advertisement

---

Through 2008, Kansas City Southern will be taking delivery of dozens of locomotives. And most of the power will sport the company’s new “heritage” paint scheme, which is designed to honor the Southern Belle passenger trains that ran on The Kansas City Southern Railway Co. (KCSR) between 1940 and 1969.

Last week, KCS unveiled the first unit to feature the scheme, a Kansas City Southern de México S. de R.L. de C.V. (KCSM) locomotive stationed in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, that was painted by GE – Transportation Systems (GETS). The company plans to hold a formal unveiling event in Kansas City, Mo., next month.

Metro East Industries is painting an SD70ACe, which will be KCS’ first U.S. unit sporting the new scheme. Additional locomotives will be delivered to the company’s subsidiary railroads throughout 2007 and 2008.

The subsidiaries have purchased 30 Electro Motive Diesel Inc. SD70ACe locomotives and 30 GETS ES44AC locomotives. The primer-painted-only ES44ACs were delivered to KCSM in December and January. The subsidiaries plan to purchase an additional 70 locomotives from EMD and 80 from GETS, all of which will feature the heritage paint scheme.

KCS also plans to purchase 1,050 covered hoppers and 150 covered-coil rail cars, which will sport a paint scheme complementary to the heritage theme, the company said. On March 22, the first 150 covered hoppers — to be subleased to KCSM — will be released from American Railcar Industries Inc.’s Paragould, Ark., plant.