The Evolution Series is a line of

diesel 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 whee ...

s built by

GE Transportation Systems GE Transportation is a division of Wabtec. It was known as GE Rail and owned by General Electric until sold to Wabtec on February 25, 2019. The organization manufactures equipment for the railroad, marine, mining, drilling and energy generati ...

(now owned by

Wabtec Wabtec Corporation (derived from Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation) is an American company formed by the merger of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) and MotivePower Industries Corporation in 1999. It is headquartered ...

), initially designed to meet the U.S.

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

's Tier 2 locomotive emissions standards that took effect in 2005. The first pre-production units were built in 2003. Evolution Series locomotives are equipped with either AC or DC

traction motors A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles (electric multiple uni ...

, depending on the customer's preference. All are powered by the GE GEVO engine. The Evolution Series was named as one of the "10 Locomotives That Changed Railroading" by ''

Trains Magazine ''Trains'' is a monthly magazine about trains and railroads aimed at railroad enthusiasts and railroad industry employees. The magazine primarily covers railroad happenings in the United States and Canada, but has some articles on railroading els ...

'' and was the only locomotive introduced after 1972 to be included in that list. The Evolution Series locomotives are some of the best-selling and most successful freight locomotives in United States history.

Models

Currently, six different Evolution Series models have been produced for the North American market. They are all six axle locomotives and have the wheel arrangement C-C ( AAR classification) or Co′Co′ (

UIC classification The UIC classification of locomotive axle arrangements, sometimes known as the German classification''The Railway Data File''. Leicester: Silverdale, 2000. p. 52. . or German system,Kalla-Bishop P.M. & Greggio, Luciano, ''Steam Locomotives'', Cre ...

), except for the ES44C4 which has an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement and the

meter-gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

version developed for the Brazilian network ES43BBi which is B-B-B-B.

ES40DC (2004-2008)

The ES40DC (Evolution Series, 4,000 hp, DC traction) replaced the Dash 9-40CW model in the General Electric catalogue and, like the former model, was delivered exclusively to

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

. ES44DCs owned by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

were also given this designation in 2009 after being de-rated to . However, high-horsepower demand on Norfolk Southern made a mandatory repowering of several ES40DC engines into their former ES44DC power.

ES44DC (2005-2010)

CSX 5358 in Harpers Ferry, WV (2194147136)

The ES44DC (Evolution Series, 4,400 hp, DC traction) replaced the Dash 9-44CW model in the General Electric catalogue. Primary users are

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

, and

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

. Pilbara Iron in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

ordered a lengthened, international version designated ES44DCi. The extra length is used for a larger radiator to increase cooling capacity in the Australian

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a ...

ES44AC (2003-2019)

The ES44AC (Evolution Series, 4,400 hp, AC traction) replaced the

AC4400CW The GE AC4400CW, sometimes referred as "AC44CW" is a diesel-electric locomotive that was built by GE Transportation Systems between 1993 and 2004. It is like the Dash 9-44CW, but features AC traction motors instead of DC, with a separate inverter ...

model in the General Electric catalogue. These locomotives have been ordered by every Class I railroad in North America:

Union Pacific Railroad 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 Paci ...

(who refers to these locomotives as the ''C45ACCTE''),

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operates in 10 midwestern and southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Loui ...

Kansas City Southern de Mexico Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the we ...

Ferromex Ferromex (syllabic abbreviation of Ferrocarril Mexicano or "Mexican Railway") is a private rail consortium that operates the largest (by mileage) railway in Mexico with combined mileage (Ferromex + Ferrosur) of and is part of the North American ...

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

, and

ES44C4 (2009-2015)

The ES44C4 (Evolution Series, 4,400 hp, C to denote 3 axles per truck, 4 traction motors) was introduced in 2009. While similar to the ES44AC, the ES44C4 has two traction motors per truck, instead of the conventional three such as on the ES44AC. No ES44C4s with DC traction were built. The center axle of each truck is unpowered, giving an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement. BNSF Railway is the launch customer for this model, ordering an initial batch of 25 units numbered 6600–6624. The ES44C4 was initially only built for BNSF. The 4200s and units 7921-7999 are certified as Tier 4 Credit units, while the others are Tier 2 or Tier 3. On 30 January 2014

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...

announced that they would buy 24 ES44C4s, to be numbered 800–823, for heavy haul service and intermodal traffic. All were delivered by the end of 2014, in order to beat the EPA's deadline on exhaust-emissions standards for new-built Tier 3 locomotives. A feature of these units is a variable traction control system in their computer systems. One of the differences between an ES44AC and an ES44C4 are the air cylinders and linkages on the truck sideframes of the ES44C4; these are part of the traction control system. Every time a variation in grade, traction, or wheel slip occurs, the computer adjusts the pressure in these cylinders to maintain sufficient adhesion, by varying the weight on the drive axles.

ES44DCi/ES44ACi

The ES44DCi (Evolution Series, 4400 horsepower, DC traction, international version) was built for the

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

railway in Australia. The ES44ACi was built for the Roy Hill and

Rio Tinto Group Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational company that is the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). The company was founded in 1873 when of a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tint ...

