A Giant of an Electric

Written by Gary Dolzall

The massive and powerful General Electric E60 electric, born during the formative years of Amtrak and employed also by New Jersey Transit, is coming soon to Train Simulator Classic through the superb creativity of developer Reppo!

At Amtrak’s formation in 1971, the passenger carrier’s electrified Northeast Corridor was entrusted almost exclusively to a gallant fleet of veteran ex-Pennsylvania Railroad GG1s, the survivors of which had been built decades earlier by PRR’s own Altoona shops, Baldwin, and General Electric. Also in Amtrak service at this time were the pioneering Budd-built, General Electric-motored Metroliners.

Thus, it might have been expected that General Electric would play a role in Amtrak’s goal to replace the railroad’s aging GG1, and so it was. During 1973, Amtrak ordered 26 GE E60s, which were six-axle, 6,000-horsepower electrics that weighed in at more than 365,000 pounds. That such a giant of a locomotive would be chosen for passenger service had much to do with the fact that the design was modified from a freight locomotive – GE’s E60 had been first built for the coal-hauling Black Mesa & Lake Powell Railroad. With Amtrak amidst its transition from steam-heated equipment to HEP, the order for E60s was split between steam-generator and HEP-equipped units (the former would all eventually be converted to HEP).

Not surprisingly, the E60 is passenger service struggled from its excess weight and related tracking issues. After the arrival of the EMD/ASEA AEM-7 electrics (which began in 1979), Amtrak began selling its E60s, including ten units sold to NJ TRANSIT in 1984. Nonetheless, thirteen Amtrak E60s were rebuilt (and renumbered from the 900-series to the 600-series) and remained in Amtrak service into 2002. The ten ex-Amtrak E60s sold to NJ TRANSIT worked primarily on the railroad’s busy North Jersey Coast Line route and remained in service until 1998. Two GE E60s (one Amtrak and one NJ Transit example) have been preserved.

As masterfully created for Train Simulator Classic by highly accomplished Reppo, the upcoming E60 will be featured in Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT liveries and variants. The Amtrak edition will represent the 600-series rebuilt E60s which operated as late as 2002 and will be accompanied by a beautiful all-new rendition of Amtrak’s landmark Amfleet I coach and café car in attractive Phase III livery and with complete interiors. The E60 features authentic controls and is provided in running and “cold and dark” configurations. Four career scenarios, including two each on the Train Simulator Classic NEC: New York-New Haven Route and North Jersey Coast & Morristown Lines Route (routes available separately), put the potent and husky E60 to work in realistic and challenging Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT services.

General Electric’s E60 was a giant of a locomotive – and it’s coming soon to Train Simulator Classic!

The General Electric E60 electric, born during the formative years of Amtrak and employed also by New Jersey Transit, is coming soon to Train Simulator Classic through the superb creativity of developer Reppo. At New York’s Sunnyside Yard, Amtrak (above) and NJ TRANSIT (below) E60s demonstrate the massive size of the 6,000-horsepower, 365,000-pound electric locomotive. Note: Screenshots depict content while in development.

The upcoming E60 electric for Train Simulator Classic will put you at the throttle of the burly electric and features authentic operating controls, signal systems, and performance. The Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT E60s will be provided in running and “cold & dark” configurations, the latter of which allows you to proceed through a multi-step set-up process. Screenshots by Gary Dolzall.

Amtrak’s E60s operated in the era when electrification on the Northeast Corridor extended only as far north as New Haven, Connecticut, and all Amtrak trains exchanged diesel and electric power. Having coupled to Amtrak’s Amfleet-equipped Minute Man at New Haven on the Train Simulator Classic NEC: New York-New Haven Route, Amtrak E60 607 is New York bound.

The upcoming General Electric E60 DLC features four career scenarios, including two each on the Train Simulator Classic NEC: New York-New Haven Route and North Jersey Coast & Morristown Lines. On the New Haven line, Amtrak E60 607 swings off Metro-North trackage and on to Amtrak’s Hell Gate line at New Rochelle’s Shell interlocking (above), then hustles through the Bronx (below) enroute to New York Penn Station.

An exciting and welcome feature of the upcoming Train Simulator Classic E60 from Reppo is an all-new set of Amtrak’s landmark Amfleet I equipment dressed in Amtrak Phase III livery. The set includes café and coach equipment (above), with complete interior details.

Amtrak sold ten E60s to NJ TRANSIT in 1984 and the husky electrics worked for the commuter carried for a decade and a half. On the Train Simulator Classic North Jersey Coast & Morristown Lines Route, E60 971 in distinctive NJ TRANSIT livery is powering a pre-dawn commuter train at Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

NJ TRANSIT’s ex-Amtrak E60s worked primarily on the railroad’s busy North Jersey Coast Line route and remained in service until 1998. E60-powered commuter trains meet crossing the wide Raritan River (above), and NJT E60 971 draws a Manhattan-bound train into Newark Penn Station (below).

General Electric’s E60 electric was a giant of a locomotive – and thanks to the masterful work of developer Reppo the 6,000-horsepower electric is coming soon, in authentic Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT editions, to Train Simulator Classic!