Athearn N F45 Locomotive

Montana Rail Link F45s 392 and 393 were acquired from Wisconsin Southern in April of 1994 and started life as Burlington Northern being part of the only order they placed for F45s. When they arrived at MRL they were patched and ran as MRL 1002 and 1003 before being repainted. The W or “roaring lion” scheme is the only paint scheme that both these unit wore with MRL 393 being painted in March of 1997 so it could be leased to sister company I&M Rail Link. MRL 392 lasted a bit longer in its former paint scheme and was repainted in May of 2000. Both units are unique intheir spotting features (as many of the MRL units were due to their previous heritages and where they were painted). These units are represented as they looked between the painted dates listed above and 2006 when more reflectors were added and they were permanently sidelined. MRL 392 was scrapped in the summer of 2014 while MRL 393 met the same fate much earlier in 2007. Key Features 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain All-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth & quiet operation Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power