MK Rail’s MK5000C: A Retrospective

Morrison Knudsen’s subsidiary MK Rail which had rebuilt locomotives for decades prior had introduced their own line of locomotives called the MK5000Cs. The MK5000Cs were meant as direct competition against General Electric and Electro-Motive Division who had already been dominating the locomotive market. The MK5000C, tested by SP and UP, ultimately failed and with the original builder going bankrupt, their fate was sealed. The successor to MK Rail, Wabtec rebuilt them to SD50 specs while keeping their MK carbody and sold them to the Utah Railway who used them until 2017 when they were all transferred to the Kyle Railroad, another G&W owned railroad. Which utilized them until 2026 when they were all retired in favor of newly introduced C44-9Ws. All six were later stored with 5004 being donated to the NRHS in Utah and the rest being bought by MOPX. A bold attempt to challenge the duopoly that tragically fell through and fell into obscurity but will always be remembered for its resilience and ambition. All credits and thanks are at the end of the video. Thanks for watching. Made by the MK5000C team.