The massive and powerful General Electric E60 electric, born during the formative years of Amtrak and employed also by NJ 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 NJ TRANSITin 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 NJ TRANSITworked 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 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 NJ TRANSIT services. General Electric’s E60 was a giant of a locomotive – and it’s coming soon to Train Simulator Classic! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//958135/f324930bf25a8b711ac8d14900ddd754b4bd4250.jpg[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//958135/55c037eb591b3c86912f09a6d1beb2252f9e2fc6.jpg[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//958135/05301887c4f8395825184725fe117d8398844d83.jpg[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//958135/cea52eaddfc12a20cb0de49c1ce0e082b1b9c622.jpg[/img]