Amtrak will offer a rare tour of its Wilmington shops as an excursion train is used to say goodbye to a venerable locomotive.
The AEM-7 electric locomotives that have carried passengers between Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Harrisburg etc. for 37 years and more than 220 million miles.
The locomotives date back to the early days of Amtrak, which took over passenger rail service from railroads like the Pennsylvania and New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroads.
Lacking the aerodynamic qualities of their successors, the locomotives became known as Toasters or Meatballs. The meatball reference is a reflection of the Swedish parts used in the locomotive.
On Saturday, June 18, 2016, Amtrak will salute the locomotives with an excursion trip available to the public.
The AEM-7 excursion train will depart from Washington Union Station en route to Philadelphia, where the train will reverse direction and head for a unique visit and tour of Wilmington Shops, the maintenance home of the AEM-7. The train will then return to Washington.
Limited tickets are available now and can be purchased online or by calling 1-800-USA-RAIL. Tickets are $155 for adults. Children aged 2-12 ride for half price with each adult ticket.
AEM-7s are being replaced by the new, advanced, next-generation ACS-64 locomotives.
