EMD GP38
The EMD GP38 is a 4-axle road switcher 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).
EMD GP38 | |||||||||||||||||||
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EMD GP38 of the Gateway Western Railway | |||||||||||||||||||
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The company built 706 GP38s for North American railroads.
In 1972, EMD began making an updated model, the GP38-2.
Original orders
Railroad | Quantity | Numbers | Notes |
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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 |
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 |
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad | 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 |
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad | 4 | 300-304 | |
Missouri Pacific Railroad | 6 | 572-577 | |
Monongahela Railway | 5 | 2000-2004 | |
Norfolk Southern Railway | 7 | 2001-2007 | To Southern 2880-2886, rebuilt with high noses |
Penn Central Transportation Company | 263 | 7675-7937 | Biggest order of GP38s, to Conrail same numbers, and then to Norfolk Southern 2881-2942 and CSX Transportation, Numbers Vary . |
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 | |
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 NS 2911 which is an ex Penn Central GP38 into an experimental Battery-Electric locomotive known as the Altoona Works BP4.
Preservation
- Conway Scenic Railroad 252, built as Maine Central 252, is in Maine Central ‘harvest gold’ paint with Conway Scenic reporting marks, and currently operates on excursions on the former MEC Notch Route.
- TAG Railway 80 is preserved in operational condition at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.
- West Chester Railroad 7706, built as Penn Central 7706, is preserved and operates on tourist trains on the former PRR line.
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
- Norfolk Southern 2014 Sustainability Report