As many times as I’ve been to Homewood, I’d not seen an Amtrak train at the station until Saturday. This was the Illini, on its way south to Carbondale.

This is a newer, sleeker engine than I see on the Pennsylvanian route, so I was curious. It’s one of the “New Locomotives Serving Amtrak Customers on State-Sponsored Trains in the Midwest.” These Siemens Charger locomotives are:

[p]owered by a Midwest-made 4,400 horsepower Cummins QSK95 diesel engine [and] . . . will be able to operate at speeds up to 125 mph, with faster acceleration and braking for better on-time reliability. They meet the latest safety regulations and feature better traction for improved performance . . . They also are the first higher-speed passenger locomotives to meet the highest federal environmental standards, meaning a 90 percent reduction in emissions and a reduction in fuel consumption of up to 16% compared to the previous locomotives.

I’m wondering if I’ve been behind one on the Wolverine route in Michigan and missed it. I’ll have to look during my upcoming June adventure.