All that may be true, Tad, but Amtrak had the chance to rebuild those F40PHs (at either EMD or MPI.) They could be running around the Amtrak system still, stuffed to the gills with 16-710s, pumping out 4,000 hp, and hitting 110 mph on the daily. Amtrak chose not to do so, chose not to order the F69PHAC, and only ordered a limited number of F59PHs. Further, it decided against ordering many P32-8BWHs when those would have been easy to add onto a supplemental order, and never did order a GP59MPH. You and I both know self-steering trucks were in their infancy, and Amtrak wasn’t willing to take the chance on six-axle power again.
But that extra 700 hp in the P40 made a difference. One fewer locomotive for long hauls, lower fuel consumption than an equivalent two-stroke, the potential to run through all those Corridor-sized nooks and crannies, and besides GE really wanted that deal.
Had EMD proffered a 16-710-powered F60PH with the same dimensions as the F40PH, we might have a different timeline.