. Rio Tinto's units can be remotely driven, meaning nobody has to be in the cab as they can be controlled from a control center. The ES44ACi/DCi is essentially an ES44AC/DC in a

GE AC6000CW The AC6000CW is a diesel electric locomotive built between 1995 and 2001 by GE Transportation. It is among the world's most powerful single-engined diesel locomotives. The locomotive was designed for extremely high horsepower needs, such as pu ...

's body, with the radiator at the end protruding out over the rear deck in the same way the AC6000CW does. The locomotive's large radiator allows it to handle the Australian outback's extreme temperatures. Roy Hill has ordered 21 ES44ACi locomotives, and is currently in possession of all 21 locomotives (numbered 1001 "Ginny"-1021). Rio Tinto ordered 100 ES44DCi locomotives and has all 100 (numbered 8100–8199) and 21 ES44ACi locomotives (numbered 9100–9120) and more are on order. Ferromex also acquired 50 ES44ACi. As the construction of these locomotives was subsequent to the new environmental laws of the US, GE cataloged them only as ES44ACi, although in the external technical specifications of the locomotives say ES44AC). These locomotives can no longer reenter the US operating.

ET44AC/ET44C4 (2012-Present)

The ET44AC (Evolution Series Tier 4, 4,400 hp, AC traction) replaces the ES44AC model. These locomotives have been ordered by most of the Class I railroads in North America, including

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 ...

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

and

will be receiving similar ET44C4 locomotives, which have no traction motor on the middle axle of each truck. CSX designates their ET44ACs as ET44AH, due to their locomotives being heavy-ballasted.

TE33A

The TE33A is an export 1520 mm gauge locomotive in the GE Evolution Series.

Identifying features

The Evolution Series locomotives are visually similar to the

, although small differences are evident. The most noticeable difference is the

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always ...

section at the rear of the locomotive is larger to accommodate the GEVO's Air to air intercoolers. As with the AC6000CW, the radiators project beyond the end of the hood. On the ES44ACi and ES44DCi models, the radiator extends in the same way as the AC6000CW, protruding out over the rear deck. For the other Evolution Series locomotives, the radiator does not protrude completely over the rear deck, but rather sits nearly flush with the rear of the engine hood. Unlike previous GE locomotives, the grills under the radiator are at two different angles. The increase in radiator size is due to the necessity for greater cooling capacity in the locomotive in order to reduce emissions. The other major difference between the Evolution Series and earlier models are the vents below the radiators, which are larger than those on previous GE locomotives. Also, all Evolution Series units have air conditioners mounted below the cab on the conductor's side.

Operators

Licensed production

Australia

In 2002, GE and

UGL Limited UGL, formerly known as United Group, is an engineering company. The company provides construction, maintenance, and asset management services to the rail, resources, and infrastructure sectors, and corporate real estate, facilities management, a ...

launched the Evolution Series locomotive, and in 2009, continued their partnership for another 10 years for UGL to distribute and sell GE locomotives in Australia.

India

In November 2015, it was announced Indian Railways and GE would engage in a 11-year joint venture in which GE would hold a majority stake of 74%, to provide a mix of 1,000 diesel locomotives of type ES 43ACmi which are 4,500 horsepower and type ES 58ACi which are 6,000 horsepower each. Indian Railways designated these 1,676 mm (broad gauge) locomotives as the WDG-4G class and WDG-6G class respectively.

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...

has invested ₹2,052 crore (US$305 million) for its construction. In the $2.6 Billion deal, Indian Railways would purchase 1,000 goods locomotives a year for ten years beginning in 2017; the locomotives would be modified versions of the

GE Evolution series The Evolution Series is a line of diesel locomotives built by GE Transportation Systems (now owned by Wabtec), initially designed to meet the U.S. EPA's Tier 2 locomotive emissions standards that took effect in 2005. The first pre-production u ...

.
/sup> Diesel Locomotive Factory, Marhowrah was built by GE for the manufacture of the locomotives.
/sup>

South Africa

Transnet Rail Engineering, Transnet Engineering in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

has a license to manufacture 233 ES40ACi locomotives for

Transnet Freight Rail Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...

, with core components including

GEVO-12 List of engines produced by GE Transportation Systems and GE Jenbacher ( GE Energy). Where possible, recent examples of usage are shown. Diesel engines ;FDL series

engines supplied from the United States. The first six of these Class 44-000 locomotives were built in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

in April and July 2015. In October 2015, the first of the 227 South African-built locomotives was nearing completion at Transnet Engineering's Koedoespoort shops in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...

.Railways Africa, 11 Feb 2015: New Transnet Diesel-Electric Locomotives
(Accessed 22 Nov 2015)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

* GE Transportation Systems.
Evolution Series locomotive
'. * NorthEast Rails.

'. Retrieved on 23 February 2005. * GE Evolution Locomotives. Published by Voyageur Press 2007

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