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Commemorating 31 Years of Service from the biggest of the "Big Jacks"---Santa Fe's FP45/SDFP45 Diesels



Builder: EMD; Engine: 645E; Cylinders: 20; Horsepower: 3600; Gear Ratio: 59:18; Length: 72'-4"; Wheelbase: 45'-0"; Trucks: C-C, High-mount brake cylnders


For 31 years, these six-axle (C-C) locomotives were flagships of the Santa Fe railroad.  First purchased in 1967 to replace aging first generation diesels on Santa Fe's streamlined passenger trains, their muscle was transferred to freight duties with the advent of Amtrak in 1971, except for the ocassional business train or railfan excursion.  They continued to serve the Santa Fe on into the BNSF merger.  They were the most rebuilt, renumbered and repainted locomotives in the Santa Fe diesel fleet during that period.  They lived through the 1970 renumbering, the transition from passenger service to freight duties, the evolution of the blue & yellow warbonnet livery, eventual rebuild and modernization in the early 1980s, and the ill-fated pre-merger SPSF "Kodachrome" paint job.  Finally, for the last decade of service, from 1989 through 1998, they were once again painted in the Red & Silver warbonnet scheme, this time with the large, Cooper Black "Santa Fe" emblazoned on each side in Santa Fe's famous red paint.  Serving as the proud flagships of the Superfleet, they were once again called upon to lead Santa Fe's premium service offerings.

The following timetable details the progression of these 3600 horsepower behemoths through a succession of eleven (!)  different incarnations.  The vertical axis is an approximate timeline, with each row in the chart representing a particular incarnation.  Each of the right-hand columns represents a particular locomotive as it passed through time.  Most of the units skipped one or more incarnations; these are represented by vacancies {"miss"} in the particular row involved.  At the end, the ultimate disposition of each of the units is detailed; all of the remaining units have been donated to various museums by the BNSF.  As more details become available, I will update the chart If you can help with this effort, please E-MAIL me.

The FP45 units were originally delivered with ATS shoes (that permitted operation at passenger train speeds) steam generators, and a "can" antenna centered on the cab roof.  The steam generators were all removed as the units transitioned to primarily freight duties.  When the units were rebuilt to SDFP45 in the early 1980s, they left the shops with modifications to their headlight arrangements, new rooftoop air conditioners, rotating beacons and Sinclair antennas on raised ground-plane platforms. Additional changes occurred as the units were shopped duting the 1980s; this included addition of the "baby Sinclair" antennas (they communicate with the "FRED" units that replaced cabooses at the end of most of Santa Fe's trains),  and movement of the horn toward the rear of the unit.  As a result of these changes taking place gradually during the 1980s, each unit took on a diferent "personality" during that period, and railroad modelers need to have photos of each unit they model if they want to make sure that they capture the locomotive's unique look for the period.  For example, look for the units that received yellow air conditioners as you peruse the photos.  (These shop swaps have been going on for quite some time--there is a photo from 1968 of an SD45 sporting a silver radiator fan from an original 100-class FP45 that can be found in Joe McMillan's Route of the Warbonnets.)  If you find a photo with a blue fan on a silver unit, let me know also.
 
The Eleven Liveries
FP45/SDFP45 Incarnations
FP45 EMD Chassis Number
33189
33190
33191
33192
33193
33194
33195
33196
33197
1: Original Red/Silver As Delivered Dec 1967
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
2: Red/Silver General Renumbering Mar 1970
5940
5941
5942
5943
5944
5945
5946
5947
5948
3: Blue & Yellow Trim July 1971-March1972
5940
5941
miss
5943
miss
5945
5946
5947
5948
4: Blue & Yellow Warbonnet Nov 72-Dec76
5940
5941
5942
5943
5944
5945
5946
5947
5948
first two rebuilds with old numbers 
   
 
Apr 80
>!*!<
Aug 81
     
5: Rebuilt by Santa Fe Shops to SDFP45
Sep 82
Oct 82
Nov 82
5943
 
5945
Jan 82
Dec 82
Aug 82
6: Blue & Yellow Warbonnet SDFP45
5990
5991
5992
5993
 
5995
5996
5997
5998
7: Pre-merger "Kodachrome" 1986
5990
5991
5992
5993
 
miss
5996
5997
5998
8: Blue & Yellow Warbonnet pre-1989
5990
5991
5992
5993
 
5995
5996
5997
5998
"Super Fleet" Red/Silver
                 
9:     100 Class--1989
100
104
101
106
 
107
103
105
102
10:   5990 Class
5990
5991
5992
5993
 
5995
5996
5997
5998
11:   90 Class
90
91
92
93
 
95
96
97
98
Dates   Donated Sold Scrapped
Dec-00
1995
Jan-97
Sep 98
Sep 81
Jun 98
Dec 94
Dec 99
Jan 98
Disposition
ORM
WC6652
IRM
GPTM
>!*!<
WARM
>!*!<
ASRM
OERM


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