SF FP45 Entering OERM Yard

The Santa Fe FP45 is one of the Orange Empire Railroad Museum's operating diesels. It is also part of their "run-one-for-a-day" program that lets people be instructed on their operation then allows them to drive the train on the museum's mainline for an hour. Here it is entering the yard after a day of operating.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• SF
• FP45
• Entering
• OERM
• Yard

[ACLTony]

Very nice! The FP45, imho, is the most attractive locomotive ever built by EMD. So glad some have been preserved. Hopefully this museum will obtain the funds to completely repaint this unit. Do you know how much the museum charge to learn and operate the FP45 for a day? Would be a dream-come-true for me as a vacation goal.

[threestoogesSC4]

Sorry for the late reply on this, took me a while to get the reply function to work right. You can find more information at the OERM website, but for the FP45 it's $285/hr. This includes a lesson on how to operate it, and actual operating time.

[jimmydcap]

That would be one hell of a Birthday Present!

[AmtrakSurfliner768]

I got to drive her a little ways a few months ago, it was AWESOME!

[Barricade360]

im lost now how many of the fp45s are still operating under their own power?

[l1waggon]

@JIMBOSKI58 The snow plow on the SantaFe 98 was added around 92 as a result of some wreck repair made in Barstow Ca. If my memory serves me correctly the 98 hit a rock slide in Az which did significant damage to the end sheet, and step wells on both sides! Step sills, steps, and end sheet are from an SD40, stock that was procured from SanBernardino shop when it was still open. Rueben Laura, and Zeke patched her up really good. I was a mach apprentice at the time but remember this time vividly.

[DeserTBoB93535]

I remember when these were new, running the bi-levels on the SChief. It was really great to see Mike Haverty paint them back into warbonnet colors again. Last time I saw them operational was on that 3751 run as helpers...which were doing most of the work, anyway.

[JIMBOSKI58]

Don't recall seeing too many, if at all, FP45/F45 with snowplows. Also, many did not have hand rails at the cab front. Anyway, good to see that hopefully it will be preserved and repainted.

[railfan101]

@ACLTony It is awesome! As of now they are having a fundraiser to make it possible. They even got some funds from BNSF!

[ACLTony]

@railfan101 - Hey that's great news that she's being repainted. I'm looking forward to seeing the final results.

[railfan101]

@ACLTony This FP45 is already in the process of being repainted into her original passenger livery it wore during it's early years.

[CoasterFan2105]

I think it was probably more that there were cleaner, more efficient, modern, and safer locomotives being built by GE and EMD. Same reason the C40's are being retired now.

[rockguitarist946]

not really, you wouldn't really notice IMO