Out Front at Wabtec in Albia, IA - Keewatin Railway P40, GE Tier 4 Demo Units, & More! 12/21/23

On December 21st, 2023, I went out and about to see if I could see any trains along the Iowa Southern Railway. Although I was unsuccessful seeing anything in motion between Albia and Moravia, I did get some action at the Wabtec Locomotives facility south of Albia, and made a brief stop to document it. The Wabtec Albia facility, formerly Relco Locomotives, repairs and overhauls locomotives and railcars for various railroads all across North America. The equipment is brought in by the Iowa Southern Railway from their two interchanges with BNSF (Albia) and CPKC (Moravia). There's always a lot of business going on here, and as a result you can often find some interesting equipment staged in front of and alongside their buildings.

Such was the case on this day, when I drove by initially I had to do a double take as I saw a GE Genesis locomotive right outside the main building, in a fresh coat of a paint of a railroad I'd never heard of before. From what I can gather, this is one of many former Amtrak P40's that arrived on the property in the past year or so. This one is painted in a striking red and silver livery for the Keewatin Railway Company, a shortline in Manitoba, Canada. After delivery to the railway, this unit will most likely be used in their twice-weekly passenger services between The Pas and Pukatawagan, Manitoba. The Keewatin Railway operates a branch off of the Hudson Bay Railway, serving remote locations that are best accessible to the outside world by train. At The Pas, passengers can transfer to Via Rail Canada's famous Hudson Bay train, linking Winnipeg with Churchill, Manitoba, the farthest point north served by passenger trains in the continuous North American rail network. Here at Wabtec, the unit receives a look-over by employees. Blue flags on the unit are eventually taken down, implying that the engine would be moved soon, though it wasn't moved while I was here. It looks like there's still a little work left to be done on the engine before it's shipped out.

While I was taking pictures of the Keewatin P40, I heard some movement alongside the main building, and soon a short cut of locomotives comes into view, being moved by RLCX 300, an SW9 based at the facility. The first locomotive in the consist, CP 8636, is uncoupled on a track leading to the paint shop, before the engines run back up the tracks a bit before stopping. The other two locomotives in the consist are GECX 7003 and 7008, some of the original GE Evolution Series Tier 4 demonstrator units. Originally painted blue, they're now in red paint, similar to what you'd see on new Canadian Pacific units. I've heard rumors that these might be sold to CPKC and repainted in their new livery, which has yet to be applied to any of their equipment, but I don't have any confirmation on that yet.

Some other locomotives of interest on the Wabtec grounds include a number of former BNSF Dash 9 locomotives, some with GECX reporting marks, others with Canadian National reporting marks & numbers. A former Norfolk Southern Dash 8-32B diesel is in the mix as well. As I initially drive up to the Keewatin P40, you might see CP 4611 (GP40) on a track a ways behind. And as I drive away, a pair of more unusual diesels is visible - MPEX 5000, an MK-50-3 that saw use on the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern for a time, and GECX 5989, a former Santa Fe F45. Eventually, this engine will be repainted in the "Kodachrome" paint scheme of the ill-fated Southern Pacific-Santa Fe merger from the '80's.

I hope you've enjoyed this brief look at the locomotives surrounding Wabtec in Albia. For more train videos from this area, be sure to subscribe to my channel! ‪@BobbyHarveyVideoProductions‬

For an in-depth look at trains on the Iowa Southern Railway, check out my documentary from 2017 by clicking here:    • Exploring the Iowa Southern: Shortline Rai...  

Also, follow my Facebook page:
  / bobbyharveyvideo  

Copyright © 2024 Bobby Harvey. All Rights Reserved.