Amtrak Pacific Surfliner #580 rushes through the Metrolink station in Orange, California, on April 2, 2017. F59PHI 452 is eighteen years and ten months old, and while these durable EMD locomotives keep rolling up the miles, relief is on the way in the form of some new Siemens SC-44 “Charger” locomotives due in the fourth quarter of 2017. These won’t replace the F59PHIs, but they will provide some breathing room for Amtrak’s shop forces to perform heavier maintenance on these workhorses.
