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Home > Archives > Beech Grove shop floor, 1980s.

Beech Grove shop floor, 1980s.

Color film slide showing employees on the floor at the Beech Grove, Ind., heavy maintenance facility; image dates to the late 1970s or early 1980s.

Beech Grove shop floor, 1980s.

In this image, Amtrak employees at the Beech Grove, Ind., heavy maintenance facility perform maintenance and overhaul work on Heritage Fleet cars that the company had purchased or leased from the predecessor railroads. In the background, a safety banner reminds employees: "Falls Hurt, Walk Alert."

On April 1, 1975, Amtrak purchased the Beech Grove shops from the Penn Central Transportation Company. The need for a major repair facility that could accommodate all types of existing equipment—and the Amfleet and Superliner cars on order—was acute, and Amtrak immediately embarked on a five year, $22 million modernization plan.

Beech Grove continues to serve as the company’s principal heavy maintenance facility. As of 2014, approximately 500 employees rebuild and overhaul Superliner, Viewliner, Surfliner, Heritage and Horizon car fleets. P32, P42 and F59 locomotives also are overhauled and rebuilt for use across the Amtrak system, as is other equipment for state partners and other passenger railroads.

Photographer: Unknown for Amtrak. From the Matt Donnelly Collection.