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 whee ...

built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division 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 infi ...

EMD 645F 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 The EMD GP35 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between July 1963 and December 1965 and by General Motors Diesel between May 1964 and January 1966. 1251 examples were built for American rail ...

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 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 also ...

, 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