The 2 stroke EMDs notch up is always soo soothing to my ears, no matter which country it is but the pick up and nothing acceleration of GM EMD locomotives are always the same ✨
The EMD 710-series prime movers that power these new SD70MACHs are slightly quieter than the older F40PH 645-series engine at notch-up to Run-8, although not by much. At idle, the 710 also produces a noticeable & very distinctive high-pitched 'ying-ying-ying' sound that contrasts nicely with the muttering & burbling sounds of an idling GE.
@@arrowlock I love the notching of the gt45pac series of EMD, and even the chugging of the dl3000 series of Alco locomotives but idk for some reason I'm not a fan of GE locomotive sounds, it sounds more like a tractor
Nice hi-rez camera work in low-light settings! These new SD70MACH's are impressive - and very nice-looking - new additions to METRA's locomotive fleet. Thanks for posting this video.
These are really sharp looking units. I really like them! It sure took a long time for them to arrive after being ordered. Hopefully they work out well for Metra
Its nice to see these locomotives get new lifes over, and over again, EMD has given the industry some incredible classes of locomotives, some classes still going after almost 60 years, that shows how good EMD is at making locomotives, GE cant say that. The only good classes GE gave the railroads were the dash classes, and the ac44cws, the gevos are literal aids
Never though I’ve seen the day than a Freight Diesel electric locomotive would be turned into a commuter Engine (I’m not hating on it I’m just surprised and tbh they look amazing for me)
You would have to go back to the year 1991 when GE delivered 20 dash 8 locos to Amtrak as a short term solution while the Genesis loco designs were still a work in progress at the time.
How about GP40s with F45 cabs or F45 cowl hoods. MARC, MBTA, and NJT were using those... Not sure why anyone thought all that surgery was necessary to make knockoff F40PHs but they were cool.
The way you typed "Metra's" which is now "Metras", reminds me of the word in Spanish for "marbles", the little glass pellets one played with when one was a kid xD
Metra has one electrified line, the rest remain diesel powered because that’s how they were when metra took over operations on them. They don’t have the money to electrify and most of their lines operate over freight railroads trackage so i’m sure they wouldn’t be fond of that.
Maybe I just haven't looked hard enough on other railroads, but I don't know of anyone besides Metra that has cab cars in the middle of consists. Are tha cab cars not useful elsewhere where they could actually be used as a cab car, or does it not matter enough on Metra?
@@SturtevantRails thanks for the info, I was just thinking that on my home of the LIRR, cab cars are never sat in the middle (the EMUs don’t count lmao) and neither on Amtrak I believe
@@mrfunkyman12Many commuter railroads have more cab cars than they need, so they put them in the middle of the train. UTA FrontRunner, Sounder, Coaster, Caltrain, New Mexico Rail Runner all do this.
It must be nice to commuter rail in your city. Cincinnati has the beautiful Union Terminal and no commuter rail system at all! Cincinnati stinks when it come to public transportation👎👎 I love Chicagos Commuter Rail System👍👍
Ironically, Chicago has the largest number of bridges, or near the largest number bridges in city limits. When the city of Chicago was built, many of those areas that have level crossings were originally farm land as the city was being built.
@@SturtevantRails Oh ok, I know they acquired several units from Amtrak. The blue & silver unit I believe was #80, is still in the Amtrak livery with Metra logos. I thought they were getting painted like the SD70s scheme...
@@vistalite-ph4zw Ah, didn’t realize what you were referring to. Yes as a cost saving measure the PHI’s were only freshened up. One is painted as the CNW unit and one has been painted into the new metra scheme but the rest remain in surfliner paint for now. I’m sure they can use the old “paint doesn’t move people”. Personally I prefer the amtrak scheme anyways, looks good on them.
A portion of Metra’s funding comes from the Illinois state government. The closest thing to electrification is the Electric Line and the South Shore Line out of Millenium Station. Maintaining the electrified lines isn’t exactly cheap either.
@@FlightAndTrack The P42’s are just as old as the machs. Metra likes their second hand units and i’m sure they’ll keep following that until they try to give battery or hydrogen a try again.
@@CheeseMiser GE ES44DC series, the most common locomotive being used on North American class I railroad mainlines. They all look the same (minus the paint scheme), they have the same horn, and they are basically the Ford F150 of the North American railroad world. They aren't terrible locomotives since they do get the job done, but when you are railfanning, it can get really boring seeing the same locomotive for the same time over and over again.
Metra's SD70MACHs look great. These are also the first six axle passenger engines since the F40C. Remember that Metra has an option for up to 27 more of these, and if these turn out to be successful, they might be ordered. However this most likely means that the two remaining F40Cs will never return.
