City of Durham

NCDOT 1869 City of Durham (Debut November 4, 2011) is an EMD F59PH Piedmont train.

1869 is considered a flagship, similar to 1797 City of Asheville, although the only actual flagship was 1792 City of Raleigh, which wrecked in 2010.

Appearance
1869 is a EMD F59PH, with N C in front of her in yellow, and under that is a large, white Star. Her front gate is white, her front is mostly blue and her back is white with NORTH CAROLINA written in black. Above her wheels is a red strip and a yellow stripe above that. All of the F59PH's are identical, except for the number and name.

Debut
1869 debuted in November 2011, being the first EMD F59PH to debut, although 1810 City of Greensboro and 1859 City of High Point were first to be used.

Piedmont Service (2011 - Present)
1869 debuted 1 month before 1893 City of Burlington. The locomotife was originally numbered 1866. During this period, 1869 was the fastest EMD F59PH until 2012. 1869's speed record was broken by 1859 City of High Point, during that locomotives debut. 1869 is one of the most common Piemont trains.

While being considered the lead locomotive, 1869 has not been used as much as 1792 and would not be considered eligible, much to the dismay of others. This puts 1810 City of Greensboro as a better candidate for the lead locomotive if anything.