Salt Lake City, Utah: Frontrunner

I spotted these cars in a WB freight headed into Chicago; they looked pretty cool. What's the story on them?

(Broken link removed by moderator)

Hey PRRGuy,

I can't get in to see the picture... It requires a log-in and a password.

jz441 wrote:Hey PRRGuy,

I can't get in to see the picture... It requires a log-in and a password.

Try this one: http://nictd1000.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... x?id=16656#

PRRGuy wrote:I spotted these cars in a WB freight headed into Chicago, they looked pretty cool. Whats the story on them?...

These are bi-level commuter cars built by Bombardier for use in Salt Lake City: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FrontRunner . It looks like these are both cab cars - 112 definitely is.

The Utah Transit Authority has produced a short video on Front Runner: http://www.rideuta.com/calendarAndNews/ ... ighWMV.wmv

Construction of the frontrunner commuter rail line (parallel to UP main from SLC to Ogden) is over half done. Presently a path is being cut through the old intermodal facility north of SLC to accomodate the Frontrunner line. This is being done in conjunction with the major rebuild of UP SLC - North Yard.

Also of interest is that even though the Fronrunner track creates a triple track situation between SLC and Ogden, it will not be a true triple track most of the time; that is, Frontrunner trains will keep to their own track and Union Pacific trains will keep to theirs. However, UP insisted on putting in several crossovers for emergency use.

The first frontrunner diesel has shown up, appropriately the one spot, in red, white and blue. I'm not enough of a diesel buff to know the model, but it looks EMDish with a rounded nose like a lot of the CA engines.

Hey ljeppson, those locos might be Motive Power Industries MP36PH-3Cs. It would make sense because they're manufactured right here in Boise, Idaho, only 350 miles away from SLC.

About a month or two ago, I spotted a couple of the cab cars for this Utah line headed towards Chicago through Indiana.

On the Utah cars, it appears one of the service doors is higher than the other. Is this my imagination?

I'll check it out.

My son, who lives in Salt Lake City, sent me these links. The first is a picture of the first Frontrunner locomotive taken at the manufacturer's plant in Idaho. The second is a press release about the above's unveiling in SLC yesterday (sorry; this is after the fact).

Ocala Mike

I saw a Utah Frontrunner MP36 Fresh out of MPI roll through Boise today. It was on the tail end of an Idaho Northern & Pacific local. Lots of locomotives from many railroads are delivered and picked up from MPI here in Boise thanks to the Idaho Northern & Pacific.

That locomotive will be in Nampa Idaho (16 miles west of Boise) tonight, transfered to the UP at the yard there in Nampa and taken down to Salt Lake pretty soon, probably in the next day or two.

That Frontrunner locomotive was pretty sharp looking!

Spotted another Frontrunner car today headed west behind some CP units on the NS' ex-NYC line to Chicago. Car number was 202, I believe. I didn't get a photo of it; however, I did find someone up the line who did.

Does anyone know who will operate the Frontrunner? Is it Amtrak?

Nothing at all to do with Amtrak. It's a project of the Utah Transit Authority.