New Mexico Rail Runner

New Mexico has really come a long way with their transit system roughly between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.  It's a top notch operation, efficient, and cost effective.  It is also a very real alternative to trying to park in Santa Fe where parking is at a premium.  I love the paint scheme.  It was going to be on the logo for the 2019 TCA National Convention, but ultimately Rio Grande Chapter / Desert Division couldn't get the proper usage rights in time. 

This will be one of the trips available for anyone planning on attending the convention.  It's only a little more than a year away!

Thanks for the great pictures.  The MP36's are interesting locomotives.

If you want one, you can grab a set of K-Line 21" Bombardier cars from the Western Depot and have them repainted. The MP36 you'd have to beg MTH for, I wish they'd do it.

I don't care about the NMex train as such, but I love the looks of the locomotives. They are reminiscent of the F59PHI, which MTH has done, but these are not F59's. The M36 and variants are longer, sleeker and much better-looking (I've heard the train described as a "mini-bullet train".) I wish that more of our locos looked like this, in general.

I would so buy a copy from MTH or Lionel or Atlas in a heartbeat for a "modern power freelance paint and re-interpret" project - but I'd buy one. Or two, as in PWD/dummy.

Money ready. They would look so good in black.

I would also buy a Rail Runner train if anyone made it.  It is one of my favorite paint schemes.  NH Joe

There's a lot that could be done with the MPXpress series. Florida's Sunrail owns MP32PH-Qs which are rebuilt GP40s with an MPXpress cab. A ton of other operators own MP36PH-3C and MP36PH-3S locomotives, such as Caltrain, MARC, Metrolink, Metra, MBTA, etc. Then there's the MP40PH which only Sound Transit and Go Transit operate, but still an interesting variant. Last variant is the MP54AC, which only Go Transit operates. It has 2 Cummins QSK60 engines rated at 2700 hp each for a combined total of 5400 hp. 

Models would be nice looking, great use of the State Bird in the livery!  However, they wouls not run well if they were inported by Wile E's favorite company:  ACME!  Meep! Meep!

For those who have not had the pleasure of riding the RailRunner, the warning when the doors are about to close is the Looney Tunes Road Runner's "Beep Beep".

I like the Railrunner so much, I did my own.  With a KLine loco and cars, I repainted it and added a great set of decals that a local friend made for me.  

Wow! That is nice Peter. Looks like I need to come up for a visit again.

And what's the difference between the MP 36 and the F59PHI?

MP36:

F59PHI:

The MP36 was built by a subsidiary of WabTech named Motive Power Industries.

The F59PHI was built by EMD.

Rusty

Another huge difference is in the prime mover. The MP36 uses an EMD 16-645F3B and the F59PHI uses an EMD 12-710G3C-EC.

PeterA posted:

I like the Railrunner so much, I did my own.  With a KLine loco and cars, I repainted it and added a great set of decals that a local friend made for me.  

That looks awesome! I'm considering repainting some equipment to San Diego's Coast Express Rail (Coaster) with K-Line and MTH equipment. Another commuter operator that not even MTH has touched yet.

Not intending to line this topic off onto a diverging route, but the New Mexico RailRunner has done absolutely nothing to prepare for the approaching deadline to have Positive Train Control installed on its track and equipment.  The RailRunner was built during a Democratic state administration which committed substantial funding to rail passenger transportation, also making the agreement to buy the ex-Santa Fe main track from the state line to a point near Albuquerque.

The state has since elected a Republican governor who is not a big fan of tax-supported trains, in her case, the RailRunner and Amtrak.  She got the state out of the Santa Fe main line deal, and has not budgeted any money to add PTC on the RailRunner.  I believe that, under her term of office, they have also had to reduce the number of daily RailRunner trips from the original schedule.

All publicly funded commuter train operations are absolutely saturated with politics, and the drama never ends.  So, while I do not personally foresee the FRA closing down the RailRunner when the deadline gets here and it does not have PTC, there will have to be a big kerfuffle over the money and who is going to give it to the RailRunner.  New Mexico is a poor state, generally, and does not have a huge revenue stream.  Regardless, they can't be exempt from PTC when the rest of the nation has to use it for safety.  Heaven help them if there is a train collision in the meantime.

Therefore, I would recommend to any Forumites who might be traveling through New Mexico:  don't lose sleep over New Mexico politics, but, to be safe, think about adding a day to your itinerary and make a round trip on the entire RailRunner route.  Santa Fe is at one end of it (and is a wonderful destination); and Belen is at the other end, where there is some great train watching on the ex-Santa Fe transcon.  The RailRunner is very well operated by the contractor, and it's a good 79 MPH trip.  Your wife will be glad to go to Santa Fe.