The EMD GP39-2 is a 4-axle diesel

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1974 and 1984. 239 examples of this locomotive were built for American railroads. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP39-2 was an upgraded

GP39 The EMD GP39 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between June 1969 and July 1970. The GP39 was a derivative of the GP38 equipped with a turbocharged EMD 645E3 12-cylinder engine which generated . ...

. The power for this locomotive was provided by a

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

12- cylinder EMD 645E3 diesel engine, which could produce . Unlike the original GP39, which sold only 23 examples as railroads preferred the reliable un-turbocharged GP38, the GP39-2 was reasonably successful, ascribed to its better fuel economy relative to the GP38-2 which became of more interest in the

1970s energy crisis The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period wer ...

, and to its better performance at altitude.

Original Owners

The GP39-2 sold to five railroads and two industrial operators:

Rebuilds

Several

GP40-2 The EMD GP40-2 is a 4-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division as part of its Dash 2 line between April 1972 and December 1986. The locomotive's power is provided by an EMD 645E3 16-cylinder engine which generates ...

locomotives were rebuilt by Morrison–Knudsen with head-end power generators, which meant that 1,000 horsepower of the locomotive would go to the generator instead of being used for tractive effort. Because of this, they were renamed the GP38H-2 class of locomotives.

Preservation

Only one GP39-2 is preserved as of 2019: * CSX 4317, former

Reading Company The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly called ...

3412, is preserved at the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society in Hamburg Pennsylvania. 4317 is the first GP39-2 in preservation.

References

External links

* Sarberenyi, Robert.
EMD GP39-2 Original Owners
' GP39-2 B-B locomotives Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1974 Standard gauge locomotives of the United States {{diesel-loco-stub