An EMD GP40X is a 4-axle

diesel-electric locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...

built by

General Motors Electro-Motive Division Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its su ...

between December 1977 and June 1978. Power for this unit was provided by a turbocharged 16-

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an ...

EMD 645 The EMD 645 is a family of diesel engines that was designed and manufactured by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. While the 645 series was intended primarily for locomotive, marine and stationary engine use, one 16-cylinder versio ...

F engine which could produce . 23 examples of this locomotive were built for North American railroads. This unit was a pre-production version meant to test technologies later incorporated into EMD's 50-series locomotives GP50 and SD50.

Design

Ten GP40X were delivered with an experimental HT-B truck design that became an option (but never used) on the production GP50, including 6 for

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

and 4 for Southern Pacific. These trucks were meant to improve locomotive adhesion. The remainder rode on Blomberg-M trucks. SP's units included several experimental modifications, including L-shaped windshields and coverings over the radiator sections, nicknamed "elephant ears."

1965 experimental locomotive

The designation GP40X was also given to an experimental locomotive built on an EMD GP35 frame in May 1965. Only one example of this locomotive was ever produced, the EMD 433A, a test prototype that was the first 4-axle locomotive to be powered by the new 645-series prime mover. The 433A served as the precursor to the

EMD GP40 The GP40 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between November 1965 and December 1971. It has an EMD 645E3 16-cylinder engine generating . The GP40 is longer than its EMD 567D3A-engined pred ...

. The 433A was purchased by the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line al ...

, and became the IC 3075. The 1965 EMD 433A has very little in common with the 1977 GP40X other than flared radiators and a 645-series prime mover.

Original owners

References

External links

* Sarberenyi, Robert.
EMD GP40X Original Owners
'. Retrieved on August 27, 2006 * Thompson, J. David.

'. Retrieved on August 27, 2006 * Kristopans, Andre J. http://utahrails.net/ajkristopans/50SERIES.htm {{EMD GPs GP40X B-B locomotives Experimental locomotives Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1977 Standard gauge locomotives of the United States