The EMD FP45 is a

cowl unit A cowl unit is a body style of diesel locomotive. The terminology is a North American one, though similar locomotives exist elsewhere. A cowl unit is one with full-width enclosing bodywork, similar to the cab unit style of earlier locomotives, ...

type of C-C diesel locomotive produced in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

General Motors Electro-Motive Division Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its su ...

(EMD). It was produced beginning in 1967 at the request of the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

, which did not want its prestigious ''

Super Chief The ''Super Chief'' was one of the named passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The streamliner claimed to be "The Train of the Stars" because of the various celebrities it carried between Chicago, Ill ...

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about from base to summit along its talles ...

'' and other passenger trains pulled by freight style

hood unit A hood unit, in North American railroad terminology, is a body style for diesel and electric locomotives where the body is less than full-width for most of its length and walkways are on the outside. In contrast, a cab unit has a full-width c ...

locomotives, which have external walkways.

History and development

The

EMD SDP45 The SDP45 is a six-axle, C-C, diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. It was a passenger-hauling version of the SD45 on a stretched locomotive frame with an extended, squared-off long ...

was a good passenger locomotive, but to the Santa Fe Railway it did not look the part. EMD therefore designed a lightweight "cowl" body to cover the locomotive, though it did not, as in earlier

cab unit In North American railroad terminology, a cab unit is a railroad " locomotive" with its own cab and controls. "Carbody unit" is a related term, which may be either a cabless booster unit controlled from a linked cab unit, or a cab unit that con ...

s, provide any structural strength, which remained in the frame. The cowl provided sleeker looks, better aerodynamics at speed, and allowed the crew to enter the engine compartment en route for diagnostics and maintenance. Final drive

gear ratio A gear train is a mechanical system formed by mounting gears on a frame so the teeth of the gears engage. Gear teeth are designed to ensure the Pitch circle diameter (gears), pitch circles of engaging gears roll on each other without slipping, pr ...

for passenger service was 57:20.

Orders

Santa Fe purchased nine of the locomotives (road numbers 100 through 108), and the Milwaukee Road bought five for its passenger service (road numbers 1 through 5). The Milwaukee Road units were delivered without dynamic braking. Reportedly,

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also c ...

was considering an order for five FP45s as well (EMD order #5742, serial #s 34952-34956), but canceled it. Such low production was feasible and profitable for EMD since the locomotive was fundamentally just a re-clothed SDP45. Power, as in the SDP45, was from a V20 645E3 engine (or

prime mover Prime mover may refer to: Philosophy *Unmoved mover, a concept in Aristotle's writings Engineering * Prime mover (engine), motor, a machine that converts various other forms of energy (chemical, electrical, fluid pressure/flow, etc) into energy ...

) developing .

Derivatives

A freight-only derivative, the

EMD F45 The EMD F45 is a C-C cowled diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1968 and 1971. Power was provided by an EMD 645E3 20-cylinder engine which generated . Design After sponsoring the development of t ...

, was sold in greater numbers (86) to Santa Fe, the Great Northern Railway, and the Burlington Northern Railroad. Amtrak bought a similar passenger locomotive based on the

SD40-2 The EMD SD40-2 is a C-C diesel-electric locomotive built by EMD from 1972 to 1989. The SD40-2 was introduced in January 1972 as part of EMD's '' Dash 2'' series, competing against the GE U30C and the ALCO Century 630. Although higher-horsepowe ...

, the SDP40F. The last three F45's in service were on the Montana Rail Link and the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway in the northern and northeastern United States. These units were taken out of service in 2006 for the MRL and 2010 for the NYSW.

