40th Anniversary Commemorative Locomotive Enters Revenue Service
The first of four 40th Anniversary commemorative P-42 locomotives joined revenue service yesterday as the lead engine on the Washington-bound Capitol Limited.
With a paint scheme first introduced in 1979, locomotive #145 displays one of four historic paint schemes. All four P-42 diesel-electric locomotives will be in service by the end of April, and will operate on trains across the system. Each locomotive had been previously scheduled to receive a new paint job and is being painted at the Beech Grove maintenance facility.
As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, Amtrak will debut a special “exhibit train” on National Train Day in Washington, D.C., on May 7, and then travel through major employee hubs across the country for a one-year period. It will include two locomotives with historic paint schemes and use renovated baggage cars to display educational exhibits focusing on each decade of the railroad’s existence with vintage advertising, past menus and dinnerware, period uniforms, photographs and other memorabilia. Dates and locations of when and where it will travel will be announced soon.
Other elements of the 40th anniversary activities will include a book entitled “Amtrak: An American Story,” a documentary DVD illustrating the history of Amtrak, and a special anniversary website that will be launched this spring.