MORE ON ENGINE 41

Here is #41 the 1996/97 Amtrak Genesis order from the GE Transportation Division at Erie, Pennsylvania. It was still active in 2023, but suffered a derailment in early 2024 in Coloirado. The lead engine was a P40, which was destroyed. These 40's road numbers were the last of the 1996-built units. Three others of this group of ten are no longer in service, 42, 47, and 49. Based upon the original build stickers, 46 48 and 49 were actually January 1997 units, while the others were 96's. As of February 2024, there are 24 of the 1996-built units still available in operable condition at Amtrak. Others are stored as parts sources, and a handful have been scrapped or sold.

Delivered to Amtrak by General Electric in 1996 and 1997 were P42 road numbers 1-98 in 1993 livery. There was a 1998 marketing change that caused a different appearing set of stripes for a brief time. But significantly, engines 40-49 all skipped that. In 2000, a new millenium paint scheme was introduced, and Amtrak's traditional red white and blue stripes were gone. This group of #40-49 went directly into the post- 2000 millennium paint. Only #45 received the high skirt varient, the remainder were given the 2001 low skirt paint job.

Significant losses in this group were #47, destroyed on CSX at Dixie, South Carolina, and #49 which suffered an unfortunate fuel-injector fire. Amtrak lost several units to fire that way after they were overhauled with faulty parts. Amtrak blamed GE, and GE claimed it was Amtrak's fault. Some of the engineroom fire units were repaired, but #49 evidently could not be fixed economically. It appears now that #41 may have joined that group.

Serial numbers were between 49578 and 49587 for this group, except for #41 which originally had 49569. Possibly a mis-print, or maybe the unit was bypassed on the production line, we never knew for sure. It has probably been corrected by now. Engine 45 was repainted either in late 2000 or early 2001, into the high-skirt millenium bluenose. The others in this group were repainted later in 2001, and got the low skirt version.

In December 2020, #46 received a 50 year anniversary "Connecting America for 50 years" tribute applique, and is still active that way. Uncertain if it received a complete overhaul or not in 2020, but if it did, it likely remains the lowest numbered Genesis engine to have been updated and repainted. Earlier #42 served several years in a veteran's appreciation motif before it was sidelined.

For additional photos we recomment rrpicturearchives.net. For a history of any given train, showing times and speeds en-route, transitdocs is the go-to site. Here are movements for #41. Not all movements were necessarily captured. The train number is listed with the date of sighting.

JANUARY 2024 INCIDENT

Train 6 of January 28, 2024 was involved in a road crossing incident in Weld County, Colorado on January 29 at 10:25 PM local time. Engine #41 was trailing #816 at a cross-bucked intersection when the lead unit contacted a loaded tanker truck at county road 63, where it intersects the I-76 frontage road. Both locomotives derailed, as did several cars. Only the lead locomotive overturned. Amtrak's engineer was reportedly seriously injured in the incident. No others were reported seriously hurt. The negligent truck driver was being investigated.

The damage to #41 appeared from video coverage to be mostly on the right front of the cab, where possibly lead locomotive #816 may have flipped into it. After #816 derailed, it may have picked a switch. In any event, #816 separated from the train, and turned over in the ditch, while it seemed the rest of the consist decellerated past it. Engine #41 did not overturn.

This incident has parallels to many other rail-safety incidents, where increasingly larger loads are being placed in the paths of trains at unimproved crossings. There are more trucks on the road, they are heavier, and drivers are less experienced and/or impaired/distracted. Often cross roads are at angles to the rails, and may not be level, causing vehicles to become high-centered. We cannot say for sure which factors were involved here, other than it is known that the truck deiver did not stop. As compared to other incidents, such as we have seen before, this one happened at night.

HERE ARE PAST REPORTS FOR #41

#41 - Serial 49569 December 1996. Train 5 of Febuary 1, 2023. Train 6 Feb 22(w/45).

Not active in March, 2023.

April 2023 - Train 6 Apr10(w/170). Train 5 Apr13(w/170). Tr5 Apr19(w/172).

May 2023 - Tr6 May5(w/205). Tr5 May8(w/29). CA May10. T6 May11(w/29). T5 May14(w/29). T6 May17(w/29). T5 May20(w/144). T6May30(w/196).

