Oklahoma Railway Museum Repaints Santa Fe FP45 90

Published: November 12, 2026

On November 11, 2026, Railfan & Railroad reported that the Oklahoma Railway Museum in Oklahoma City had, on Tuesday, November 10, shown ongoing cosmetic work on Santa Fe EMD FP45 No. 90. The magazine called No. 90 the first FP45 built. Volunteers have repaired rusted sheet metal and applied new paint. The locomotive had worn a faded red-and-silver Warbonnet from its Super Fleet years. It has been renumbered 5990, the number it carried in blue-and-yellow Freight Bonnet colors in the 1980s, and it wears those colors again.

Oklahoma Railway Museum Santa Fe FP45 90 repainted

The Oklahoma Railway Museum recently repainted Santa Fe FP45 #90 into the road's classic blue and yellow freight Warbonnet livery. Museum photo.

Freight Bonnet, with older paint underneath

Railfan & Railroad said the museum does not plan to return the locomotive to operating condition. The hope, in that account, is that the fresh paint will show another chapter in the history of the unit. The museum exhibit page still titles the locomotive Santa Fe 90 and says it is on long-term static display. That page is exhibit text. It does not describe the November work.

The magazine said the sheet-metal and paint work uncovered traces of red and yellow from the SPSF scheme, applied for the proposed merger of the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe. Railfan & Railroad said that proposal was rejected in 1986, and that the scheme was nicknamed Kodachrome because it resembled Kodak slide film. The merger proposal has its own page, Santa Fe-Southern Pacific. The magazine said a handful of locomotives, including 5990, wore Kodachrome until 1989, when the Santa Fe repainted all of its FP45s into Warbonnet colors a second time.

Two accounts of the same number changes

Railfan & Railroad said EMD built the locomotive in 1967 and that it was originally No. 100. The museum exhibit page says it was built in December 1967 as No. 100, and calls it the first of the class. Both accounts place No. 100 and sister No. 102 on the inaugural westbound Super C in January 1968, a high-priority freight from Chicago to Los Angeles. The magazine said the two units were fresh from the builder and were assigned to that train, and that the trip set a record of 37½ hours. The exhibit page says the pair led the run, and it describes the train as a 79-mile-per-hour freight.

The magazine says the locomotive stayed in passenger service until Amtrak took over in 1971, then went to freight. It says the unit was renumbered 5940 shortly before that reassignment. By the early 1980s, in the same account, the FP45s were overhauled and repainted in Freight Bonnet, and 5940 became 5990. It remained active into the BNSF years and was retired and donated to the museum in 1999. Of the nine FP45s on the Santa Fe, the magazine says six are preserved.

The exhibit page gives a different calendar. It says the FP45s were renumbered into the 5940 series in March 1970, as part of the 1969 and 1970 general renumbering. With Amtrak in 1971 they went to freight for the rest of their careers, aside from occasional business and special trains. In late 1971 or early 1972, the page says, the 5940 series left the red-and-silver warbonnet for a plain blue-and-yellow freight scheme, and within a few years they were painted in a blue-and-yellow warbonnet. This unit was rebuilt at San Bernardino in September 1981 and renumbered from 5940 to 5990. In 1989, the page says, the railroad adopted the red-and-silver Super Fleet for new locomotives, briefly gave the FP45s their original numbers, and then numbered them 90 through 98. It calls No. 90 the last of the type in regular service on the BNSF, successor to the Santa Fe, and says the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway donated it in December 1999. The page also says six of the nine are in museums.

Sources

Nick Stewart, “Santa Fe FP45 Gets Fresh Look in Oklahoma,” Railfan & Railroad, November 11, 2026, railfan.com/santa-fe-fp45-gets-fresh-look-in-oklahoma/. The Oklahoma Railway Museum in Oklahoma City on Tuesday showed ongoing cosmetic work on Santa Fe EMD FP45 90, called the first FP45 built. Renumbered to 5990 and painted again in the blue-and-yellow Freight Bonnet of the 1980s. Rusted sheet metal was repaired. Traces of the SPSF scheme, for the proposed Southern Pacific and Santa Fe merger, rejected in 1986, and nicknamed Kodachrome for its resemblance to Kodak slide film. The museum does not plan to operate it. Built by EMD in 1967 as No. 100. In January 1968, Nos. 100 and 102 were assigned to the inaugural westbound Super C, Chicago to Los Angeles, in a record 37 and 1/2 hours. Passenger service until Amtrak in 1971, then freight. Renumbered 5940 shortly before that reassignment. Early 1980s overhaul: 5940 became 5990 in Freight Bonnet. Kodachrome until 1989, then a second Warbonnet on all Santa Fe FP45s. Active into the BNSF era. Retired and donated to the museum in 1999. Six of nine Santa Fe FP45s are preserved.
Oklahoma Railway Museum, “Santa Fe 90 – EMD FP45,” exhibit page, oklahomarailwaymuseum.org/exhibits/santa-fe-90-emd-fp45/. Standing exhibit text. It does not describe the November 2026 repaint. Built in December 1967 as No. 100, the first of the class. No. 100 and No. 102 led the inaugural westbound Super C in January 1968, described on the page as a 79-mile-per-hour high-priority freight from Chicago to Los Angeles. Renumbered into the 5940 series in March 1970. Amtrak in 1971, then freight, with occasional business and special trains. Late 1971 or early 1972: plain blue-and-yellow freight colors, then a blue-and-yellow warbonnet. Rebuilt at San Bernardino in September 1981, from 5940 to 5990. In 1989, Super Fleet red and silver, briefly the original numbers, then 90 through 98. Last of the type in active BNSF service. Donated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway in December 1999. Six of nine are in museums. Long-term static display.

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Oklahoma Railway Museum Repaints Santa Fe FP45 90

Freight Bonnet, with older paint underneath

Two accounts of the same number changes

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Sources