Railfan fantasy: Riding nation's newest locomotive

PUEBLO, Colo. – Turns out they won’t let a largely unqualified reporter like me take the controls of the nation’s newest locomotive, a $6 million behemoth stuffed with a 16-cylinder diesel engine making more than 4,400 horsepower with a top speed somewhere north of 125 mph.

Turns out.

I’m here in southern Colorado at the world’s largest rail-safety testing site, the Transportation Technology Center, Inc., which is operated by the nation’s railroads under contract with the federal government. Government workers founded the site to test out hover-train concepts back when Dulles International Airport was being developed.

The hover-train technology didn’t go far — the remnants are still around the site — but the test site remains. Here, far from prying eyes and operating under strict secrecy rules, the testing center’s staff helps railroads examine everything from acceleration rates to what kinds of steel makes the best rails.

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I’m here at the invitation of Siemens, which is testing its new Charger locomotive on the site’s 50 miles of tracks. The kind of testing they’re doing is virtually impossible to perform on normal railroad tracks, so the center is the perfect place for the Charger. Initially, there was talk I might be able to drive the locomotive, which I first saw at Siemens’ Sacramento factory as workers were putting the finishing touches on it.

But because this is a $6 million locomotive and I’m just a journalist, the folks at TTCI say they’ll more comfortable if I don’t drive. That means I’m now riding in the second seat watching the steady hands of locomotive engineer Mark Underdahl as the Charger easily rolls up to 125 mph, whipping across the plains of southern Colorado.

It’s not the speed I notice but the silence. The Cummins diesel engine powering this locomotive has 16 cylinders and produces about than 4,400 hp, but makes far less noise than a Harley pulling away from a stop sign.

And it’s not just quiet, either. This locomotive meets the highest federal clean-air requirements and was built entirely in the United States from about 22,000 separate parts: electric converters from Georgia, motors from Ohio, alternators from Florida, brakes from New York, the engines themselves in Indiana. Buying from American companies helps ensure these locomotives stay on the tracks for at least two decades, since replacement parts will be easier to acquire.

“We start with pieces of metal and end up with locomotives,” says Michael Cahill, the president of Siemens Rolling Stock. “This truly is a manufacturing story.”

It’s also an American story.

American workers built these locomotives, which will carry millions of us over the next three decades. The locomotive in which I’m riding, along with several others, are ultimately heading to Illinois. All told, 69 of these locomotives will pull commuter-rail trains in Illinois, California, Washington state and Maryland, with Siemens making four of them a month until they fulfill the contract. A version of these locomotives will also pull Brightline’s trains between Miami and Orlando.

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This Charger will be delivered to Illinois a little later this year, once the testing is complete. For now, protective films covers some of the displays inside the spacious cab, and Siemens engineers are keeping a close eye on the locomotive’s performance, including a special control system called Positive Train Control, which allows for remote monitoring and speed control. Federal authorities have mandated PTC on trains, which they believe will reduce collisions and derailments.

Underdahl, the locomotive engineer at the controls, isn’t allowed to tell me how this engine drives. That’s part of the deal with TTCI: Even through there are Siemens employees riding with us, he’s sworn to secrecy. Still, it’s clear he’s enjoying his work on this sunny day as the nation’s newest locomotive whips around the track.

“All locomotives are fun to run,” he says with a smile. “That was the lure of the job.”