Amtrak 156, two new ACS-64 electrics lead the California Zephyr into Ottumwa, IA 5/27/14

Описание: On May 27th, 2014, Amtrak's Phase I heritage unit, P42 #156, led the California Zephyr eastbound into Ottumwa, Iowa, and I caught it downtown at the train station. The train was running almost six hours late by the time it arrived. From what I could hear on the radio, freight congestion and work crews on the tracks were probably the cause of most of the delay today.

Behind 156 are two new ACS-64 electric locomotives, being hauled to the northeast for operation on Amtrak's electrified Northeast Corridor. The engines are built by Siemens in Sacramento, California, and are delivered to the northeast via Amtrak's California Zephyr and Capitol Limited passenger trains. Units #600-611 have already gone through in the past several months, and these are the next two in the series, 612 and 613. A good 55 or more are still yet to be built.

As Amtrak departs, a BNSF covered hopper train (hauling salt/sand, maybe?) heads through the station going the other direction. The train had been stopped east of town near the Iowa Avenue crossing, but crept slowly towards the station as Amtrak completed their work. It's been a long time since I've seen a freight pass through this quickly after the eastbound Amtrak departed.

Fellow YouTube railfan A. Train also caught this train east of Ottumwa in Agency, IA. You can view his video here:    • Heritage Unit and Two ACS-64s Lead Califor...