ATSF Warbonnet U50C
(Requires Stationmaster’s original U50C).
This is a ‘what-if’, depicting what the U50C might have looked like if the Santa Fe had used them on their passenger trains. In real life, the U50C locomotives were only operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. The re-skin is based specifically on the U28CG and U30CG locomotives, and a little bit from the C44-9W.
The U28CG and U30CGs were very rare and obscure locomotives. General Electric designed and built 10 of the U28CGs in 1966, with the six U30CGs following in 1967, exclusively for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. The designs were essentially passenger versions of the U28C and U30C.
ATSF ordered the U28CG’s because they were in need of a new passenger locomotive at the time. In the 1960’s their F units were getting old and less reliable, and needed to be replaced quickly. GE offered a deal where Santa Fe would trade in old ALCO locomotives in exchange for the U28CG’s, and that’s exactly what happened. The 10 engines were numbered from 350 to 359.
All U28CG’s were painted – from new – in the classic Warbonnet livery, although this version wasn’t the same as previous applications. For one thing there weren’t any yellow and black lines on the dividing line between red and silver, and there was a different typeface used for the Santa Fe lettering on each side. The frames and fuel tank were initially painted black, but repainted silver not too long after the engines entered service.
Not much work was required to redesign the U28C into the U28CG. Seeing as there was already a provision for a steam train-heating boiler behind the cab, the U28CG had the same dimensions as her predecessor, however there was a slight protrusion on the left-hand side of the long-hood to accommodate the steam generator.
Even though the U28CG was ordered for passenger service, they looked more like freight locomotives and didn’t fit well with passenger coaches. As a result, Santa Fe ordered six ‘cowl-unit’ locomotives from G.E. (the U30CG) and a further from EMD (the fourteen FP45). These were used as an alternative to the U28CG.
Following the derailment of a U30CG in February 1969, both the U28CG and U30CG classes were withdrawn from passenger service. ATSF re-assigned these engines to freight service. The U28CGs were renumbered from 350 – 359 to 7900 – 7909 and assigned to work in Kansas. Over time the engines were repainted in two variants of Santa Fe blue. Because they had split fuel and water tanks, they had a limited fuel range. This meant the engines could only be used on secondary freight trains until the tanks were modified to carry only fuel.
Throughout the 1970’s the U28CGs were a common sight on freight trains in Colorado. All 10 were retired by Santa Fe in September 1980. They were traded into GE for the then-new B36-7’s. Sadly none of the U28CGs have survived into preservation.
As for the U30CGs, they were renumbered from 8000 to 8005 before their transfer to freight service in Colorado. They continued in this role until 1980, when the ATSF traded them in to GE in exchange for B36-7 locomotives. All U30CGs were scrapped.
