Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad in 2007 The planned weight of a loaded coal train at the Black Mesa and Lake Powell (BM&LP) was . GE intended that the E60Cs work in multiple, three per train, to handle this load. The BM&LP acquired six former
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México E60C-2s after the latter discontinued electric operations in the late 1990s. These displaced the original E60Cs.
Amtrak and New Jersey Transit Amtrak assumed control of almost all private sector intercity passenger rail service in the United States on May 1, 1971, with a mandate to reverse decades of decline. It retained approximately 184 of the 440 trains which had run the day before. To operate these trains, Amtrak inherited a fleet of 300 locomotives (
electric and
diesel) and 1190
passenger cars, most of which dated from the 1940s–1950s. Operation on the electrified portion of the
Northeast Corridor was split between the
Budd Metroliner electric multiple units and
PRR GG1 locomotives. The former suffered from poor reliability, and the latter were over 35 years old and restricted to . Amtrak faced a choice with the GG1s: completely rebuild the fleet, or replace them with a new locomotive. While no United States manufacturer had a dedicated electric passenger locomotive in its catalog, GE was proposing a passenger version of the E60C before the BM&LP locomotives even entered service. Importing and adapting a European locomotive would require a three-year lead time; GE promised delivery within a year. With few other options, Amtrak turned to GE to adapt the E60C for passenger service. Amtrak ordered 26 E60s in 1973; 15 on March 26, 1973, and a further 11 on October 12. The total cost of the order was $18.4 million. The initial order was for 15 locomotives with steam generators and 11 with head-end power, but 9 of the first type were switched to using head-end power as Amtrak ramped up acquisition of
Amfleet cars. The E60s began arriving in November 1974; they were the first locomotives to carry Amtrak's new
Phase II livery. Problems soon developed, as the locomotives yawed sideways when accelerating, stressing the rails. The
National Transportation Safety Board investigation after a derailment at
Elkton, Maryland on February 24, 1975, revealed problems with the
truck and bolster design. The
Federal Railroad Administration restricted the maximum speed of the E60s to . While Amtrak accepted the locomotives and publicly expressed "confidence" that they would be cleared for operation, it also arranged for a trial of the Swedish-built four-axle
Rc4 electric locomotive. The problems with the E60 persisted into 1977, at which point Amtrak developed the specification for a locomotive based on the Rc4 design. In 1977–78 Amtrak ordered the first of 53
EMD AEM-7s, a twin-cab
B-B electric locomotive produced by
Electro-Motive Division. As the AEM-7s arrived Amtrak began disposing of its E60s. It sold two E60CHs to the
Navajo Mine Railroad in 1982. Between 1986 and 1988, those E60s that remained with Amtrak were rebuilt, reclassified and renumbered. All E60CPs had their steam generators removed and four of these had HEP fitted. Those with HEP, both the E60CHs and the converted E60CPs, were rebuilt and renumbered as
E60MA in the 600 series. The locomotives were regeared for a maximum speed of . When the E60s returned to service, they were used on heavy, long-distance trains, such as the New York–New Orleans
Crescent, the New York–Florida
Silver Service, and the Washington, D.C.–Montreal
Montrealer. They could also be found in
push–pull service on the
Keystone Service trains in the late 1980s and on trains in the early 1990s. New Jersey Transit began buying
ABB ALP-44s, an improved version of the EMD AEM-7 from
Asea Brown Boveri, in 1990. It would acquire 32 altogether by the end of 1996. The E60 was off the New Jersey Transit roster by 1998. No. 958 was preserved by the
United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey. All Amtrak E60s were retired in 2003, having been replaced mostly by the
HHP-8. In April 2004, the
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania acquired No. 603 for preservation.
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México The single largest order of E60Cs was by
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (NdeM), the national railroad of Mexico. NdeM ordered 39 E60C-2 locomotives, built between 1982 and 1983. The line operated from 1994 to 1997; many locomotives never ran in revenue service. After privatization in 1997,
Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) dismantled the electrification. The locomotives were made available for sale; eight were still owned by GE and, never delivered, stored in
Brownsville, Texas. The availability of several dozen lightly used electric locomotives sparked interest from several commuter operators, including
Caltrain in the
San Francisco Bay Area and
GO Transit in
Toronto. TFM traded 22 of the E60C-2s to
GE for
GE AC4400CW diesel locomotives. Three were sold to
Texas Utilities to serve the company's
Martin Lake Line, displacing
GE E25Bs. They lasted in service until the end of electrified operations in 2011.
EMD SD50 diesel locomotives replaced them. The E25Bs, smaller versions of the E60, had been in use since 1976. Another six went to the Black Mesa and Lake Powell, replacing its aging E60Cs. Five went to the Deseret Power Railroad.
Deseret-Western Railway In addition to the 39 locomotives delivered to NdeM, GE built two E60C-2s for the
Deseret-Western Railway. The Deseret-Western, like the Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad, is a dedicated line hauling coal between a mine and a power station. The line opened in 1984. The Deseret-Western, now called the Deseret Power Railroad, supplemented its fleet with two ex-NdeM locomotives in the late 1990s, and another three in the 2000s. ==Notes==