The Amtrak's AEM-7 Electric Locomotive

Today, Amtrak (officially known as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) and passenger rail, as a whole, are stronger than ever and increasingly gaining support as oil prices soar and we look for cleaner and more efficient ways to travel. Since 2000 when the Amtrak introduced high-speed Acela service (and more trains/routes in general) along its Northeast Corridor growth for the carrier has become much more prominent. Since 2002 Amtrak has broken annual ridership records and just in July of 2007 it was reported that ridership was up 9% over the 2006 numbers up to that time.

When Amtrak began it used private equipment donated by the participating railroads (although, it should be noted, that not all of the major Class Is, at that time, elected to join Amtrak) and while it was originally setup to become financially self-supporting this was completely an illusion (passenger railroading, is, again, almost never profitable and requires some sort of subsidy to operate).

In its first year Amtrak earned $163 million with expenses of $310 million. By 1980 things were not much better as the carrier saw $454 million in revenues and $1.08 billion in expenses. Regardless of all of the problems during its early years and the claims by critics that it is a waste of taxpayer money and should be eliminated, travel by train is not only a very needed transportation artery but also continues to receive public support year after year. And, even though a statute expired in 2002 ensuring annual funding for Amtrak, public support has continued and Congress overwhelmingly continues to provide funding for the carrier.

Today ridership numbers for Amtrak have broken 25 million and as transportation issues are becoming more of a discussion in our country passenger railroading is gaining more and more support and its future looks very good.

In the early 1980s Amtrak was looking for a new high-speed electric locomotive to not only replace the rest of its outdated GG1s but also retire its E60s, which turned out to be a big disappointment (a poor design of its trucks precluded it from operating at speeds over 85 mph). So, after being pleased with tests done on a Swedish Rc4, the most successful electric locomotive design at the time, Amtrak contracted with EMD to build a fleet of 54 passenger electrics dubbed AEM-7s.

These motors used the latest in electric locomotive technology featuring thyristor motor control and traction motors that provided maximum power without wheel slip. The Amtrak’s AEM-7 was noticeably more powerful and heavily built than the Swedish models, partly due to design mandates by the Federal Railroad Administration. The AEM-7 could easily cruise over 100 mph on the NEC and could deliver a whopping 7,000 hp with over 53,000 pounds of tractive effort.

Today, the AEM-7 fleet continues to provide daily commuter service duties for Amtrak, along with the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) which also both own a small fleet of the motors.

To learn more about Amtrak consider the book below from author Brian Solomon entitled Amtrak. Mr. Solomon's book gives an excellent general history of the carrier since its start up in 1971. The book is filled with information and pictures so if you have an interest in Amtrak or are interested in learning more about the carrier you certainly won't be disappointed in Mr. Solomon’s book.

Also or more reading about the Amtrak’s AEM-7 electrics and other electrics consider Electric Locomotives from Brian Solomon. Not only does the book give a nice overview about the Amtrak's electrified operations it also covers American electric locomotive technology in general.