Why Amtrak's New Electric Locomotive FAILED Completely

Why Amtrak's New Electric Locomotive FAILED Completely

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Amtrak inherited Penn Central's 40-year-old GG1 electric locomotives in 1971. Needed modern replacements desperately.
March 1973: General Electric wins contract for 26 E60 units at $18.4 million. Designed for 120 MPH operation.
February 1975: Brand new E60 derails at Elkton, Maryland. Investigation reveals truck design unstable at high speed. FRA restricts entire fleet to 85 MPH. 120 MPH promise destroyed.
1976-1977: Amtrak borrows Swedish Rc4 locomotive for testing. Swedish machine hits 124 MPH easily while American E60s stuck at 85 MPH.
1978: Amtrak orders Swedish-designed AEM-7 as replacement. Nicknamed "Swedish Meatballs."
Starting 1982: Amtrak dumps E60s after barely 8 years service. Converts some to P30CH diesel-electrics.
P30CH casualties: December 1977 Sellers SC crash kills 3 crew. October 1979 Harvey IL crash kills 2 ICG crew. Total 5 deaths from flawed truck design.
Mexico buys 39 E60C-2 units 1982-1983 for $60 million. Opens February 24, 1994. Operations end 1997. 22 units traded back to GE. 8 never delivered, stored in Brownsville Texas.
Last 3 Amtrak units (604, 609, 610) retired June 2004.
Only 2 preserved: 603 and 958. American electric locomotive manufacturing ended.