museum retaining its original phase 3 colors number 231 is also being restored by dynamic rail preservation while other f40s haven't been as lucky with many being scrapped or held in storage yards for parts an overwhelming majority are still around today amtrak's f-40s witnessed nearly all of the railroad's paint schemes and have outlived much of the railroad's roster railroads like metra mbta via rail among many others all greatly continue the f40 legacy providing their units with consistent upgrades and maintenance all too much success the f40 series has mastered 44 years of service as of 2020 and it certainly seems like there's more to come the emd f40ph will always remain and is still part of the history book of amtrak the national railroad passenger corporation [Music] thanks for watching this remade episode of engines of amtrak thanks a ton as usual to everyone who submitted videos and pictures to use in this video as well too anyway stay tuned and join me next time when i discuss the emd f-69 ph ac and it's life running with the german ice high speed train set thanks again and i'll see you all in another video

Channel: AmtrakGuy365

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Keywords: Amtrak, Amtrakguy365, F40PH, Engines, of, AMTK, F40, Amtrak F40, Amtrak F40PH, F40PHM-2, Metra, Metra F40, VIA Rail F40, F40PH-2D, Engines of Amtrak, Engines of Amtrak F40PH, F40PH Amtrak, NJT F40PH-2CAT, MBTA F40PH, SDP40F, P30CH, Engines of Amtrak SDP40F, EMD, EMD F40PH, GE, Metra F40PHM-2, Metra F40PH, Amtrak Trains, Train, Trains, Commentary, Education, NPCU, Amtrak NPCU, Amtrak F40 NPCU, Amtrak 406, Amtrak Acela, Amtrak Train, Railroad, Railway

Id: NBPals_6tcA

Length: 13min 11sec (791 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 24 2020