The Southern California Railway Museum (SCRM) in Perris, Calif., has added another F40PH to its collection: former Metrolink 800. The locomotive moved to the museum on Oct. 24, accompanied by the museum’s Santa Fe SD45-2 5704, which wears a special bicentennial paint scheme.

Metrolink 800 was built by EMD in 1985 for Amtrak, originally numbered 396. It ran nationwide on Amtrak’s system until the early 2000s.

In 2003, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, better known as Metrolink, purchased it to add power for service expansions across Southern California. The 800 served in many capacities, including regular commuter operations, work trains, and rescue locomotive duty, which earned it the nickname “Tow Truck.” It was also a regular fixture on Metrolink’s annual holiday toy train every December for over a decade.

With the arrival of new EMD F125 locomotives in 2016, the 800 was phased out along with other older diesels in the fleet. By 2017, it had been retired and stored in Los Angeles. Eight years later, Metrolink donated the locomotive to the Southern California Railway Museum.

Its prime mover was disabled by the commuter agency after retirement, but the museum can convert it into a cab control unit capable of being powered by another locomotive.

— Nick Stewart