June 2023 - T3Jun22/24(w/44). T2Jun25/27(w/44). T1Jun28/30(w/44). T2Jun30/July2(w/44).

July 2023. T1July3/5(w/44+78). T2July5/7(w/44). T1July7/9(w/44). T4July10/12(w/44). T3July13/15(w/44). T4May15/16(w/44). 3July18/20(w/44). T4July21/23(w/44). T3July25/26(w/163). T4July27/28(w/27). T3July30/31(w/181).

August 2023 - T4Aug1/2(w/163). T3Aug4/6(w/163). T4Aug6/8(w/163). T3Aug9/11(w/163). T4Aug11/13(w/163). T3Aug14/16(w/163). Los Angeles August 16-27. T4Aug27/29(w/22).

September 2023 - CHI-BEE September 1/2, special deadhead train P930 w/seven deadhead superliners. Beech Grove September 2-19. P951 Sept 19 BEE-CHI w/59 and #71 on deadhead Cardinal section from September 17 that terminated IND). T3Sep21/23(w/139). T4Sep23/25(w/139). T3Sep26/28(w/139).

October 2023 - T2 Oct1/3(w/158). T1 Oct4/6(w/158+76). T2 Oct6/8(w/158). T1 Oct9/11(w/158). T4 Oct12/14(w/158). T3 Oct15/17(w/158). T4 Oct17/19(w/158). T3 Oct20/22(w/158). T4 Oct22/24(w/19). T7 Oct26/28(w/322+163). T8 Oct28/30(w/306+140). T7 Oct31/Nov2(w/306+140).

November 2023 - T8Nov2/4(w/306/140). T7Nov5/7(SEAw/308+140). T8Nov11(SEA-SPK). T8Nov11/13(w/319 SPK-CHI). T7Nov14/16(SEA w/319 to PDX). T8Nov16/18(SEA w/180 PDX or SPK). T30Nov19/20. T97Nov20/21(w/320). T98Nov22/23(w/320). T195Nov23. T86/125Nov24. T194/99Nov25. T96/145Nov26. T93/176Nov27. T94Nov28. T19Nov28(w/201).

December 2023 - T1Dec2/4(w/50). T4Dec9/11(w/171). T48/448Dec13/14(w/101). T449Dec15(w/101+94). T49Dec15/16(w/101). T48/448 Dec19/20(w/101+118). T449-21(w/101+118+116). T49-21/22(w/101 Ld). T5Dec24/26(w/147+37Tr). T6Dec29/31(w/50ld).

January 2024 - T5Jan1/3(w/54Ld). T6Jan4/6(w/57Ld). T5Jan7/9(w/140Tr). T6Jan10/12(w/43Tr). T5Jan16/18(w/157Ld add #142+192@DEN). T6Jan19/21(w/816+157Ld).

41 (49569). T6Jan19/21(w/816+157Ld). T5Jan22/24(w/816Ld). T6Jan28/30(w/816Ld). Involved in a milk-truck semi-trailer inspired derailment January 29, 2024, on train 6 in Weld County, Colorado.

This incident occurred at 10:35 PM on the I-76 access road T-junction of county road 63 when a tanker truck was encountered at a cross-bucked road intersection. The lead locomotive, P40 #816 was reportedly near a switch when it derailed. The force of the collision flipped #816 onto its side and it landed in a ditch with significant front and side damage. The lead unit was more or less ripped open. Much of train 6 derailed. Damage to #41 is unknown at this time, but seems to be confined to the nose. It the past such damage might have been repaired, but there are other P42's with less apparent damage that have not been.

Moved to Lincoln, Nebraska 7-22-24, BNSF H-PVOLIN1-20A.
41 LNC 7-22 BNSF H-PVOLIN1-20A. Galesburg 7-22 H-LINGAL1-22A.

September 3 CSX move on M641-3, arrived Beech Grove September 4, 2024. No information received since then. In the past, such units would have been repaired and returned to service. However, #41 is nearly 30 years old, so likely will not be back.


November 20, 2024 Update from 4rr.com feedback at 4rr.com