EMD FP45
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 Santa Fe #93 photographed at the Great Plains Transportation Museum. |
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| Power type | Diesel-electric |
|---|---|
| Builder | General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) |
| Model | FP45 |
| Build date | 1967 – |
| Total production | 14 |
| AAR wheel arr. | C-C |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) |
| Wheelbase | 45 ft (13.2 m) |
| Length | 72 ft 4 in (22.1 m) |
| Prime mover | EMD 645E3 |
| Cylinders | V20 |
| Power output | 3,600 hp (2,700 kW) |
| Career | Santa Fe and Milwaukee Road |
| Locale | western United States |
| Disposition | several preserved in museums |
The EMD FP45 is a cowl unit type of C-C diesel locomotive produced in the United States by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. It was produced beginning in 1967 at the request of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which did not want its prestigious Super Chief and other passenger trains pulled by freight style hood unit locomotives, which have external walkways. The Santa Fe preferred a cowl unit.
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[edit] History and development
The EMD SDP45 was a good passenger locomotive, but to the Santa Fe it did not look the part. EMD therefore designed a lightweight "cowl" body to cover the locomotive, though it did not, as in earlier cab units, provide any structural strength, which remained in the frame. The cowl provided sleeker looks, better aerodynamics at speed, and allowed the crew to enter the engine compartment en route for diagnostics and maintenance.
The Santa Fe purchased nine of the locomotives (road numbers 90 through 98), and the Milwaukee Road bought five for its passenger service (road numbers 1 through 5). Such low production was feasible and profitable for EMD since the locomotive was fundamentally just a re-clothed SDP45. Power, as in the SDP45, was from a V20 645E3 engine (or "prime mover") developing 3600 horsepower (2700 kW).
When Amtrak took over passenger service, the FP45s were reassigned to fast freight service, especially Santa Fe's Super C high-speed intermodal run. They were soon repainted from their original red and silver Warbonnet scheme to the standard blue and yellow freight scheme when the steam generators were removed and they were permanently assigned to the freight pool. In June, 1989 two of the units, #5992 and #5998, were repainted once more in a modified version of the Warbonnet scheme (this time, displaying Santa Fe in large, red letters "billboard"–style across the side) and re–designated as #101 and #102. The units reentered service on July 4 as part of the new "Super Fleet" — the first Santa Fe units to be so decorated for freight service. The six remaining units were thereafter similarly repainted and renumbered, and remained in this scheme (some re–lettered BNSF after the merger) until their retirement in the late 1990s, after some 30 years of service.
A freight-only derivative, the EMD F45, was sold in greater numbers (86) to the Santa Fe, the Great Northern Railroad, and the Burlington Northern Railroad. Amtrak bought a similar passenger locomotive based on the 3000 horsepower (2200 kW) SDP40, the EMD SDP40F. At least one F45 example remains in service on the Montana Rail Link in the northern United States as of January 2008, and it sees regular freight service on the line.
[edit] Additional specifications
- Final drive gear ratio: 59:18
[edit] Preservation
Those that weren't wrecked in service are on display in museums:
- Santa Fe 90: was donated to the Oklahoma Railway Museum in Oklahoma City in a non-operational state. #90 was the last FP45 donated by the Santa Fe and had resided on a RIP track for two years before being delivered to the museum.
- Santa Fe 92: was donated to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.
- Santa Fe 93: preserved at the Great Plains Transportation Museum in Wichita, Kansas.
- Santa Fe 95: preserved at the Western America Railroad Museum in Barstow, California.
- Santa Fe 97: preserved at the Museum of the American Railroad in Dallas, Texas.
- Santa Fe 98: was donated in operating condition less the cab's air conditioner to the Orange Empire Railway Museum at Perris, California. It is still used for demonstration runs, though infrequently because of its sheer size and slightly low compression in two cylinders. This historic locomotive has the distinction of being the last passenger locomotive ever purchased by the Santa Fe.
[edit] References
- Duke, Donald (1997). Santa Fe: The Railroad Gateway to the American West, Volume Two. Golden West Books, San Marino, CA. ISBN 0-87095-110-6.
[edit] External links
- Additional photos, specifications and information on the surviving FP45 locomotives-by Jim Fuhrman
- Santa Fe 92 specifications as preserved at IRM
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