Athearn #15300 F59PHI, METRA #90 CNW Heritage

METRA FEATURES:

Beginning in 2017, METRA began to honor the legacy of the railroads that made Chicago a centerpiece for American travel, by painting several of its locomotives in heritage paint schemes. #425 was first to be released in December 2017 and is painted to honor the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad as well as outgoing CEO Don Orseno.
Unveiled in January 2019
#409 is painted in the colors of the Chicago
Milwaukee
St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
better known as the Milwaukee Road. It also features the famous “Hiawatha” logo on the nose.
Unveiled in January 2019, #409 is painted in the colors of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, better known as the Milwaukee Road. It also features the famous “Hiawatha” logo on the nose.
Locomotive #90 is painted in Chicago and North Western Railroad livery
whose former rail lines still see METRA trains today.
Locomotive #90 is painted in Chicago and North Western Railroad livery, whose former rail lines still see METRA trains today.
Note: The paint schemes on numbers 405 and 425 are not depicted on F59PHI locomotives in real life. We offer them here in our Legendary Liveries series
as a fitting tribute to the legacy of these great railroads and to satisfy popular demand for these paint schemes.
Note: The paint schemes on numbers 405 and 425 are not depicted on F59PHI locomotives in real life. We offer them here in our Legendary Liveries series, as a fitting tribute to the legacy of these great railroads and to satisfy popular demand for these paint schemes.
Locomotive #90 is painted in Chicago and North Western Railroad livery
whose former rail lines still see METRA trains today.
Locomotive #90 is painted in Chicago and North Western Railroad livery, whose former rail lines still see METRA trains today.

LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:

Fully-assembled and ready-to-run
LED Lighting for realistic appearance
Non-sound locomotives are DCC ready
See through cab windows
McHenry® operating scale knuckle couplers
Bi-directional constant lighting so headlight brightness remains consistent
All-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth and quiet operation
Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and pulling power
All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow
5-pole skew wound motor with precision-machined flywheels and multi-link drive train for optimal operation
Multi-link drive train for trouble free operation
Operates on Code 55 and 80 rail
Painted and printed for realistic decoration
Fully-assembled and ready-to-run out of the box
• Highly detailed, injection molded body
Multiple road numbers
Minimum radius: 9 3/4”

PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION

The EMD F59PHI is a high speed locomotive produced by Electro-Motive Division (EMD) from 1994 to 2001. It features an isolated cab, lightweight body, and a streamlined shape, features that were absent on the original commuter F59PH.

First built for the California Department of Transportation(CDoT), the F59PHI has seen service in all four corners of America, (Mostly seen in California) as well as in the Pacific Northwest/Montreal area in Canada , and most recently Chicago’s METRA Railroad.

In 1990, the State of California passed a bill that would result in massive funding for the state transportation systems. It also resulted in a separate, state funded system of regional Amtrak routes.

CDOT wanted a locomotive that was both reliable and attractive. They approached EMD, who responded with the lightweight, high-speed F59PHI locomotive.

Soon after, more orders arrived. Amtrak ordered 21 of these locomotives for their Pacific Sufliner service (separate from Amtrak California), and the North Carolina Department of Transportation also selected it as their primary motive power. West Coast Express (operated by TransLink) in Metro Vancouver, also selected it for starting up its service

Montreal’s Agence de Metropolitaine de Transport bought 11 of these locomotives to go with their Bombardier Bi-Level coaches, which were just arriving.

The F59PHI was produced until 2001. It was taken off of EMD’s lineup because it wasn’t able to meet the EPA Tier 1 regulations.