# Heritage unit

A heritage unit or commemorative locomotive is a railroad locomotive painted in an honorary paint scheme; usually the paint scheme is that of a now-defunct railroad that merged with or was acquired by the locomotive's owner.

## Among North American railroads

Heritage units are popular among North American railroads. As of 2023, all major Class I railroads have official heritage units, except for BNSF Railway.
The Union Pacific Railroad painted six EMD SD70ACes in stylized paint schemes of six of its predecessors between 2005 and 2006. The Norfolk Southern Railway did the same in 2012 with 20 of its locomotives for its 30th Railroad Anniversary. 10 of them are EMD SD70ACes, while the others are GE ES44AC units. For its 40th anniversary in 2011, Amtrak painted four GE P42DCs, a P40DC, and an EMD F40PH converted to an NPCU into its older paint schemes. Several more were painted for its 50th anniversary in 2021.
In 2019, the Canadian Pacific Railway, now Canadian Pacific Kansas City, painted nine EMD SD70ACU units in a maroon and gray paint scheme with a different font style. In late 2020, the Canadian National Railway revealed five new heritage units after they had been first spotted a month earlier. These included four GE ET44ACs and one EMD SD70M-2. They were painted in honour of the 25th anniversary of CN's initial public offering. Beginning in 2023, CSX revealed its first of many heritage units, ES44AH 1827 with a Baltimore & Ohio paint scheme.

