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EMD GP38

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EMD GP38
EMD GP38 of the Gateway Western Railway
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division (GM-EMD) General Motors Diesel (GMD) Model GP38 Build date January 1966 – December 1971 Total produced 706
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B  • UIC Bo'Bo' Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Fuel capacity 2,600 US gal (9,800 L; 2,200 imp gal) Prime mover EMD 16-645E Engine type V16 Two-stroke diesel Aspiration Roots type supercharger Cylinders 16
Performance figures Power output 2,000 hp (1.49 MW)
Career Locale North America

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]

In 1972, EMD began making an updated model, the GP38-2, as part of its Dash-2 line.^[3]

Original orders[edit]

Rebuilds[edit]

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[edit]

• 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[edit]

• List of GM-EMD locomotives
• List of GMD Locomotives

References[edit]

• 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[edit]

Media related to EMD GP38 locomotives at Wikimedia Commons