GALESBURG, Ill. — Railfans seeking former Santa Fe Railway “Warbonnet” locomotives — who do not mind that they are now “pink bonnets” because of faded paint — should take a drive along the Thirwell Road overpass at BNSF Railway’s hump yard in Galesburg.
At least six former Santa Fe C44-9W units have been modified for hump service at Galesburg, releasing BNSF SD40-2s for local service. On Saturday, May 11, warbonnet-painted Nos. 647, 669, and 692, were working at the north end of the yard, along with No. 663, wearing BNSF Phase II paint. All four were built by General Electric in Erie, Pa., in 1994.
The long-stored locomotives have either had snowplows removed or received a modified plow 9 inches above the rails. New positive train control roof arrays have added radio controls, along with new amber rotating lights. The units offer better fuel economy and improved creature comforts for crews using chest-worn belt pack remote-control units.
The 4,400-hp locomotives were part of the relaunch of the warbonnet scheme under Santa Fe president Mike Haverty in 1989. The new 600s, along with other GE and EMD models receiving the paint scheme, originally were assigned to the railroad’s hotshot piggyback and intermodal stack trains [see “Santa Fe Super Fleet locomotives,” Trains.com, Dec. 11, 2023].
