Georgia Road Transportation

The Rio Pacifico de Mexico inherited more than half of the SDP40 units originally rostered on the NedM (FNM). Originally ordered as dual use freight or passenger motors due to the extensive nationalized passenger service during the nationalize railroad era, these units had their steam generators removed, and water baffle removed creating a long-range general freight unit. For the first decade of service under RIO ownership, these units assisted newly acquired EMD SD70ACes and GE AC4400s in manifest and cross-border operations in the US.

By the 2020s, the units were showing their age and needed a life extension rebuild. As a result, Georgia Road units were traded out to allow these SDP40s to be remanufactured at Stephens Railcar’s JTLS shops in Birmingham, Alabama. The units were upgraded to SD40-3 specifications. Externally, changes were minimal with the exception of adding HVAC units on the cab roof and PTC equipment of units assigned to MexXpress Service. Units were configured to US standards to return to unit grain, manifest and MexXpress Service intermodal trains. Others were set up as control locomotives for yard slugs built out of NRE six axle genset cores. These units were assigned to heavy switching duties on the RIO around Mexico City and San Luis Potosi. At least four units stayed in the US and carried Georgia Road colors to increase motive power pools for MexXpress Service on the US side.

Not every unit was rebuilt in kind with SD40-3 upgrades. Cores deemed not suitable for SD40-3 remanufacturing were held at Stephens Railcar as short-term lease units or cores for the Revolution Series SD44-CAT program. Others were unceremoniously stripped for parts and scrapped.