MotivePower

MotivePower, Inc.
Type
IndustryTransport
Founded
  • 1972 (1972)
  • (As a division of Morrison-Knudsen)
  • 1994 (1994)
  • (As an independent company)
Defunct1999 (1999)
FateMerged with WABCO to form Wabtec in 1999
SuccessorWabtec
Headquarters
Boise, Idaho
,
U.S.
ProductsDiesel locomotives
Parent
Websitewabteccorp.com/motivepower

MotivePower, Inc. (MPI) was an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives. The company was founded as a division of Morrison–Knudsen (MK) in 1972. After MotivePower spun-off from MK, the company merged with the air brake manufacturer WABCO to form "Wabtec" in 1999, remaining as a brand of it. The company was headquartered in Boise, Idaho, where it had its main facilities, although it also previously maintained an operation in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

History

Morrison–Knudsen established a separate rail division, MK Rail, in 1972. Morrison–Knudsen spun-off the division in 1993; it became a publicly traded company in 1994. After Morrison–Knudsen's bankruptcy in 1996, MK Rail renamed itself "MotivePower Industries", doing business as "Boise Locomotive". The company merged with Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) in November 1999 to form Wabtec.

Wabtec renamed the Boise Locomotive division to "MotivePower" in 2000. MotivePower continues as a wholly owned subsidiary of Wabtec. On September 18, 2019, several months following Wabtec's merger with GE Transportation, Wabtec announced the MotivePower Boise plant would close in early 2020 and production was shifted to Wabtec's legacy GE Transportation plant in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Products

MotivePower's flagship product is the MPI MPXpress passenger locomotive. Over two hundred locomotives have been built for commuter rail operators in the United States and Canada.

Services

Completed at the Wabtec Erie shop in Erie, Pennsylvania, MotivePower also does overhaul work for several agencies throughout the US. These include:

References

  1. 1 2 3 Morrison-Knudsen Locomotives on American-rails.com
  2. 1 2 3 "MotivePower | Wabtec Corporation". wabtec.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Suppliers help shape Mexico's rail renaissance (April 1998) - RailPrime | ProgressiveRailroading". RailPrime. Retrieved September 29, 2026.
  4. ↑ Newswires, Dow Jones (March 3, 1998). "MotivePower Gets 17-Year Pact In Mexico Valued at $419 Million - WSJ". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 29, 2026.
  5. ↑ Carlson, Brad (September 27, 2004). "Locomotive builder MotivePower to boost Boise workforce". Idaho Business Review. Retrieved April 22, 2017.  – via EBSCO's Academic Search Complete (subscription required)
  6. ↑ "Names change at Wabtec". Railway Gazette. April 1, 2000.
  7. ↑ "MotivePower". Wabtec Corporation. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  8. ↑ "MotivePower closing Boise office, moving to Pennsylvania". September 18, 2019.
  9. ↑ Wabtec to close MotivePower plant Railway Gazette International September 21, 2019
  10. ↑ "Wabtec to Close Locomotive Manufacturing Company in Boise, Consolidate Operations into Erie Site". www.erienewsnow.com. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  11. ↑ "MPI work now fully relocated to Wabtec plant in Erie". trains.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023.