Back in 2000, there was a discussion over at Trainorders about the different models of locomotives used by Amtrak. Somehow, this discussion turned why Amtrak should rebuild it's F40 fleet. I was strongly against rebuilding these machines from a business standpoint. A lot of railfans forget that railroads are in business to move freight in a way that will make them money. One of those ways involves saving fuel. Running locomotives that sucks down thousands of extra gallons a years does not help the cause. To prove this point, the MRL was able to buy 16 new EMD SD70MACe locomotives that saved 20% in fuel over their current SD45. I bet the savings in fuel alone pays for the lease on MRL new locomotives easy.

Back to the F40. Recently, Via rebuilt F40 6400 (http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=174604). I am not sure of all the upgrades involved in the rebuilding process. It will be interesting to see if Via rebuilds more.

I am still learning how to take better pictures with my camera. My new format to take pictures is RAW. I will let you know how that turns out.