Tale of an F45
Doug Harrop Photography • April 8, 1977
A Santa Fe Railway F45 leads a five pack of six axle EMDs through 259 ft. Tunnel 17 in the Tehachapi Mountains west of Cable, California.
Santa Fe 5910 has quite an interesting story to tell. It began its service life as ATSF 1910, built by EMD in June 1968. It would later be renumbered ATSF 5910, later 5960, and by 1985 it received a fresh coat of SPSF livery, for a proposed merger that never happened.
After retirement, 5960 was sold to Morrison Knudsen who renumbered it MKCX 5531, joining the lease fleet. By May 1995 it was leased to the Utah Railway, becoming UTAH 9013 and assigned to haul coal across Soldier Summit.
After the lease ran out in 2001, it was shipped to Metro East Industries in East St. Louis, Illinois and was placed in storage, where it remained until at least 2007.
By 2009, it arrived in Essex, Montana. The prime mover had been removed, and the body and cab interior became a luxury hotel. It was renumbered to GN 441 and repainted in Great Northern's attractive "Sky Blue" livery where it stands today.
Tale of an F45
Doug Harrop Photography • April 8, 1977
A Santa Fe Railway F45 leads a five pack of six axle EMDs through 259 ft. Tunnel 17 in the Tehachapi Mountains west of Cable, California.
Santa Fe 5910 has quite an interesting story to tell. It began its service life as ATSF 1910, built by EMD in June 1968. It would later be renumbered ATSF 5910, later 5960, and by 1985 it received a fresh coat of SPSF livery, for a proposed merger that never happened.
After retirement, 5960 was sold to Morrison Knudsen who renumbered it MKCX 5531, joining the lease fleet. By May 1995 it was leased to the Utah Railway, becoming UTAH 9013 and assigned to haul coal across Soldier Summit.
After the lease ran out in 2001, it was shipped to Metro East Industries in East St. Louis, Illinois and was placed in storage, where it remained until at least 2007.
By 2009, it arrived in Essex, Montana. The prime mover had been removed, and the body and cab interior became a luxury hotel. It was renumbered to GN 441 and repainted in Great Northern's attractive "Sky Blue" livery where it stands today.