OmniTRAX donates historic locomotive to Pennsylvania rail museum

OmniTRAX Inc. and subsidiary Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad (STE)  have completed the preservation of a historic locomotive that is now on its way to be displayed at the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.

The EMD SW1200 locomotive was one of five similar units that were originally manufactured for the Reading Railroad Co. in 1963, OmniTRAX officials said in a press release.

STE, BNSF Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Railway are providing reduced rate transportation to move the locomotive from Stockton, California, to Hamburg. The unit is expected to be on display later this year.

"It would have been easy to scrap this locomotive, but we owe it to those who came before us, and those who will come later, to learn from our history. We’re delighted this locomotive will be appreciated by the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society in its new home in Hamburg," said OmniTRAX Chief Executive Officer Kevin Shuba.

The locomotive was replaced last year with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier-4 compliant unit built by Knoxville Locomotive Works in Tennessee. A grant from the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Central District helped pay for the new locomotive, OmniTRAX officials said.