SDP40F

Derailments

In the spring of 1977, Amtrak faced a power crisis. In addition to the SDP40Fs derailing, Amtrak was having trouble with two other six-axle designs. The GE E60CP and E60CH electric locomotives were having derailment problems. The GE P30CH had the same truck design as E60s and rode poorly, although it did not exhibit the same tendency to derail. Amtrak decided to abandon the SDP40F in favor of the F40PH, a four-axle design with none of the riding problems of the six-axle locomotives. Amtrak traded 40 SDP40Fs back to EMD. Components including the prime mover were installed into an F40PH's frame. Between 1977 and 1987, Amtrak traded 132 of the SDP40Fs back to EMD for F40PHRs. The SDP40F remained in service on the Santa Fe longer than elsewhere, although the arrival of HEP-equipped Superliner cars on the Western routes displaced them from there as well. The last SDP40Fs left the Amtrak roster in 1987. The remaining Amtrak SDP40Fs that weren't sold to the ATSF (seen below) are presumed to have been scrapped.