Back from a Sprint ...

Back from a Sprint ...

...along the Northeast Corridor, that is.

Amtrak Sprinter-class ACS-64 electric locomotive No. 630 is on the point of a
Northeast Regional train as it glides into Wahington Union Station on a June afternoon.

A familiar sight along the corridor, these 125 mph sprinters have been powering Northeast Regional (as well as
long-distance trains, arriving from points south with diesel power) since they began coming on line ten years ago.

They replaced the Swedish-design, U.S. built AEM-7 locomotives (affectionately known as "Meatballs") (*)
that began replacing the venerable and iconic Pennsylvania Railroad GG1's (**) in the early 1980s, and
are the primary Amtrak NEC power, along with the premium Acela trains.

Based on the EuroSprinter Siemens design but modified to satisfy U.S. safety requirements, these
machines are built in California, and can be seen all along the NEC between Washington and Boston,
as well as on the Keystone Corridor in Pennsylvania.

© Steve Ember

P.S: If you've never seen one, and are wondering what the
rest of it looks like, here's the whole machine, mid-Sprint ;-)