## List of heritage units

Below is a list of heritage units in active service by various railroads.
| Railroad | Road number | Paint scheme | Locomotive model |
| Alaska Railroad | 4328 | F-Unit Scheme | EMD SD70MAC |
| Amtrak | 130 (formerly 66) | Phase II | GE P42DC |
| Amtrak | 145 | Phase III | GE P42DC |
| Amtrak | 160 | Dash 8 Phase III "Pepsi Can" | GE P42DC |
| Amtrak | 164 (formerly 184) | Phase IV | GE P42DC |
| Amtrak | 46 | Phase V (Connecting America for 50 Years) | GE P42DC |
| Amtrak | 108 | Phase VI (Connecting America for 50 Years) | GE P42DC |
| Amtrak | 100 | 50th Anniversary - Midnight Blue (Connecting America for 50 Years) | GE P42DC |
| Amtrak | 700-717 | Phase III (Empire Service) | GE P32AC-DM |
| Amtrak | 90406 | Phase III | EMD NPCU (former EMD F40PH) |
| Amtrak | 822 | Phase III | GE P40DC |
| Amtrak | 301 | "Day 1" livery | Siemens ALC-42 |
| Ann Arbor (Watco) | 3879 | Ann Arbor | EMD GP38 |
| Berkshire & Eastern | 7879 | G&W "Whisker Stripes" | GE C40-8W |
| California Northern | 2403 | G&W "Whisker Stripes" | KLW SE24B |
| Canadian National | 600 | Classic CN Green | EMD GY430A (slug) |
| Canadian National | 601 | Illinois Central | EMD GY430A (slug) |
| Canadian National | 3008 | Illinois Central | GE ET44AC |
| Canadian National | 3023 | Elgin, Joliet & Eastern | GE ET44AC |
| Canadian National | 3069 | Wisconsin Central | GE ET44AC |
| Canadian National | 3115 | BC Rail | GE ET44AC |
| Canadian National | 7600 | Classic CN Green | EMD GP40-3 |
| Canadian National | 7601 | Illinois Central | EMD GP40-3 |
| Canadian National | 8952 | Grand Trunk Western | EMD SD70M-2 |
| Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 3084 | CP Tuscan red and grey (script writing) | EMD GP38-2 |
| Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 7010,7012–7014 | CP Tuscan red and grey (script writing) | EMD SD70ACU |
| Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 7015–7019 | CP Tuscan red and grey (block writing) | EMD SD70ACU |
| Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern | 4032 | G&W "Whisker Stripes" | GE C41-8W |
| Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern | 4034 | G&W "Whisker Stripes" | GE C40-8W |
| CSX | 1-3 | Baltimore & Ohio | EMD F40PH-2 |
| CSX | 1827 | Baltimore & Ohio | GE ES44AH |
| CSX | 1834 | Georgia |
| CSX | 1836 | RF&P |
| CSX | 1850 | Louisville & Nashville |
| CSX | 1851 | NC&StL |
| CSX | 1852 | Western Maryland |
| CSX | 1853 | New York Central |
| CSX | 1869 | Chesapeake & Ohio |
| CSX | 1871 | Atlantic Coast Line |
| CSX | 1875 | Pittsburgh & Lake Erie |
| CSX | 1877 | Chicago & Eastern Illinois |
| CSX | 1897 | Monon |
| CSX | 1899 | Pere Marquette |
| CSX | 1900 | Seaboard Air Line |
| CSX | 1902 | Clinchfield |
| CSX | 1967 | Seaboard Coast Line |
| CSX | 1972 | Family Lines System |
| CSX | 1973 | Chessie System |
| CSX | 1976 | Conrail |
| CSX | 1981 | Pan Am |
| CSX | 1982 | Seaboard System |
| East Midlands Railway | 43102 | InterCity (British Rail) | British Rail Class 43 |
| Genesee & Wyoming | 125 | G&W "Whisker Stripes" | EMD GP38-2 |
| Genesee & Wyoming | 1899 | G&W "Whisker Stripes" | GE C44-9W |
| Genesee & Wyoming | 4055 | G&W "Whisker Stripes" | GE C40-8W |
| Green Mountain Railroad | 405 | Rutland Railroad | ALCO RS-1 |
| Iowa Interstate | 513 | Rock Island | GE ES44AC |
| Iowa Interstate | 516 | Rock Island | GE ES44AC |
| Locomotive Services Limited | 43046 | Midland Pullman | British Rail Class 43 |
| Locomotive Services Limited | 43055 | Midland Pullman | British Rail Class 43 |
| Maryland Midland | 2060 | Maryland Midland | EMD GP38-3 |
| MBTA Commuter Rail | 1129 | 1980s-era MBTA (maroon with silver bar) | GMD GP40MC |
| Metra | 90 | Chicago & North Western | EMD F59PHI |
| Metra | 104 | City of Chicago | EMD F40PH-3 |
| Metra | 211 | Burlington Route | EMD F40PHM-3 |
