Metra’s older locomotives are getting a modern new paint scheme in conjunction with a major overhaul that will extend their useful life.
The new paint scheme will be applied to 42 F40 locomotives that were originally built between 1989 and 1992 and are now part of a $91.1 million rehab program. The rehabilitated locomotives will feature a new high-voltage cabinet with a microprocessor control system; remanufactured engines upgraded to U.S. EPA Tier 0+ emissions standards; new and reconditioned accessories; car body corrosion repair and new paint; rebuilt electrical rotating equipment; rebuilt trucks with new wheels; and positive train control components.
The new scheme is also being applied to three similar-looking, used F59 locomotives that Metra recently acquired. The first of those three debuted this month on Metra’s Milwaukee lines.
Metra's new F59 locomotive (left) is painted with a modern scheme. Metra’s F40 locomotives
(on the right, with the old paint scheme) will be painted to match the F59 as they are rehabbed.
Below is an MP36, the model for the new scheme.
The F40s are now painted mostly blue with an orange top. When they emerge from rehab over the next four years, they will have a new paint job that mirrors that of Metra’s fleet of 27 MP36 locomotives. Those are the sleek, sloped-nose engines that were introduced to the Metra system between 2003 and 2005 and are painted with orange and magenta lines between a field of black and a field that fades from silver to blue, with a silver top. Metra plans to eventually paint all its locomotives with the modern scheme.
The MP36 engines are also being modernized in-house at Metra’s 47th St. locomotive shop. That $62 million program calls for overhauling the engines and replacing the existing head-end power system. (Head-end power, or HEP, is the part of the locomotive that provides the electricity for the onboard lights, heating, air conditioning, exhaust fans and door motors.) The engines also receive a fresh paint job.
“We are excited to extend Metra’s newest paint scheme to the rest of our locomotive fleet and are especially proud to complete nearly half of this work in-house at a lower cost,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno.
The work on the F40s and MP36s are part of Metra’s $2.4 billion modernization plan announced in 2014. That plan aims to renovate 455 cars and 85 locomotives and purchase 367 new cars and 52 new locomotives over a 10-year period.
