CANADIAN NATIONAL #102

Builder: EMD
Build Date: January 1950
Type: E9AM
Status: Display

Donated to the Monticello Railway Museum in October 2023, Canadian National No. 102 is the latest acquisition for our collection of historic railroad equipment. It is the second “E” series locomotive in our collection, the other being Pennsylvania No. 5764.

No. 102 was built in January 1950 as an E8A type diesel passenger locomotive by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) Railway as their No. 9940A. The CB&Q was known at the time for their streamlined Zephyr passenger trains that traveled throughout their system across the midwestern and southern United States. No. 9940A was often used on these trains.

In 1970, No. 9940A became Burlington Northern (BN) No. 9940, when the CB&Q was merged into that railroad. A little over a year later, on May 1, 1971, BN handed over its long distance passenger train operations to Amtrak. With this, Amtrak acquired many of BN’s passenger cars and locomotives for continued use on Amtrak trains, however, No. 9940 was retained by Burlington Northern for use in commuter train service in the Chicago area.

In 1973, No. 9940 and 24 other locomotives of its type on the BN roster were sent to the Morrison-Knudsen Corporation in Boise, Idaho to be rebuilt and upgraded. Originally, these locomotives were E8A types, but the rebuilding process, consisting of mechanical and electrical changes, upgraded them to standards nearly equivalent to the newer E9A type. When No. 9940 emerged from the shop, it had been painted into BN colors and was renumbered again to No. 9903. These rebuilt locomotives were classified as E9AMs.

Shortly after their rebuilds, Burlington Northern sold the E9AMs to the West Suburban Mass Transit District, who in turn leased them to Metra Commuter Rail, who took over commuter train operations from BN. For the next 19 years, No. 9903 worked in Metra commuter service on the famed “Racetrack” route between Chicago and Aurora, Illinois. 

By the end of its career, No. 9903 and the other E9AMs used on the Racetrack were among the last active E-series locomotives in North America. Retired in July 1992, No. 9903 was subsequently sold with a handful of other former E9AMs to the Illinois Central (IC) Railroad. The IC had purchased them with the intent of using them for special events along with a fleet of restored historic passenger cars. Only two of them were repainted into IC colors and placed into service before, in 1998, the IC was merged into the Canadian National (CN) Railway.

After the CN merger, No. 9903 was renumbered to 102. It was eventually repainted into the classic green, red and yellow livery that once adorned CN passenger trains in the 1950s and 1960s. Like the Illinois Central had intended, CN used No. 102 for special events for several years around their entire system in the United States and Canada.

No. 102 last operated in 2016, after which it was withdrawn from service and stored in Homewood, Illinois until Canadian National generously donated it to the museum.

Scroll down to see photos of this iconic locomotive over the years.