They had a short, but troubled life, several survived into the 21st century as SDF40-2’s on the Santa Fe and BNSF until they were scrapped in 2002.With one exception. However a series of derailments led to the demise of the SDP40F's, replacing them with the workhorse F40's we know and love. They came equipped with Steam Generators to heat the old outdated passenger cars found on the longer routes.

Amtrak ended up with 150 of these locomotives to take over its long distance routes. In 1973, Amtrak ordered the SDP40F from EMD, based off the SD40 diesel. In 1971 when Amtrak was formed, it inherited a mess of different locomotives from different railroads to run its passenger trains. Directed by Congress, the Commemoration is veteran-focused, hometown-centric and currently includes more than 4,600 commemorative partners who will be hosting events throughout the country. The themed locomotive is part of Amtrak’s commitment to The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration, the country’s official program to honor a specific group of veterans who saw the nation through one of the most challenging missions ever faced – the Vietnam War. Locomotive 42, in celebration of Amtrak’s 42nd year of service, was painted as part of a regularly scheduled upgrade at the Amtrak Beech Grove Indiana maintenance facility and will be used to pull trains in revenue service on routes throughout the country.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War and honor those that have served, Amtrak painted a locomotive red, white and blue with a specially designed “America’s Railroad Salutes Our Veterans” logo and 50 stars around the bottom to honor the anniversary.

Trainz american steam engines