MARC AEM7 Spotted today 5/31/2009 In Philly

I saw this MARC AEM7 today outside of 30th Street, in Race Street Yard. I saw it at about 9:00 AM and again at 11:00 AM. Who knows it might still be sitting there. If anyone knows about why that toaster is there please reply with info . I can only assume that it's from Wilmington or heading to Wilmington for refurbishment

The pic quality isn't the best but what do you expect from a moving car on a expressway! I tried!

It could be 4903, which hasn't made its way back here yet from being rehabbed in Wilmington. Or it could be 4901 or 4902 going back to get something fixed after rework.

Yeah, that's what I thought. But when you look closely you can tell it's been rehabbed since it has numberboards on the side, and the marker lights that jut out the front. I think it's probably 4900, since 4903 never went to the Wilmington shops with the other 3 originally since I saw it around pulling/pushing trains once in a while, so it likely probably is there now but hasn't been overhauled yet. But then again maybe I'm wrong, and it is a rehabbed 4903, or 4901/4902 (which I haven't seen in a while). Here's a (poor as usual) picture I took of 4903 last March, while the other 3 were in DE:

At 1 PM Sunday 4901 and 4902 were bracketing an Amtrak Keystone Service trainset at Penn Coach Yard at 30th Street, Philadelphia.

chuchubob wrote:At 1 PM Sunday 4901 and 4902 were bracketing an Amtrak Keystone Service trainset at Penn Coach Yard at 30th Street, Philadelphia.

So it must have been either one of those NortheastTrainMan saw. I wonder if MARC is having problems with them. Amtrak can't really be running Keystone service with them can they? Although...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWiSPd1-IB8

chuchubob wrote:At 1 PM Sunday 4901 and 4902 were bracketing an Amtrak Keystone Service trainset at Penn Coach Yard at 30th Street, Philadelphia.

I knew it was only a matter of time until Bob saw them ! Nice pics

I heard that 4901 and 4902 will be taken to Wilmington Monday night dead in tow.

chuchubob wrote:I heard that 4901 and 4902 will be taken to Wilmington Monday night dead in tow.

Well, there you have it, Amtrak must have messed them up somehow in the rebuild. When they were in MD I rarely saw them, and half the times I did they always had doubleheaded them together or with an Amtrak AEM-7 for MARC service.

No Amtrak didn't mess them up, they are just pieces of junk. They should have been REMANNED then they would be worth something.

r40slant wrote:No Amtrak didn't mess them up, they are just pieces of junk. They should have been REMANNED then they would be worth something.

R40, I gotta ask you since you work out of DC and will see these, unlike me who is outta NYC, but are they just rebuilding the original components of the AEM7s or what? Ive been curious by this. Drop me a pm if you would like.

BuddSilverliner269 wrote:

r40slant wrote:No Amtrak didn't mess them up, they are just pieces of junk. They should have been REMANNED then they would be worth something.

R40, I gotta ask you since you work out of DC and will see these, unlike me who is outta NYC, but are they just rebuilding the original components of the AEM7s or what? Ive been curious by this. Drop me a pm if you would like.

Well, about 3 years ago, the MTA announced that they were overhauling the AEM-7's in their "On Your MARC" Newsletter (which is no longer printed). Here's what they said:

AEM-7 Locomotive Overhaul
In August 2006 MARC began the 18-month process of
overhauling it’s four AEM-7 electric locomotives. When
completed, these locomotives will be more reliable, spending
less time in the shop and thus reduce the dependency on
diesel locomotives on the Penn Line.
The work to be done on these 20-year old locomotives
includes the replacement of all rubber components such as
hoses, bushings and gaskets; rewiring the electrical systems;
and dismantling and overhauling the transformer, traction
motors, springs, wheels, brakes, air compressors and couplers.
Additionally, the windows, doors frames, seats and
consoles will all be replaced. Once completed, the locomotives
will sport a new paint job so the locomotives will look
as new on the outside as they are on the inside.

As far as I know, 4903 stayed in MD and never got overhauled. MARC probably couldn't afford to lose all the power; I don't know where it is now. There were long delays in the overhaul program, and the units should have been delivered back to MARC last August. But, there were even more delays and 4901 didn't show up here until fall just before the WAS 100th anniversary, with 4902 following in spring. As I said on the other board 4902 was always doubleheaded in service, and so was 4901 originally, but that's normal practice apparently. Anyway, as you reported on the other board 4901, 4902, and (presumably) 4900 are back in the DE shops. I thought that they would have been upgraded to AC spec (especially since Amtrak has experience with that), but apparently they weren't. Of course I don't work for Amtrak like you guys so I just report what I see as a rider, and if R40 could provide more info I would appreciate it as well.

oh btw The main visual difference in the overhauled AEM-7's is the brighter blue paint and LED markers.

I'm not sure where they're going, but tonight 2 AEM-7's left Philadelphia and I saw them going over the Susquehanna River at around 10:30pm. There were on a work train with an Amtrak coach and an Amtrak Diesel in the rear.

Rail Boy wrote:I'm not sure where they're going, but tonight 2 AEM-7's left Philadelphia and I saw them going over the Susquehanna River at around 10:30pm. There were on a work train with an Amtrak coach and an Amtrak Diesel in the rear.

Thanks for the info. They were probably 4901 & 4902 headed to Ivy City.

Yep, -1 and -2 were both in service today on the SB MARC train that was at Bowie State at 1800 (I was headed north at the time).

Got a cell phone picture, but I'm not going to upload it - the last thing the world needs more of is crappy cell phone pics of an AEM-7 :D.

Maybe this time they'll be fixed for good.

HokieNav wrote:Yep, -1 and -2 were both in service today on the SB MARC train that was at Bowie State at 1800 (I was headed north at the time).

Got a cell phone picture, but I'm not going to upload it - the last thing the world needs more of is crappy cell phone pics of an AEM-7 :D.

Maybe this time they'll be fixed for good.

Nice, I also hope they're back for good. 4900 and 4903 are still missing though...