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.

UP 1983 is an EMD SD70ACe owned by the Union Pacific Railroad and painted in the Western Pacific Railroad scheme, one of the 6 railroads acquired by Union Pacific.
Amtrak GE P42DC locomotive #145, which is painted in Amtrak's Phase III scheme, and is one of 16 Amtrak heritage units

Among North American railroads

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Heritage units are popular among North American railroads. As of 2023, all major Class I railroads have official heritage units, except for BNSF Railway.[a][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

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ES 499.0001, actual running number 350 001-4, of the Slovakian Railways (ZSSK) in its factory paint scheme. Railway companies in Europe have also taken up this practice.
 
CC 201 83 31 of the Kereta Api Indonesia (formerly CC 201 69), the first of the national railway's main line locomotive to use honorary paint scheme, sporting the railway's 1953-1991 paint scheme since 2021.[9]
 
NS 1074 is an EMD SD70ACe owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway, painted in the Lackawanna scheme, one of the 20 railroads acquired by it.

Below is a list of heritage units in active service by various railroads.

Railroad Road number Paint scheme Locomotive model
Alaska Railroad 4328 F-Unit Scheme EMD SD70MAC
Amtrak 161 (formerly 156, 161 to be replaced)[b][c] Phase I GE P42DC
130 (formerly 66) Phase II
145 Phase III
160[d] Dash 8 Phase III "Pepsi Can"
164 (formerly 184) Phase IV
46[e] Phase V (Connecting America for 50 Years)
108[f] Phase VI (Connecting America for 50 Years)
100[g] 50th Anniversary - Midnight Blue (Connecting America for 50 Years)
700-717 Phase III (Empire Service) GE P32AC-DM
90406 Phase III EMD NPCU (former EMD F40PH)
822[h] GE P40DC
301[i] "Day 1" livery Siemens ALC-42
Ann Arbor (Watco) 3879 Ann Arbor EMD GP38
Berkshire & Eastern 7879 G&W "Whisker Stripes" GE C40-8W
Canadian National 600 Classic CN Green EMD GY430A (slug)
601 Illinois Central
3008 GE ET44AC
3023 Elgin, Joliet & Eastern
3069 Wisconsin Central
3115 BC Rail
7600 Classic CN Green EMD GP40-3
7601 Illinois Central
8952 Grand Trunk Western EMD SD70M-2
Canadian Pacific Kansas City 3084 CP Tuscan red and grey (script writing)[11][j] EMD GP38-2
7010–7014 EMD SD70ACU
7015–7019 CP Tuscan red and grey (block writing)[11]
Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern 4032 G&W "Whisker Stripes" GE C41-8W
CSX 1-3 Baltimore & Ohio EMD F40PH-2
1827 GE ES44AH
1834 Georgia
1836 RF&P
1850 Louisville & Nashville
1851 NC&StL
1852 Western Maryland
1853 New York Central
1869 Chesapeake & Ohio
1871 Atlantic Coast Line
1875 Pittsburgh & Lake Erie
1877 Chicago & Eastern Illinois
1897 Monon
1899 Pere Marquette
1900 Seaboard Air Line
1902 Clinchfield
1967 Seaboard Coast Line
1972 Family Lines System
1973 Chessie System
1976 Conrail
1981 Pan Am
1982 Seaboard System
East Midlands Railway 43102 InterCity (British Rail)[12] British Rail Class 43
Genesee & Wyoming 125 G&W "Whisker Stripes" EMD GP38-2
1899 GE C44-9W
4055 GE C40-8W
Iowa Interstate 513 Rock Island GE ES44AC
516
Locomotive Services Limited 43046 Midland Pullman British Rail Class 43
43055
Maryland Midland 2060 Maryland Midland EMD GP38-3
MBTA Commuter Rail 1129 1980s-era MBTA (maroon with silver bar)[13] GMD GP40MC
Metra 90 Chicago & North Western[14] EMD F59PHI
104 City of Chicago EMD F40PH-3
120 Veterans
211 Burlington Route[15] EMD F40PHM-3
402 State of Illinois[16] MPI MP36PH-3C
405 Milwaukee Road[17]
425 Rock Island[18]
500 RTA[19] EMD SD70MACH
502
Metro-North/CTDOT 201 Conrail GE P32AC-DM
208 1980s-era Metro-North
211 New York Central
217 Penn Central
228-231 New Haven
NJ Transit 1319 Lackawanna Arrow III
4109 Jersey Central[20] EMD GP40PH-2
4101 New Jersey DOT[21]
4208 Conrail EMD GP40PH-2B
4210 Erie
4519 Erie Lackawanna[20] Bombardier ALP-45DP
4636 Pennsylvania[20] Bombardier ALP-46A
4640 1980s-era NJT
New York, Susquehanna & Western 3024 Silver and Red Stripe EMD SD40-2
Norfolk Southern 1065 Savannah & Atlanta EMD SD70ACe
1066 New York Central
1067 Reading
1068 Erie
1069 Virginian
1070 Wabash
1071 Jersey Central
1072 Illinois Terminal
1073 Penn Central
1074 Lackawanna
1700 Erie Lackawanna EMD SD45-2
4851 TAG Route GE AC44C6M
5260 Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line EMD GP38-2
8025 Monongahela GE ES44AC
8098 Conrail
8099[k] Southern
8100 Nickel Plate Road
8101 Central of Georgia
8102 Pennsylvania
8103 Norfolk & Western
8104 Lehigh Valley
8105 Interstate
8114 Norfolk Southern (1942–1982)
Ohio Central 2014 G&W "Whisker Stripes" EMD GP38-2
Ontario Northland 1730 Classic ON Scheme EMD SD40-2
Reading Blue Mountain and Northern 1983 Blue Mountain and Reading EMD SD40-2
Rock Island (2017) 2127 Rock Island GE C40-8
SEPTA Regional Rail 276 Pennsylvania Railroad Silverliner IV
280 Reading Lines
304 Conrail
401 Penn Central
101 Philadelphia & West Chester Traction Co. Kawasaki K-car
9000 1980s-era SEPTA
St. Lawrence & Atlantic 4022 G&W "Whisker Stripes" EMD SD70MAC
4024
Union Pacific 1982 Missouri Pacific EMD SD70ACe
1983 Western Pacific
1988 Katy
1989 Rio Grande
1995 Chicago & North Western
1996 Southern Pacific
Wheeling and Lake Erie 101 Pittsburgh and West Virginia EMD GP35
107 AC&Y
108 Classic WLE Scheme

