It's been common since the late 1980's, to purchase locomotives with a maintenance contract included. There are variations, but it works like this:
It does not cause union trouble, because the railroad's employees (Machinists, electricians, cab carpenters, laborers) still perform all the work. The builder gets paid for locomotives that are available for service. The employees are supervised by the locomotive manufacturer's Foremen in the railroad's shop, on dedicated tracks. The builder does better when there are few road failures. They get no payment on locomotives which are unavailable due to mechanical failures.