The Alaska Railroad rosters 12 HEP equipped SD70MAC locomotives, they were specifically ordered that way in two orders, 8 in 2005, 4 in 2007. These METRA units are really dang close to ours, I'm not entirely sure what the difference is.
Wow! Beautiful locomotives and they look like no problem pulling the consist. I remember riding the METRA back in mid 70’s when I was at Great Lakes Naval base. Weren’t those E models that pulled them?
Seeing all if the people through the green tinted windos is kind of erie. Its like a ghoast train with life less humans. I watch too much horror 😂. But still beautiful machines
On the SD70MACH two of the traction motors were removed from the axles closest to the fuel tanks making them idler axles,giving the locomotives a B1-1B configuration. Plus the locomotives were brought up Tier 4 emissions compliance during the rebuild.
Just curious, should'nt the field of stars on the American Flag decal be facing forward? t That's if the short hood is considered front of the locomotive.
I'm curious how the HEP unit is powered, sounds like it's electric and not from a generator. Aren't these rebuilt to have HEP, what does the H designate?
Did the first train hauled by the new engine have any delays? Would be pretty funny considering the engine's designation ending in MACH (unit of measuring how many times the speed of sound something is travelling, MACH 1 is exactly the speed of sound)
the general electric evolution series is the most common locomotive you will find on class 1 railroads in america. theyre basically the ford F150 of class 1 railroads due to how common it is to find it either on as a lead or back unit
Have no real interest in commuter lines, at all. But, I really do like that they had available freight units rebuilt to use for their new power. I would think it saved them a fortune over buying new. And they look so much better than the wimpy euro styled mini van looking things do. Not sure I'll be in Chicago within the next month or decade, but if I find myself there I would want to ride behind one of these! Thanks for posting.
Ofc a former will prefer 20th century looking freight trains modified for passenger service as a band aid solution than actual newer trains and a revamp/modernisation of services
I would say enjoy it while it lasts, because this kind of solution is not viable in the long term and the realities of economy and efficiency will eventually catch up to Metra. It happens in Europe too - the logistics of passenger rail services have to be made simpler and faster. Modern multiple units are so fast with turnaround times, coupling/decoupling, and not having to be shunted that it's saving railways tons of money. The end result is that locomotives are phased out on many (or most) passenger services. this has happened in Western Europe over the past decades and is now happening in other parts of Europe, and in Asia, and it's also starting to happen in North America.
@@spoorwegenTF2 If starting from scratch, they may be very true. But my guess is with these trains hosted by freight lines, probably too many obstacles for the multiple units you mention. If I'm not mistaken, it's not legal to run those on freight lines in the US, but I could be wrong?
Thanks for watching! I’m closing in on 1000 subs and it would mean a lot if you’d take the time to subscribe for more content like this!
The 2 stroke EMDs notch up is always soo soothing to my ears, no matter which country it is but the pick up and nothing acceleration of GM EMD locomotives are always the same ✨
The EMD 710-series prime movers that power these new SD70MACHs are slightly quieter than the older F40PH 645-series engine at notch-up to Run-8, although not by much. At idle, the 710 also produces a noticeable & very distinctive high-pitched 'ying-ying-ying' sound that contrasts nicely with the muttering & burbling sounds of an idling GE.
@@arrowlock I love the notching of the gt45pac series of EMD, and even the chugging of the dl3000 series of Alco locomotives but idk for some reason I'm not a fan of GE locomotive sounds, it sounds more like a tractor
That first shot with the perfect lighting and the horn echoing off the buildings is amazing, as is the rest of the video. Great stuff.
Thank you!
Nice hi-rez camera work in low-light settings! These new SD70MACH's are impressive - and very nice-looking - new additions to METRA's locomotive fleet. Thanks for posting this video.
power ramping is quick and very smooth, plus all the lights on the walkway...
Very quick it seems 👍🏼
P42 better
@@FlightAndTracknot for commuter trains. They load too slow.
I’ve never been happier hearing my favorite horn on my favorite commuter rail 😭
These are really sharp looking units. I really like them! It sure took a long time for them to arrive after being ordered. Hopefully they work out well for Metra
Its nice to see these locomotives get new lifes over, and over again, EMD has given the industry some incredible classes of locomotives, some classes still going after almost 60 years, that shows how good EMD is at making locomotives, GE cant say that. The only good classes GE gave the railroads were the dash classes, and the ac44cws, the gevos are literal aids
Never though I’ve seen the day than a Freight Diesel electric locomotive would be turned into a commuter Engine
(I’m not hating on it I’m just surprised and tbh they look amazing for me)
Same
The amazing thing is that it works way to well compared to what anyone was thinking.
