Diesel vehicles will soon be replaced by the switch to electric drive
SAN BRUNO, Calif. – You won’t find this on Amazon.com.
On the front page of the online shop of the Californian commuter rail company Caltrain, between the ugly Christmas sweater and the limited edition Stadler electric train in HO gauge (sold out unfortunately) you can currently find… a locomotive of the type F40PH-2. Not a model, but a real locomotive.
Click through, and the blurb with the locomotive’s photo points out that you can “own a piece of Caltrain history” and that the 1985 F40 was in service for 40 years and has more than 1 million miles on it. After some lighthearted platitudes (“perfect for your model railroad, railroad-themed diner…”), it’s down to reality: The engine will be deactivated under the terms of a government grant agreement; the buyer is responsible for storage and shipping, and this isn’t a “Buy It Now” situation on eBay: You have to bid on it through a competitive bidding process. And there’s some legalese to hold Caltrain harmless. The locomotives (Caltrain has 20 EMD-built F40PH-2s and three Boise-built F40PH-2Cs) are expected to be available in October, once the conversion to electrification is complete.
If you are still interested, you will find a “Contact” link on this page.
Caltrain put the first of its Stadler electric trains into service on Sunday, August 11 (see “News Photos: Electrified Service Begins…”, Trains News Wire, August 12, 2024). Full electric operation is scheduled to begin on September 21.
