Built in June 1990 to power Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe’s hot intermodal trains, ATSF GP60M 131 was delivered in the railway’s resurrected "Warbonnet" paint scheme, newly dubbed "Super Fleet," recently applied to rebuilt FP45s. These GP60Ms, a model unique to the Santa Fe, were the first "Super Fleet" engines delivered, soon to be followed by GP60Bs, Dash 8-40BWs, Dash 8-40CWs and Dash 9-44CWs. The Nineties would be heady days on the Santa Fe, with these colorful locomotives found on a high percentage of many intermodal trains. By the first decade of the Twenty-First Century, modern 6-axle GEs and EMDs dominated new locomotive purchases, and as they were more powerful, smoother riding, cleaner running, and more fuel efficient than the high horsepower 4-axle units of the late Eighties and Nineties, those engines were relegated to use on locals. Which explains why BNSF Railway’s 2nd La Mirada local, working the railway’s Kimberly Lead (also known as the KC Spur), has the former ATSF GP60M 131 and BNSF GP60 196 (ex-ATSF 8738) for power. A railfan who’d been out of the loop for twenty or so years might be surprised to find these in such humble service. (Fullerton, California – August 12, 2019)