@@qshot9848 yeah. Maybe it just looks good in that paint scheme
You would have to go back to the year 1991 when GE delivered 20 dash 8 locos to Amtrak as a short term solution while the Genesis loco designs were still a work in progress at the time.
How about GP40s with F45 cabs or F45 cowl hoods. MARC, MBTA, and NJT were using those... Not sure why anyone thought all that surgery was necessary to make knockoff F40PHs but they were cool.
That's a beautiful locomotive I wish Tampa Bay had good commuter rail like Chicago as because traffic in the Bay area is getting ridiculous.
Traffic in Chicago is absolutely obnoxious, even with Metra.😅
So awesome! LOVE that horn!
Those are awesome, I remember seeing some of them being built down in Patterson GA.
All these Metra trains...and not a F40 in sight. Weird.
SD 70 MACS are one my favorite Loco's. Good catch.
These locos look and sound great !😊
They look nice and are pretty quiet.
They do actually seem somewhat quiet, which is not what I was expecting
The way you typed "Metra's" which is now "Metras", reminds me of the word in Spanish for "marbles", the little glass pellets one played with when one was a kid xD
I wonder if they will ever use the SD70's on Union Pacific lines.
Mmmm that horn tho, compared to the old one is crazy
funny, it has billboard lighting on the long hood!!!!
Frankly, it looks AWESOME
Walkway lights 👍🏼
looked to be kicking butt, metra needs better seats though
New cars are on order through Alstom, unsure when they’ll start being delivered though.
500 should be making its run soon.
0:41 Nice Metra SD-70mach
Metra when given the option to use literally anything but EMDs: no :)
How do the crews like the new mach's?
I literally saw the same exact Locomotive on the MILW district west line
thats gonna be a new sound, instead of a metra tuned P5 we'll be getting some K5LLA action.
I like p5
Great vid. The SD 70 is very cool to see😅
I love the way they look, hope they keep them clean.
Not gonna lie though, Metra kind of went overkill with the SD70MACH - it's just a commuter train
How extremely noisy, like a ship.. Why are these lines not electrified? Best regards, Europe
Metra has one electrified line, the rest remain diesel powered because that’s how they were when metra took over operations on them. They don’t have the money to electrify and most of their lines operate over freight railroads trackage so i’m sure they wouldn’t be fond of that.
I wish it was still a freight locomotive
Maybe I just haven't looked hard enough on other railroads, but I don't know of anyone besides Metra that has cab cars in the middle of consists. Are tha cab cars not useful elsewhere where they could actually be used as a cab car, or does it not matter enough on Metra?
They’ve got plenty more cab cars than they actually need to run. They operate no different than a regular coach when not being used as one.
@@SturtevantRails thanks for the info, I was just thinking that on my home of the LIRR, cab cars are never sat in the middle (the EMUs don’t count lmao) and neither on Amtrak I believe
@@mrfunkyman12Many commuter railroads have more cab cars than they need, so they put them in the middle of the train. UTA FrontRunner, Sounder, Coaster, Caltrain, New Mexico Rail Runner all do this.
9:26 Why does that f59phi have the emergency light on? It is supposed to activate when the emergency brake is applied.
Possible glitch?
They haven’t fixed it for years
Dimming your headlight while going through a station platform. Smart.
It must be nice to commuter rail in your city. Cincinnati has the beautiful Union Terminal and no commuter rail system at all! Cincinnati stinks when it come to public transportation👎👎 I love Chicagos Commuter Rail System👍👍
Cool video and channel just subscribed
Nice video, what city is the footage ? Thanks!
I cannot believe they can't justify over or underpasses here.
Ironically, Chicago has the largest number of bridges, or near the largest number bridges in city limits. When the city of Chicago was built, many of those areas that have level crossings were originally farm land as the city was being built.
WHAT DO THEY HAVE UNDER THE HOOD FOR ENGINE POWER??
EMD 710, 4000hp
@@SturtevantRails4300 horsepower actually.
FL-9 models had 3 wheels is like those new models replacing those
7:57 Epic!
I thought the units Metra got from Amtrak were going to get painted in Metra livery???
They are in a metra livery, one reminiscent of their older paint scheme.
@@SturtevantRails Oh ok, I know they acquired several units from Amtrak. The blue & silver unit I believe was #80, is still in the Amtrak livery with Metra logos. I thought they were getting painted like the SD70s scheme...
