Last week Amtrak's California Zephyr left Chicago with not one, but two specially-painted diesel locomotives pulling the train - engines #42 and #156. Although I initially missed the train passing through Ottumwa, Iowa heading west, I figured there would be a possibility they'd return a few days later pulling the eastbound Zephyr. Sure enough, once reaching California the same consist was flipped for the return trip east, and would pass through Ottumwa on Sunday morning, January 22, 2017.
Well...morning turned into the late afternoon, as treacherous weather over California's Donner Pass delayed the train for many hours on its first day. At one point, the train was running over 8 hours late, but made up a little time along the way thanks to padding in the schedule. This allowed the train to arrive in Ottumwa about an hour before sunset, finally pulling in at 4 PM - seven hours late.
Amtrak #42 is painted in a special patriotic livery, honoring veterans of American armed forces. It's also been named "Joseph H Boardman", to pay tribute to Amtrak's former president and CEO, who also served in the Air Force during Vietnam. The Toys for Tots sign on the front of the engine is left over from a Christmas fundraiser train from a couple years ago.
Engine #156 is one of Amtrak's "Heritage" units, and represents the railroad's first standard paint scheme, Phase I, from the early 1970's. This locomotive is one of many special Heritage units painted to celebrate Amtrak's 40th anniversary in 2011.
Due to the unusual pairing of two special Amtrak units, the duo received a lot of attention from railfans as the train made its way from Emeryville to Chicago on the Zephyr. See the train passing other locations in the following videos:
Ironton, UT by Youtube user ERA Films: [ Ссылка ]
Omaha, NE by YouTube user Heartland Railfans: [ Ссылка ]
The next day, the two engines were put on the westbound Southwest Chief, seen passing Downer's Grove, IL by YouTube user MetraBNSF117: [ Ссылка ]
To view more videos of Amtrak in Iowa, including videos of many other heritage units, plus full-length documentaries of Amtrak trips, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel at:
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