Mechanical Passenger Cars Amtrak confirms ‘Phase III’ scheme for ‘Empire Service’ locomotives NEWSWIRE

Amtrak confirms ‘Phase III’ scheme for ‘Empire Service’ locomotives NEWSWIRE

By Chase Gunnoe | January 12, 2016

| Last updated on August 6, 2025


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Amtrak704
No. 704 trails on the westbound ‘Cardinal’ as it arrives in Chicago on Jan. 7.
Mark Hinsdale
NEW YORK – Passengers along the Empire Service route to Upstate New York can look forward to more of Amtrak’s “Phase III” paint scheme.

GE P32AC-DM No. 704 rolled into the windy city last week displaying a Phase III paint scheme. The locomotive, on its way to New York, featured a special Empire Service emblem and paint scheme that resembles that of the railroad’s 40th anniversary Phase III heritage locomotives.

“The locomotives used on the Empire Service are being repainted as part of their normal maintenance cycles,” Amtrak spokesman Craig Shulz tells Trains News Wire. “The cost of this work is shared between Amtrak and New York State Department of Transportation.

“Over the next several years, the entire Empire Service fleet of Dual Mode P-32’s will be similarly refreshed,” he adds.

No. 704 is the first locomotive to feature the retro scheme and special medallion. The railroad’s Beech Grove, Ind., facility will be repainting the 700-series dual-mode Empire Service locomotives.