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Home > Archives > SDP40F locomotive No. 631 leading a train, 1970s.

SDP40F locomotive No. 631 leading a train, 1970s.

Color slide showing SDP40F No. 631 leading a train; image likely dates to the 1970s.

SDP40F locomotive No. 631 leading a train, 1970s.

SDP40F locomotive No. 631 wears the Amtrak Phase I paint scheme introduced in 1972 - sometimes referred to as the "bloody nose." The first locomotive built expressly for Amtrak, the SDP40F was a six axle diesel-electric unit that sported a 3,000 horsepower engine. It was built in 1973 and 1974 by the General Motors Electro-Motive Division.

Since many passenger rail cars were still heated via steam, the SDP40F included two steam generators and a water tank. Within a decade, most of these locomotives were replaced with F40PH models that could operate more easily with the new and refurbished fleet of all-electric passenger cars.

Photographer: Unknown for Amtrak. From the Amtrak Corporate Collection (Marketing Library).