UNION, Ill. — The Illinois Railway Museum has saved the sole surviving U28B locomotive in original condition, the museum announced this week.
CSX Transportation donated Transkentucky Transportation U28B No. 260 to the museum and it was recently moved to Union. The locomotive is expected to make its debut at the annual Diesel Days event on Aug. 9 to 11.
Transkentucky Transportation No. 260 was built for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy as its No. 114 in January 1967 and was one of 20 U28B units built for the road. The U28B was a successor to General Electric’s U25B model but was only built for one year. It was later replaced by the U30B model. A total of 148 U28B locomotives were built in 1966 and 1967. No. 114 eventually ended up on Transkentucky, a short line owned by CSX, which numbered it No. 260. The railroad museum says it is the last surviving example of a U28B in original condition.
The museum plans on restoring the locomotive to its CB&Q appearance. The museum has acquired a number of second generation locomotives in recent years. In 2018, it acquired a former Toledo, Peoria & Western C424 and an Amtrak AEM-7.