Rebuilds

Between April 1980 and December 1982, Santa Fe's San Bernardino shops rebuilt eight FP45s 5940-5943, 5945-5948. They emerged as 5990-5993, 5995-5998, and were redesignated SDFP45s. The 5944 was retired in September 1981 on account of a wreck at Toland, Texas. Electrically they were upgraded to SD45-2 standards. Mechanically, they were re-geared from 59:18 to 60:17, reducing their top speed from 89 to 83 mph (143 to 134 km/h). In the mid 1980s Santa Fe again re-geared them - this time to 62:15 for 71 mph (114 km/h).

Withdrawal

Milwaukee Road's FP45s were all sold for scrap in 1981 and 1984. Santa Fe SDFP45 No. 5944 was wrecked in 1981, Santa Fe SDFP45 No. 96 was wrecked in 1994 on Cajon Pass. While No. 91 was sold to the Wisconsin Central in January 1995, becoming their #6652 and the rest stayed in service right up until the BN/SF merger in 1996, and were retired shortly after the merger.

Preservation

Those that were not wrecked in service, or sold to other railroads, are on display in museums: * Santa Fe 90: was donated to the

Oklahoma Railway Museum The Oklahoma Railway Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization in Oklahoma City. It is self-funded through memberships, train fares, special events, donations, and grants for restoration projects. The growing membership, of approxim ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

in a non-operational state. #90 was the last FP45 donated by the Santa Fe and had resided on a

RIP track A RIP track, short for ''repair in place'' track, (also known as a "cripple track" in slang terms) is a designated track, or tracks, in a rail yard or a siding along a section of a main rail line where locomotives and/or railroad cars can be p ...

for two years before being delivered to the museum. * '
Santa Fe 92
'': was donated to the

Illinois Railway Museum The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago. Overview Hist ...

Union, Illinois Union is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 580 at the 2010 census, up from 576 in 2000. History A post office called Union has been in operation since 1852. The village was named for the federal union of th ...

. In 2010, volunteers restored 92's control stand so that it could control other locomotives via MU. The locomotive was moved to National Railway Equipment in Silvis, IL during July 2017, where a replacement 20-645E3 engine, AR10 alternator, and a WBO air compressor (all purchased by the museum) were installed. This made the locomotive fully operational for the first time since at least 1997. * '
Santa Fe 93
'': preserved at the

Great Plains Transportation Museum The Great Plains Transportation Museum is a railroad museum in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Collection The museum's collection includes 6 locomotives and several pieces of rolling stock used on freight and passenger trains. * Atchison, Topek ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

. * Santa Fe 95: preserved at the

Western America Railroad Museum The Western America Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located in Barstow, California. The museum collects, preserves and shares the history of railroading in the Pacific Southwest. It is located on the east side of the Harvey House Railroad ...

Barstow, California Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 census. Barstow is an important crossroads for the In ...

. * Santa Fe 97: preserved at the

Museum of the American Railroad The Museum of the American Railroad, formerly known as the Age of Steam Railroad Museum, is a railroad museum in Frisco, Texas. The museum has more than 70 pieces of steam, diesel, passenger, and freight railroad equipment; guests may walk through ...

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

. * Santa Fe 108: was donated in operating condition minus the cab's air conditioner to the

Southern California Railway Museum The Southern California Railway Museum (SCRM, reporting mark OERX), formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, is a railroad museum in Perris, California, United States. It was founded in 1956 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles before movin ...

Perris, California Perris is an old railway city in Riverside County, California, United States, located east-southeast of Los Angeles and north of San Diego. It is known for Lake Perris, an artificial lake, skydiving, and its sunny dry climate. Perris is with ...

. This locomotive has the distinction of being the last passenger locomotive ever purchased by Santa Fe. Its restoration was completed in October, 2018 and it is now in operating condition for the first time since 201

References

* * * *

External links

Additional photos, specifications and information on the surviving FP45 locomotives
by Jim Fuhrman

as preserved at IRM
Preservation project for Santa Fe FP-45 93
At the Great Plains Transportation Museum. {{Santa Fe "Super Fleet" F45P C-C locomotives Passenger locomotives Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1967 Standard gauge locomotives of the United States