@@vistalite-ph4zw Ah, didn’t realize what you were referring to. Yes as a cost saving measure the PHI’s were only freshened up. One is painted as the CNW unit and one has been painted into the new metra scheme but the rest remain in surfliner paint for now. I’m sure they can use the old “paint doesn’t move people”. Personally I prefer the amtrak scheme anyways, looks good on them.
@@SturtevantRails Ok gotcha, I agree I like the surfliner scheme as well..
They look great but there's no denying Illinois, Metra, and all the freight giants are stalling on electrification or even getting the Siemens engines
Metra does not have the money for that
A portion of Metra’s funding comes from the Illinois state government. The closest thing to electrification is the Electric Line and the South Shore Line out of Millenium Station. Maintaining the electrified lines isn’t exactly cheap either.
Is that train going to St. Louis like Amtrakk? When does the charger get adeed on
Chi-Town ChooChoo Nirvana
What kind of camcorder you use?
iphone 13 pro
@@SturtevantRails no way! Wow!!!!!
Ok so I'm pretty dumb, so why did Metra get SD70MCACHs?
They kinda sound like the PL42AC locomotive njt uses
Metra should’ve bought some of Amtrak’s old P42s for extra power just in case the SD70 don’t work out
If i recall correctly they tried them out and didn’t like them. Slow loading and the crews are used to working on EMD prime movers
There was a UA-cam video of a Metra test train that had an Amtrak Genesis diesel and a Metra F40PH that was filmed in 2000 and it was unsuccessful.
@@SturtevantRailsmaybe they will get them for cheap though. Emds won't last forever. Most of the emds are old.
@@FlightAndTrack The P42’s are just as old as the machs. Metra likes their second hand units and i’m sure they’ll keep following that until they try to give battery or hydrogen a try again.
@@SturtevantRails not the ones from 2000
Made me subscribe!
New subscriber:I enjoyed the video. Thanks for being there and sharing. congrats on 1K subs. Greetings from the treasure coast of Florida. 🚂🚃🚃🏝
Awesome
Overkill
Not overkill when you've got long, heavy trains of double-decker coaches to move!
Needs MARS light.
The LED light on the roof of the cab is kind of like a Mars light, doesn’t flash too strong though so I’m not sure what you would consider it
@@SturtevantRailsConsider it a 21st century version of the old SP standard and LED's last much longer.
SD70MACH - Metra's WDP4
Who wants metra to buy p42s?
I think nobody.
Suprised they not gonna go electric catenary system.
Too expensive and the freight roads do not want those wires hitting their double-stack container trains...
7:58 what horn is this
K3LA, just being barely quilled
@@SturtevantRails oh thanks.
Are those new or rebuilds?
rebuilds, ex-KCS I believe
@@SturtevantRails ok thanks
Never liked liverys with diagonal stripes on the nose
Hopefully they will scrap the ALCs or whatever they are.
Nice new hotrod for metra
I honestly kind of like them. The horn is nice, and I'm also relieved they aren't using Gevos.
EMD > GE when it comes to passenger trains
I like the horn too!
Yeah and also it never would be. For some reason Metra has a fetish for EMD
Explain to me what a gevo is
@@CheeseMiser GE ES44DC series, the most common locomotive being used on North American class I railroad mainlines. They all look the same (minus the paint scheme), they have the same horn, and they are basically the Ford F150 of the North American railroad world. They aren't terrible locomotives since they do get the job done, but when you are railfanning, it can get really boring seeing the same locomotive for the same time over and over again.
The new SD70ACH's look and sound really good.
Metra's SD70MACHs look great. These are also the first six axle passenger engines since the F40C. Remember that Metra has an option for up to 27 more of these, and if these turn out to be successful, they might be ordered. However this most likely means that the two remaining F40Cs will never return.
The Alaska Railroad rosters 12 HEP equipped SD70MAC locomotives, they were specifically ordered that way in two orders, 8 in 2005, 4 in 2007. These METRA units are really dang close to ours, I'm not entirely sure what the difference is.
Cool spot
@@rrmike90 as far as I’m aware, the Alaska Railroad units can switch between passenger and freight mode. But that’s about it.
@@davidng2336 I would imagine the HEP unit itself is slightly different.
It would be interesting if they repower the F40Cs with 16-710G3A prime movers
Wow! Beautiful locomotives and they look like no problem pulling the consist. I remember riding the METRA back in mid 70’s when I was at Great Lakes Naval base. Weren’t those E models that pulled them?
CNW F7’s and E9’s back then
I work in Fulton Market and saw a couple of the Machs last week. They look great!
