With the Fourth of July and the United States’ 250th anniversary soon approaching, the Chicago area’s commuter railroad is marking the occasion with a locomotive – manufactured by a LaGrange-based company – sporting a bold commemorative paint scheme.
“We are proud to present this specially painted locomotive as a gift to the people of the Chicago region, Illinois and the United States,” Metra Executive Director and CEO Jim Derwinski said Wednesday during an event to roll out the commemorative livery at the railroad’s Western Avenue Coach Yard.
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The red, white and blue scheme, with tricolor striping and a “250” logo on the nose and flanks, is “a tribute to so many who dedicate their lives to railroading,” Derwinski said.
It’s also the manifestation of the creativity of Falecia Woods, Metra’s senior graphic designer.
“I wanted something that would be easily recognized as it came down the tracks – clean, streamlined … simple in design but not boring,” said Woods, a former graphic designer for the U.S. military who previously designed a commemorative livery for Metra honoring military veterans.
Woods worked off blueprints of the locomotive to adapt her design to its many contours and parts like vents and doors, and was able to make adjustments as needed while painting was in progress, she explained.
“I’ve been a designer for over 30 years – this is a big honor,” Woods said. “People ask why I get excited – it’s like working for Chanel and getting to design a handbag.”
Woods, along with Metra commuters, will get to see her design in motion for a while, as the locomotive will retain its commemorative livery indefinitely, Metra spokesman Michael Gillis confirmed. The locomotive, numbered 525, is expected to be assigned to runs on Metra’s Milwaukee District North and West lines, to Fox Lake and Elgin, respectively, and the North Central Service to Antioch, Gillis said. It will be an occasional sight as it motors through villages such as Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Lake Forest, Deerfield and more.
The locomotive is the 26th of 42 remanufactured units that Metra ordered from Progress Rail Locomotives of LaGrange. Designated as SD70-MACHs, they are former freight locomotives that are reconfigured for passenger train use with refurbished, upgraded or new components.
Starting with an initial order of 15 locomotives in January 2019, Metra has since bought 27 more for a total cost of $206 million, paid for with a combination of state and federal funding. The last locomotive in the order is expected to be delivered by the end of 2027.
The locomotives, rebuilt at Progress Rail’s facility in Patterson, Georgia, meet Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 emissions standards, “making them the cleanest locomotives in the Metra fleet,” Metra officials said in a news release.
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“This has been a great partnership,” Craig McKeen, Progress Rail’s general manager for sales, said of working with Metra on the locomotives.
A division of heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, Progress Rail builds and refurbishes locomotives under the EMD name once sold by General Motors, which for 75 years, until 2005, operated its Electro-Motive Division in McCook.
Derwinski said as the new locomotive enters service, it will do more than haul trains. “It will carry a message – it will remind everyone who sees it that America’s strength has always come from people working together,” he said, “from communities connected by steel rails and from workers committed to service.”
Jim Dudlicek is a freelance reporter.