SD70MAC
The ten Alabama Midland Railroad (AMRR) SD70MAC units were a conundrum on the AMRR roster, as the no-nonsense road was known for its spartan approach to motive power and operations. AMRR relied on mostly second hand, non-dynamic brake equipped power comprised of first- and second-generation hand-me-downs from the used locomotive market. It was quick to rebuild older units into modernized units but shied away from more complicated third and fourth generation units. This would change when AMRR, in coordination with the Georgia Road, managed to score a lucrative unit coal contract in the early 2000s. This contract was the movement of Wyoming Powder River Coal trains feeding the Georgia Power Plant Mitchell near Albany, GA in 1999. Georgia Road brought the trains in from western connections at Kansas City to Macon, GA were AMRR moved the trains over its AGLF subsidiary from Macon to Plant Mitchell. Georgia Road required the AMRR to match its assigned power to ensure all locomotives in the pool would work interchangeably. AMRR was forced to purchase SD70MAC units, marking its first experience with AC traction high horsepower locomotives.
The SD70MACs were built as an add on behind an Alaska RR order for SD70MAC-H. The “H” stood for “Heavy” with additional frame weight added to increase tractive effort. This H design worked well for the rugged terrain of the Alaska RR and also for the long-distance aspect of Plant Mitchell Coal Trains. AMRR went so far as to introduce a similar paint scheme as the Alaska RR as a time saving paint option to speed delivery. Eight units were delivered in this scheme, which was rumored to be the new standard scheme of the AMRR, replacing the large “AMRR” billboard scheme used since start up. Georgia Road would step in and specify the last two to be painted in Georgia Road colors. With Georgia Road supplying financing, this change was not unexpected to help AMRR defray costs. These two GARD units would prove to be the last SD70MACs built for Georgia Road, as additional units on the order were converted to the new SD70ACe specification now required by EPA emission regulations.
In 2018, Florida Gulf Industries (FGI) purchased controlling interest in the independent Alabama Midland Railroad and its system of short lines. FGI had plans of combining the AMRR with its highly successful Floridia & Gulf Coast Railroad (FGC). FGC worked closely with the AMRR, funneling traffic out of Florida and through the AMRR system to its primary Class One interchange at Birmingham, AL. The stored Alabama Midland Mitchell coal trains got a reprieve from potential divesture sale after the FGI takeover. The FGC gained a coal contract with Tampa Electric Generating Company (TEGCO) serving its Big Bend coal fired generator plant near Tampa, FL. This generator was upgraded in the early 2000s with the latest emissions scrubber technology. It decided to burn coal from mines in Alabama and West Virginia instead of barging coal down the Mississippi from the Midwest. The new trains originated at the Blue Creek Coal mine owned by Attila Resources Kodiak Mining at its Shannon strip mine near Brookwood, AL. Attila Resources also operated several mines in West Virginia off the Virginia & Ohio Railroad (VO) where additional coal was sourced for TEGCO. Big Bend also burned coal from Peabody Energy in Indiana during peak demand. While the Alabama trains turned inside of days, the Indiana and West Virginia trains gathered at Paducah, KY on the Gateway Eastern Railroad (EAST). From there EAST moved them south to be interchanged with Georgia Road at Fulton, KY. Using its ICG lines from Fulton, the Georgia Road moved them to Birmingham, AL where AMRR-FGC power was added for the final leg to Tampa, FL. The interesting aspect of these “resurrected” AMRR trains is the re appearance of AMRR SD70MAC-H units, but with an odd twist. Georgia Road continued to keep the AMRR units on lease and actually assigned them to its part of the TEGCO movements from Fulton, KY. The Georgia Road part of the locomotive power pool ended in Birmingham, AL at the FGC-AMRR interchange, with FGC-AMRR providing existing second-generation power to pull trains from Birmingham to Tampa and back. The irony is the fact that ex-patriot AMRR painted SD70MAC-H units regularly appear on the Georgia Road leg of the Big Bend coal train, only to be cut off in Birmingham, AL in favor of staged AMRR power to move the trains over the AMRR-FGC routing to and from Big Bend.
| Road Number | Number Of Units | Paint Scheme | Notes |
| AMRR 990-999 | 8 | ARR inspired scheme | Originally purchased by independent AMRR for GA Power Mitchell Coal trains: add-on order to ARR built to ARR specifications. Assigned to GARD-AMRR Michell Coal Train pool.; due to AMRR financing issues, ninth and tenth units acquired by Georgia Road outright and painted in Georgia Road colors; leased to Georgia Road after Mitchell closed with all eight currently on Georgia Road lease with no plans for direct FGI service. |
Georgia Road Transportation 