That horn is insane
Nathan Airchime K5LLA, the same horn that is installed on most SD70ACe freight units.
Gotta love the sound of those diesel engines ❤
Seeing all if the people through the green tinted windos is kind of erie. Its like a ghoast train with life less humans. I watch too much horror 😂. But still beautiful machines
Yoooo whatttt they have K5LLA’s?!?
4:37 Amazing sound of departure of SD70MACH’s
I'm over here trying to figure out how i'm gonna get this in H.O. scale....
I saw 508 coming up through Tennessee. Should be a few weeks and it'll be running revenue.
So compared to normal freight engines, were these rebuilt to focus more on speed itself instead of raw power?
As far as I know it was only adding HEP and upgrading electronics. I’m not sure if the speed/power was affected. Maybe someone knows more
On the SD70MACH two of the traction motors were removed from the axles closest to the fuel tanks making them idler axles,giving the locomotives a B1-1B configuration. Plus the locomotives were brought up Tier 4 emissions compliance during the rebuild.
I think it was mostly a cost basis. Available used engines, able to be repurposed for passenger service.
Interesting. Looks like they have some serious acceleration ability. I do wonder how high their fuel consumption is compared to Metra’s older units.
I wouldn't be surprised if fuel consumption is lower than an F40PH screamer.
Now that's power power!
I still think a full-width cab is better looking for commuter trains. I'm sure they work fine, I just find them ugly for commuter rail.
5:45 that f59phi sounds crazy
Just curious, should'nt the field of stars on the American Flag decal be facing forward? t
That's if the short hood is considered front of the locomotive.
That is technically correct but you really can't win with a push-pull train. Put real flags up and the wind will always have the field leading.
Yeaaaah 😎🤟🏻🚂🔥
I'm curious how the HEP unit is powered, sounds like it's electric and not from a generator. Aren't these rebuilt to have HEP, what does the H designate?
Inverter
Did the first train hauled by the new engine have any delays?
Would be pretty funny considering the engine's designation ending in MACH (unit of measuring how many times the speed of sound something is travelling, MACH 1 is exactly the speed of sound)
Not that I know of, they seem to be good running engines thus far
Why did #85 have a strobing red 🚨?
Where were these taken?
First few clips were taken at Racine St. in downtown, at CP Morgan. The rest of the clips are on the Western Ave. Station platforms, next to tower A-3
hell sd70
Like the long length,but not the catwalk on the front
What's a gevos buddy
the general electric evolution series is the most common locomotive you will find on class 1 railroads in america. theyre basically the ford F150 of class 1 railroads due to how common it is to find it either on as a lead or back unit
Nice work!!
soon those locomotives are coming to the BNSF Line
They’re not
So weird that metra has 6 axle power
Technically only 4 axles have traction motors… but they do still have 6 axles so you aren’t wrong!
@@supermarkie624there were the BN e8s used by metra, those ex Milwaukee road f40c units
@@supermarkie624 theyve had 6 axle power more than once before
Is this in Chicago or somewhere else?
Chicago
Thanks @@SturtevantRails Was thinking that Sturtevant really grew in the last 5 years. LOL! Great video!
Have no real interest in commuter lines, at all. But, I really do like that they had available freight units rebuilt to use for their new power. I would think it saved them a fortune over buying new. And they look so much better than the wimpy euro styled mini van looking things do. Not sure I'll be in Chicago within the next month or decade, but if I find myself there I would want to ride behind one of these!
Thanks for posting.
Whether you like it or not European-style multiple units are the future for commuter rail in America. They are much more efficient.
Ofc a former will prefer 20th century looking freight trains modified for passenger service as a band aid solution than actual newer trains and a revamp/modernisation of services
@@TheRandCrews A foamer‘s greatest enemy is a modern and efficient operation.
I would say enjoy it while it lasts, because this kind of solution is not viable in the long term and the realities of economy and efficiency will eventually catch up to Metra. It happens in Europe too - the logistics of passenger rail services have to be made simpler and faster. Modern multiple units are so fast with turnaround times, coupling/decoupling, and not having to be shunted that it's saving railways tons of money. The end result is that locomotives are phased out on many (or most) passenger services. this has happened in Western Europe over the past decades and is now happening in other parts of Europe, and in Asia, and it's also starting to happen in North America.
@@spoorwegenTF2 If starting from scratch, they may be very true. But my guess is with these trains hosted by freight lines, probably too many obstacles for the multiple units you mention. If I'm not mistaken, it's not legal to run those on freight lines in the US, but I could be wrong?
Just plain ol boooooaaaaaaarrrrrriiiiiiiinnnnnngggg