Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 15, 2007

An SD26 is a diesel-electric locomotive developed and used in the western United States. The SD26 was essentially an EMD SD24 diesel locomotive that was specially modified by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (the Santa Fe) in the mid-1970s. In an effort to spare the cost of purchasing new motive power, the Santa Fe elected to expand on the success of its CF7 and other capital conversion programs and extend the life of its fleet of 80 aging SD24s by rebuilding them at its San Bernardino, California, workshops from January 1973 through January 1978. The rebuilt locomotives saw service throughout much of the Santa Fe system. Over half the SD26s were retired by Santa Fe in 1985 and replaced with then state-of-the-art equipment, while a year later the remaining units were sold to Guilford Transportation Industries (now known as Pan Am Systems), two of which are still in service as of 2007.