The EMD GP38 [1] is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and December 1971. The locomotive's prime mover was an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine that generated 2,000 horsepower (1.49 MW). The company built 706 GP38s for North American railroads.[2]
| EMD GP38 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 EMD GP38 of the Gateway Western Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||
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In 1972, EMD began making an updated model, the GP38-2, as part of its Dash-2 line.[3]
Original orders
| Railroad[4] | Quantity | Numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad | 1 | 400 | |
| Altos Hornos de México | 4 | 130-131, 135-136 | |
| Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | 61 | 3500-3560 | Rebuilt to GP38us and renumbered to 2300-2360, To BNSF |
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | 70 | 3800-3849, 4800-4819 | To CSX 2000–2049, 2100-2119 |
| Bangor and Aroostook Railroad | 8 | 81-88 | |
| Burlington Northern Railroad | 6 | 2072-2077 | Ordered as SP&S 200-205, To BNSF |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | 60 | 3850-3899, 4820-4829 | To CSX 2050–2099, 2120-2129 |
| Clinchfield Railroad | 10 | 2000-2009 | To Seaboard System then CSX 2180-2189 |
| Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad | 7 | 200-206 | To GTW 6200-6206 |
| Erie Mining Company | 2 | 700-701 | |
| Ferrocarriles Unidos del Sureste | 2 | 512-513 | |
| Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad | 20 | 701-720 | To Illinois Central Gulf then Illinois Central Railroad 9520-9539 |
| Louisville and Nashville Railroad | 20 | 4000-4019 | To Seaboard System 6221–6240, then renumbered to 2130–2149, then to CSX |
| Maine Central Railroad | 13 | 251-263 | 252 & 254 To B&M after Guilford merger. 252 & 255 now at Conway Scenic. |
| Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad | 4 | 300-304 | To Union Pacific |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad | 6 | 572-577 | |
| Monongahela Railway | 5 | 2000-2004 | To Conrail |
| Southern Railway | 7 | 2001-2007 | To Norfolk Southern Railway renumbered 2871-2878 |
| Penn Central Transportation Company | 265 | 7675-7939 | Biggest order of GP38s, to Conrail same numbers, and then to Norfolk Southern 2880 and 2885-2957 and CSX Transportation 1950–1998, Rest to various short lines. |
| Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines | 15 | 2000-2014 | Built with dual control stands and an extended cab face. To Conrail 7660–7674, and then Norfolk Southern 2943-2957 |
| Phelps Dodge Corporation | 8 | 47-54 | |
| Southern Railway | 107 | 2716-2822 | Built with high hoods. To NS with original numbers |
| Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway | 1 | 80 | To Southern then NS 2879 |
| Texas Mexican Railway | 4 | 857-860 | |
| Totals | 706 |
Rebuilds
A number of GP38s have been rebuilt into the equivalent of a GP38-2.
Conversely, a number of higher horsepower 40 Series locomotives have been rebuilt into the equivalent of a GP38-2 (GP38AC), by the removal of the turbocharger and the substitution of twin Roots blowers.
In 2007, Norfolk Southern rebuilt #2911 which is an ex Penn Central GP38 into an experimental zero-emissions Battery-Electric locomotive known as the Altoona Works BP4. The new locomotive was renumbered as NS #999.[5] It has since been sold to Rail Propulsions Systems, where it was upgraded for eventual use in the Los Angeles Basin region. [6] [7]
Preservation
- Conway Scenic Railroad 252, built as Maine Central (MEC) 252, is preserved and operates on excursions on the former MEC Notch Route.[8]
- Conway Scenic Railroad 255, built as Maine Central 255, was acquired in October 2021 and serves alongside 252.[8]
- Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway 80, is preserved in operational condition at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.[9][10]
- West Chester Railroad 7706, built as Penn Central 7706, is preserved and operates on tourist trains on the former PRR line.[11][12][13]
- Chessie System 3802, built as Baltimore & Ohio 3802, is preserved and operates at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.[14]
- Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines 2000, is preserved on the Cape May Seashore Lines in Tuckahoe, New Jersey.[15][16]
See also
References
- Marre, Louis A. & Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1989). The Contemporary Diesel Spotter's Guide. Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-89024-088-4. LCCN 88083625. OCLC 19959644.
- Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
- Sarberenyi, Robert. EMD GP38 and GP38AC Original Owners
External links
Media related to EMD GP38 locomotives at Wikimedia Commons