F40Cs active again?

Thursday afternoon, July 07, I noticed two F40Cs at Western Avenue. Are they in use again? Where are they normally stored?

They've been sitting in there for a while. I hope they come out soon. I hear they are going to run work trains on MILW.

They are normally stored right where you saw them.

Mike,
Do you know when they're coming out of Western Avenue? If they do, will they be running work trains?

They haven't come out of Western Avenue since January, except a while back when 614 made a quick trip to Union Station for apparently no reason. I've heard the rumor that they'll be on work trains, but the summer is half over and all we've seen on the Milwaukee District work trains so far are NIRC switchers. Who knows what's happening. Hopefully somebody will run a fan trip before Metra decides to retire the "C's" for good.

Perhaps 611 and 614 were never purchased, and Metra simply has no use for them. Does anyone know if they are for sale? They might have a hard time finding a buyer because of compatibility issues with freight engines (see www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12963 ), maybe they could go to another commuter railroad. Scrap values are up which may mean bad news for some of the F40C's.

I forget the exact reason why 611 and 614 are still kept by Metra. If I remember correctly, its something to do with federal funding and when they were rebuilt. I'm guessing Metra will get rid of them as soon as they are able to.

If Metra were to get rid of them, which I hope they DON'T, I would hope they would go to IRM.

Because Metra was funded the money to keep two F40Cs going. If Metra retired 611 and 614, they would have to pay back the money, which was around 2 million dollars, if I am correct.