Why Railroads FEARED Amtrak's New Locomotive

Why Railroads FEARED Amtrak's New Locomotive

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Two forty-five in the morning, December 16th, 1976. Amtrak train number 6 derails outside Ralston, Nebraska at fifty-three miles per hour. The locomotive walks off the rail, takes eleven cars with it, sixty-three people injured. Track inspectors measure everything and discover the track met federal standards. So what happened?
The locomotive was an SDP40F, brand new, EMD's best passenger unit. It had the same engine as the SD40-2 — the most successful freight locomotive ever built. Nearly four thousand SD40-2s ran all over North America with identical trucks and suspension, zero problems. But the SDP40F had thirteen derailments in three years. That's the story nobody could explain, and nearly fifty years later railfans still argue about it.
Here's what makes this insane: one railroad figured out how to fix these locomotives. Made three simple changes and ran them for about eighteen years without a single issue. Amtrak never even tried.
The SD40-2 came out in 1972 with a sixteen-cylinder turbocharged prime mover putting out three thousand horsepower. EMD built nearly four thousand between '72 and '89. Burlington Northern bought 836, Union Pacific got 686, everyone wanted them because they were reliable. The SDP40F was supposed to be the passenger version. When Amtrak formed in 1971, they inherited twenty-year-old E-units held together with baling wire. They needed new power fast, so EMD stretched the SD40-2 frame about four feet, added a cowl body and steam generators. Amtrak ordered 40 units immediately, then ordered 110 more.
Then the derailments started. First one was 1974, then another, then another. Always the same pattern: high speed, cold weather, curves, baggage car coupled behind the locomotive. Crews complained about rough ride from day one, but management ignored them. Engineers said the SDP40Fs yawed — back end swinging side to side. Made passengers airsick, made trackside detectors scream about lateral forces.
The NTSB blamed deteriorated crossties, but the track met Class 4 standards. SD40-2s ran over similar track hauling freight with no problems. So why were SDP40Fs tearing up rail that freight locomotives handled fine? Nobody had answers, so they threw out theories. Hollow bolster trucks. Water sloshing. Lightweight baggage cars creating harmonic vibrations. Lack of alignment-controlled couplers. EMD tested extensively but remained inconclusive.
Railroads panicked. Burlington Northern banned them. Chessie System banned them. Conrail was so spooked they ordered ALL new locomotives with old-style Flexicoil trucks instead of the proven HT-C design. Even in 1981 when EMD introduced the SD50, Conrail specified Flexicoil trucks. Only railroad in North America to do that. One locomotive's problems influenced an entire railroad's orders for years.
Meanwhile Amtrak couldn't use their best locomotives on half the network. EMD offered solutions, but Amtrak ordered F40PHs instead. By the early 1980s, most SDP40Fs were being phased out. Eighteen got sold to Santa Fe Railway. Everyone figured Santa Fe would use them for parts.
Santa Fe rebuilt them completely at San Bernardino shops. Made three changes: replaced hollow bolster trucks with conventional solid bolsters, filled the water tanks with concrete, converted the fuel-water tank to straight fuel. Then ran them in freight service until 2002 with zero derailments, zero complaints, zero restrictions. Normal retirement because they were old, not because they were problems.
So why didn't Amtrak try it? EMD offered solutions, Santa Fe proved fixes worked. Maybe money wasn't there, maybe railroad bans killed support, maybe after thirteen derailments nobody wanted to touch them. We'll never know. What we know: one locomotive sold nearly four thousand copies and became legendary, the other sold 150 and got banned. Nearly fifty years later, the exact cause remains debated. The solution came from trying different approaches until something worked, and Amtrak never tried.