SD45-2 to be at Union Station June 14-19 as Santa Fe Historical & Modeling Society meets
Restored Santa Fe Bicentennial diesel no. 5704 will be displayed in Kansas City June 14-19. (Mid America Car)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Santa Fe No. 5704, the SD45-2 locomotive cosmetically restored to its bicentennial paint scheme, will be displayed at Union Station Kansas City June 14-19 to coincide with the convention of the Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society on those dates in Overland Park, Kan.
The locomotive, which has been donated by BNSF to the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris, Calif., was restored to the red, white, and blue scheme in late 2021 and early 2022 at Mid-America Car in Kansas City, Mo. [see “Preserved Santa Fe SD45-2 restored …,” Trains News Wire, March 2, 2022]. It will be moved to Perris later this year.
“We’re delighted to host the beautifully restored, red, white and blue, Santa Fe 5704, beginning on Flag Day, June 14,” Union Station Kansas City President and CEO George Guastello said in a press release. “We believe the community will appreciate this one-time opportunity to see a unique locomotive before it departs for its California home. Union Station Kansas City represents, and celebrates, the city’s rich railroad heritage.”
Five Santa Fe locomotives were painted in the patriotic scheme beginning in late 1975, with the last returned to traditional blue and yellow in 1978. When No. 5704 was slated to be scrapped in 2020 after its retirement, BNSF employees lobbied company executives to preserve the engine.
Comments are closed.