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Sulla [soylentnews.org] writes:

Siemens SC-44 Charger seen rolled out across country to replace some older locomotives for corridor work.

https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/11/20/16683002/amtrak-cascades-new-train-model [curbed.com]

The new Siemens Charger locomotives, with 16-cylinder, 4,400-horsepower engines, are both lighter and quieter, and meet EPA emission standards. The trains will travel the same speed as before—79 miles per hour—but they’ll reach the top speed faster.

http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2017/11/16/plenty-of-horne-amtrak-rolls-out-new-locomotives/ [urbanmilwaukee.com]

The new locomotives can also take you to from Chicago to Detroit, or Chicago to St. Louis, for example, and they can do it using one-third the fuel, emitting one-tenth the pollution, and at speeds up to 125 miles per hour. (The Chicago-St. Louis route has been cut from 5-1/2 hours to 4-1/2 hours thanks to the new engines and track improvements.

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/communities/carbondale/amtrak-showcases-features-of-new-locomotives/article_6c9b8d54-62a6-51f6-a818-ca2fed76c033.html [thesouthern.com]

“A lot of our customers care about the earth and about pollution, and these are so much cleaner to operate, and they’re better for our partners at IDOT and the customers because they’re going to cost less to operate in that they get better mileage,” said Marc Magliari, Amtrak spokesman.

Just saw one while I was out for a cigar and thought it was pretty cool, I figure others might find it interesting as well. I have been taking my kids to go watch them do trackwork on the north-south line in Oregon and was wondering why they were so extensive in replacing all of the old ties. Although the speed limit is 79 I wonder if this will be increased with updated track and new locomotives. Here is hoping someone models it soon so I can waste money.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siemens_Charger [wikipedia.org]
4400 horsepower, top speed of 125, and meets EPA Tier VI emission standards.

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