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Although BNSF released several commemorative celebrating their 25th Anniversary, which featured logos of predecessor railroads, these are not considered as heritage units. BNSF also has several units in older “Warbonnet", “Bluebonnet”, "Cascade Green", and "Grinstein" paint schemes, but these are generally also not considered heritage units.
  2. ^ 161 has 50th Anniversary markings
  3. ^ 161 was destroyed in a fire on November 26, 2024.[10]
  4. ^ 160 has 50th Anniversary markings
  5. ^ 46 has 50th Anniversary markings
  6. ^ 108 has 50th Anniversary markings
  7. ^ 100 has 50th Anniversary markings
  8. ^ Out of service as of June 2021
  9. ^ 301 has 50th Anniversary markings
  10. ^ 7011 wrecked in a derailment on April 15th, 2023.
  11. ^ Wrecked in 2021, repaired and returned to service in 2023)[22]

References

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  1. ^ "CN heritage locomotives sighted, but company won't comment". Trains. 13 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Canadian National Puts New Heritage Units into Service". Railfan & Railroad Magazine. 17 November 2020.
  3. ^ Our Heritage
  4. ^ "Norfolk Southern's Heritage Locomotives". Archived from the original on 2017-07-28. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  5. ^ Adapting the Heritage Paint Schemes
  6. ^ "CN heritage locomotives sighted, but company won't comment". Trains. 13 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Canadian National Puts New Heritage Units into Service". Railfan & Railroad Magazine. 17 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Baltimore & Ohio heritage locomotive is the first of many to come, CSX confirms". Trains. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  9. ^ https://www.kompas.com/tren/read/2021/11/12/193000065/mengenal-lokomotif-ka-livery-vintage-jadul-akan-menyapa-lintas-jakarta [bare URL]
  10. ^ https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/fire-damages-amtrak-equipment-at-washington-yard/
  11. ^ a b Franz, Justin (16 September 2019). "Canadian Pacific releases two SD70ACU heritage locomotives". Trains. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  12. ^ Repaint for record-breaker as EMR marks end of HSTs Rail issue 926 10 March 2021 page 30
  13. ^ "News photo: MBTA's 'Cranberry' locomotive". Trains. 2024-09-05. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  14. ^ Guss, Chris (August 18, 2020). "Metra unveils C&NW heritage locomotive".
  15. ^ "Metra unveils Burlington-themed heritage unit".
  16. ^ "Metra unveils State of Illinois-themed heritage unit".
  17. ^ "Metra unveils Milwaukee Road-themed heritage unit".
  18. ^ "Metra unveils Rock Island-themed heritage unit" (Press release).
  19. ^ "News photos: Metra unveils first SD70MACH (Updated)". 19 October 2022.
  20. ^ a b c "NJ Transit reveals heritage locomotives". Trains News Wire. October 5, 2019.
  21. ^ Franz, Justin (2022-10-14). "NJ Transit Paints GP40PH-2 into DOT 'Bluebird' Scheme". Railfan & Railroad Magazine. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  22. ^ "Train derails in Baldwin; East Carson, River Road closed as clean-up commences". 12 December 2021.