| Metra | 402 | State of Illinois | MPI MP36PH-3C |
| Metra | 405 | Milwaukee Road | MPI MP36PH-3C |
| Metra | 425 | Rock Island | MPI MP36PH-3C |
| Metra | 500 | RTA | EMD SD70MACH |
| Metra | 502 | RTA | EMD SD70MACH |
| Metro-North/CTDOT | 201 | Conrail | GE P32AC-DM |
| Metro-North/CTDOT | 208 | 1980s-era Metro-North | GE P32AC-DM |
| Metro-North/CTDOT | 211 | New York Central | GE P32AC-DM |
| Metro-North/CTDOT | 217 | Penn Central | GE P32AC-DM |
| Metro-North/CTDOT | 222 | New Haven | GE P32AC-DM |
| Metro-North/CTDOT | 228-231 | New Haven ("McGinnis") | GE P32AC-DM |
| NJ Transit | 1319 | Lackawanna | Arrow III |
| 1502/1503 | Penn Central | | Arrow III |
| 4109 | Jersey Central | EMD GP40PH-2 |
| 4101 | New Jersey DOT (Bluebird) | EMD GP40PH-2 |
| 4208 | Conrail | EMD GP40PH-2B |
| 4210 | Erie | EMD GP40PH-2B |
| 4519 | Erie Lackawanna | Bombardier ALP-45DP |
| 4636 | Pennsylvania | Bombardier ALP-46A |
| 4640 | 1980s-era NJT | Bombardier ALP-46A |
| New York, Susquehanna & Western | 3024 | Silver and Red Stripe | EMD SD40-2 |
| Norfolk Southern | 1065 | Savannah & Atlanta | EMD SD70ACe |
| Norfolk Southern | 1066 | New York Central | EMD SD70ACe |
| Norfolk Southern | 1067 | Reading | EMD SD70ACe |
| Norfolk Southern | 1068 | Erie | EMD SD70ACe |
| Norfolk Southern | 1069 | Virginian | EMD SD70ACe |
| Norfolk Southern | 1070 | Wabash | EMD SD70ACe |
| Norfolk Southern | 1071 | Jersey Central | EMD SD70ACe |
| Norfolk Southern | 1072 | Illinois Terminal | EMD SD70ACe |
| Norfolk Southern | 1073 | Penn Central | EMD SD70ACe |
| Norfolk Southern | 1074 | Lackawanna | EMD SD70ACe |
| Norfolk Southern | 1700 | Erie Lackawanna | EMD SD45-2 |
| Norfolk Southern | 4851 | TAG Route | GE AC44C6M |
| Norfolk Southern | 5260 | Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line | EMD GP38-2 |
| Norfolk Southern | 8025 | Monongahela | GE ES44AC |
| Norfolk Southern | 8098 | Conrail | GE ES44AC |
| Norfolk Southern | 8099 | Southern | GE ES44AC |
| Norfolk Southern | 8100 | Nickel Plate Road | GE ES44AC |
| Norfolk Southern | 8101 | Central of Georgia | GE ES44AC |
| Norfolk Southern | 8102 | Pennsylvania | GE ES44AC |
| Norfolk Southern | 8103 | Norfolk & Western | GE ES44AC |
| Norfolk Southern | 8104 | Lehigh Valley | GE ES44AC |
| Norfolk Southern | 8105 | Interstate | GE ES44AC |
| Norfolk Southern | 8114 | Norfolk Southern (1942–1982) | GE ES44AC |
| Ohio Central | 2014 | G&W "Whisker Stripes" | EMD GP38-2 |
| Ontario Northland | 1730 | Classic ON Scheme | EMD SD40-2 |
| Reading Blue Mountain and Northern | 1983 | Blue Mountain and Reading | EMD SD40-2 |
| Rock Island (2017) | 2127 | Rock Island | GE C40-8 |
| SEPTA Regional Rail | 276 | Pennsylvania Railroad | Silverliner IV |
| 280 | Reading Lines |
| 304 | Conrail |
| 401 | Penn Central |
| SEPTA Metro | 101 | Philadelphia & West Chester Traction Co. | Kawasaki K-car |
| SEPTA Metro | 9000, 9100 | 1980s-era SEPTA | Kawasaki K-car |
| St. Lawrence & Atlantic | 4022 | G&W "Whisker Stripes" | EMD SD70MAC |
| St. Lawrence & Atlantic | 4024 | G&W "Whisker Stripes" | EMD SD70MAC |
| Union Pacific | 1440 | "spirit of FedEx.com (CNW-FedEx shipping) | EMD GP40-2 |
| Union Pacific | 1982 | Missouri Pacific | EMD SD70ACe |
| Union Pacific | 1983 | Western Pacific | EMD SD70ACe |
| Union Pacific | 1988 | Katy | EMD SD70ACe |
| Union Pacific | 1989 | Rio Grande | EMD SD70ACe |
| Union Pacific | 1995 | Chicago & North Western | EMD SD70ACe |
| Union Pacific | 1996 | Southern Pacific | EMD SD70ACe |
| Wisconsin and Southern Railroad | 4187 | Grow Wisconsin ( Wisconsin Central Ltd. ) | EMD SD40-2 |
| Wheeling and Lake Erie | 101 | Pittsburgh and West Virginia | EMD GP35 |
| Wheeling and Lake Erie | 107 | AC&Y | EMD GP35 |
| Wheeling and Lake Erie | 108 | Classic WLE Scheme | EMD GP35 |