By Railfan & Railroad Staff

The Danbury Railway Museum has acquired a former Amtrak AEM-7 electric locomotive. Locomotive 917 was delivered to the Connecticut museum early on the morning of June 7. 

AEM-7 917 is one of 54 units built for Amtrak by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and ASEA between 1978 and 1988. The AEM-7 was the workhorse of the Northeast and Keystone Corridors until retirement in June 2016. Because the design was based on the Swedish SJ Rc4 locomotive, the AEM-7s were affectionately nicknamed “Swedish Meatballs.” Their boxy shape also earned them the nickname “Toasters.”

AEM-7 917 at Princeton Junction, N.J., in 2011, while still working for Amtrak. Photo by Marc Glucksman. 

“This is the third piece of equipment to be delivered to the Danbury rail yard thus far in 2024,” museum officials said. “Along with the AEM-7, the recent delivery of two early American electric locomotives, the S-1 built in 1904 and the T3-a built in 1926, expand our ability to represent the evolution of 90 years of design innovation and technological advancement on transportation.”

The 917 is the third AEM-7 in preservation, joining ex-Amtrak 915 at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg and 945 at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Ill.

The electric still needs cosmetic work. The museum is raising $15,000 to cover moving costs and work that will need to be done to make it an attractive display piece. 

Donations can be made online at www.DanburyRail.org/Donate or by mail to Danbury Railway Museum, PO Box 90, Danbury, CT 06813.