|
The GE U28CG was a dual-service diesel-electric locomotive produced in 1966 by GE Transportation Systems and derived from their freight-hauling U28C design. The sole customer was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which ordered ten early that year for delivery in July and August.
By that date, no North American locomotive builder cataloged a dedicated passenger-locomotive design; instead, all that was available were steam-generator equipped versions of freight road switcher locomotive designs. The railroad's F units, the backbone of its passenger fleet, were old and increasingly troublesome, and the Santa Fe needed to get some replacements in short order. GE's waiting list was shorter, and GE offered better trade-in deals for old Alcos the road wanted to get rid of.
The ten units were delivered in Santa Fe's trademark Warbonnet silver and red paint scheme, but not identical in all details to previous applications. The yellow and black separation lines between the red and silver were absent, and the bodyside 'Santa Fe' lettering was large, billboard-style, in a Cooper Black typeface, instead of the smaller black serif all-caps version previously used. (That style would later be resurrected in 1989). Instead of silver trucks, frame and tanks, they were black from the factory — and were repainted silver later. The locomotives were numbered in the 3-digit passenger series, with road numbers 350–359.
| 
