By Justin Franz
WASHINGTON — If you want to get photos of Amtrak’s newest heritage unit, don’t wait, because Amtrak officials say it won’t last forever.
On Thursday, Amtrak released ACS-64 662 in a special Phase III heritage wrap, the same scheme that was applied to the railroad’s AEM-7 locomotives in the 1980s. The locomotive was quickly put into service on the point of Northeast Regional train 176 to Boston. The wrap was done in coordination with Dovetail Games to promote Train Sim World 2. The side of the locomotive features the Amtrak 50th anniversary logo and an ad for the game. Dovetail is also releasing the locomotive as a free update in its Boston Sprinter simulator.
”This year we painted six diesel locomotives to commemorate our 50 years of service as America’s Railroad,” said Doug Duvall, Amtrak’s assistant vice president of corporate communications. “We are honored to collaborate with Train Sim World 2 to bring a special livery to an electric locomotive that fans, employees and passengers in the Northeast can enjoy.”
Amtrak officials tell Railfan & Railroad that the wrap is “temporary” and that they hope to keep it the Phase III scheme until at least May 1, 2022. Until then, 662 will be working on the Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston.
“Amtrak is one of the most iconic American passenger services and it’s exciting to be able to realize a long-term dream of ours to collaborate with them on a real-world livery,” said Dovetail Games Vice President of Marketing Keith Anderson. “Railfans can enjoy seeing this both as they travel in the real world on the locomotive and virtual with Train Sim World 2.”