Buying a railroad locomotive is significantly more involved than buying a used car. First you must find one for sale, and used locomotive dealers are not on every other block. Fortunately, there are industry newsletters and web sites that specialize in used locomotives. Unfortunately, like used car ads, you cannot always believe what is written. Then there is the expense.
Since the Port already has a good locomotive, why does it need another?
Rail volume has been increasing at the Port and is projected to increase significantly with the completion of the new on-port rail yard and Tropical Shipping moving a greater percentage of their container volume from trucks to rail. In the event our current locomotive was to have a mechanical failure, even if it could be fixed in two or three days, that would result in 200 or 300 containers not getting to the Caribbean on time.
Port of Palm Beach Assistant Director of Operations Keith Leggett, Facilities and Superintendent Al Fawcett looked diligently for months, trying to find an appropriate locomotive. They made trips to inspect locomotives in Georgia, Missouri and Louisiana. Like used cars, none of them were as advertised. Finally, they found one working in a cement manufacturing plant out in the desert, on the California/Nevada border.
It was really dirty, but working in the desert, it was not going to have rust. After a very detailed inspection, it was decided that this was the one we wanted.
Getting a 200-ton locomotive shipped 3,000 miles takes some time to accomplish. There was a stop along the way for some known mechanical work and another for complete repaint.
Six months after the Port purchased the locomotive, it made a trip from Georgia to South Florida, and rolled through the rail gate, into the Port on Friday, February 27, 2026.
The Port's new 200-ton locomotive is set to support growing rail demand and the new on-port rail yard. The added engine boosts capacity, supports Tropical Shipping’s shift to rail, and ensures reliability if the primary unit is down.
Port of Palm Beach is one of only two seaports in Florida with on-dock rail. The project was funded through a 50/50 cost share between the Port of Palm Beach and the the Florida Department of Transportation.