The EMD F59PH is a four-axle B-B diesel-electric

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

built by General Motors

Electro-Motive Division Electro-Motive Diesel (abbreviated EMD) is a brand of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. Formerly a division of General Motors, EMD has been owned by Progress Rail since 2010. Electro-Motiv ...

from 1988 to 1994. A variant, the F59PHI, was produced from 1994 to 2001. The F59PH was originally built for

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...

commuter operation in the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

region. Metrolink in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

also purchased a fleet for its 1992 launch. The streamlined F59PHI was designed for

Amtrak California Amtrak California is a brand name used by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Division of Rail for three state-supported Amtrak regional rail routes in Californiathe ''Capitol Corridor'', the ''Pacific Surfliner'', and the ...

intercity service. A total of 72 F59PH and 83 F59PHI locomotives were built.

F59PH

Between May 1988 and May 1994, 72 F59PH locomotives were built for two commuter transit railroads:

and Metrolink of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Based on the GP59, the locomotives had a turbocharged EMD 12-710G3A, a 12-cylinder,

two-stroke Diesel engine A two-stroke diesel engine is a diesel engine that uses compression ignition in a two-stroke combustion cycle. It was invented by Hugo Güldner in 1899.Mau (1984) p.7 In compression ignition, air is first compressed and heated; fuel is then in ...

(

prime mover Prime mover may refer to: Philosophy *Unmoved mover, a concept in Aristotle's writings Engineering * Prime mover (engine or motor), a machine that converts various other forms of energy (chemical, electrical, fluid pressure/flow, etc.) into ener ...

Head end power In rail transport, head-end power (HEP), also known as electric train supply (ETS), is the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive (or a generator car) at the front or 'head' of a train, ...

was supplied by a separate diesel generator. GO Transit began retiring its F59PH locomotives in 2008 in favor of newer MPI MPXpress locomotives. Most were purchased by other operators including

Exo Exo (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...

(10 locomotives),

Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

(3), NCDOT (11) for use on the ''

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

'', and

Trinity Railway Express The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) is a commuter rail service in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Texas, United States. It was established by an interlocal agreement between Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Trinity Metro. Each transit auth ...

(7). Five of the NCDOT units were rebuilt into cab control units without prime movers. Seven Metrolink units were rebuilt as F59PHR. The non-rebuilt Metrolink locomotives were retired by 2020. Five of those were purchased by NCDOT in 2018.

F59PHI

The F59PHI is a variant with a fully enclosed streamlined carbody. The first nine units were purchased by

Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

for use on

services and entered service in 1994. Like the F59PH, the F59PHI is equipped with a secondary electrical generator – rated between – for HEP. A total of 83 locomotives were built, most for commuter rail and Amtrak corridor services on the West Coast. Two F59PHI locomotives were built in 1995 for

Philip Morris Companies Altria Group, Inc. (previously known as Philip Morris Companies, Inc. until 2003) is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and medical products in the treatment of illnesses ca ...

to haul the ''

Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (PMI, now separate from Altria) in most global territories outside the ...

Unlimited'', a custom built luxury train to carry winners of a Philip Morris sweepstakes around the country. After Philip Morris cancelled the train, the units were stored before being sold to Metrolink in 1998. Some units are still in service with the original owners, while others have been retired. The 21 ex-Amtrak units were sold to Metra in 2018.

Notes

References

* * {{Higher speed rail B-B locomotives F59PH F59PH EPA Tier 2-compliant locomotives of the United States Passenger locomotives Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States Diesel–electric locomotives of Canada Diesel–electric locomotives of Mexico Railway locomotives introduced in 1988 Amtrak locomotives Standard-gauge locomotives of Canada Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States Standard-gauge locomotives of Mexico American Passenger Locomotives