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The GE Dash 8-32BWH, also known as the P32-8BWH, B32-8WH, or P32-8, is a diesel-electric locomotive used by Amtrak in passenger train service, based on the GE Dash 8 Series of freight train locomotives. Built in 1991, they were the first locomotives purchased to replace the EMD F40PH. Amtrak originally used the Dash 8's on mainline trains but later used them largely for switching in yards, only being used on mainline trains when newer GE Genesis locomotives were unavailable. As of 2023, 16 of the original 20 remain in service with Amtrak, including two owned by Caltrans for use on Amtrak California services.
The Dash 8-32BWH operates in a diesel-electric configuration that uses DC to power the traction motors, the 7FDL-V12 diesel engine produces 3,200 hp (2,400 kW) at 1047 rpm. When providing head end power to the train, the engine is speed locked to 900 rpm. Power output to the traction motors is 2,700 hp (2,000 kW) when running in HEP mode with a 0 kW HEP load. Traction horsepower decreases to 1,685 hp (1,257 kW) when providing the maximum 800 kW (1,100 hp) HEP load to the train.[ citation needed ]
The Dash 8-32BWH has a 74:29 gear ratio, resulting in a maximum operating speed of 103 mph (166 km/h) in passenger operation. [2] [3]
By 1990, Amtrak was looking to supplement its EMD F40PH fleet, which was beginning to show its age. Though Amtrak first explored the experimental EMD F69PHAC, cost concerns prompted the company to pursue a modification of an existing freight locomotive instead. [3] Twenty GE Dash 8-32BWH locomotives were delivered to Amtrak in 1991, numbered 500 through 519 (two were funded by the California Department of Transportation for use in that state). [4] The locomotives were built by GE Transportation as a modification of their existing Dash 8-32B with the addition of head-end power for supplying passenger cars, a comfort cab, and a number of changes to locomotive internals to meet Amtrak's requirements for weight and performance. [4] To provide enough room for a second alternator (to support head-end power generation) these locomotives were built on the frame of a Dash 8-40BW. [4]
Amtrak decided its new locomotives should have a new paint scheme, and in the process considered over 100 possible designs. [5] The locomotives were delivered in a wide-striped red, white and blue livery, which angled upward across the middle of the body. [6] The similarity to the design of Pepsi packaging led to the units being nicknamed "Pepsi Cans". [7] : 108 By 2023, all units had been repainted into a standard Amtrak scheme. [3]
Originally used across the Amtrak system on passenger trains, the fleet has since been primarily relegated to yard switching (mainly in Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, and Miami), but locomotives are sometimes called upon to pull mainline trains when a locomotive from Amtrak's fleet of GE Genesis and Siemens Charger units are unavailable. [3] Amtrak adopted the GE Genesis rather than the Dash 8-32BWH to fully replace its F40PH fleet, which was designed specifically for Amtrak as an all-new passenger locomotive. [5] As of 2023, 16 Dash 8-32BHW locomotives remain in active service with Amtrak, which has held on to them for their reliability and ease of maintenance despite their age. [3]
Two of the locomotives, 501 and 502, were sold to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The locomotives were renumbered 2051 and 2052, and received the Amtrak California paint scheme. They are used on the San Joaquins and Capitol Corridor trains. [8]
The EMD AEM-7 is a twin-cab four-axle 7,000 hp (5.2 MW) B-B electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and ASEA between 1978 and 1988. The locomotive is a derivative of the Swedish SJ Rc4 designed for passenger service in the United States. The primary customer was Amtrak, which bought 54 for use on the Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor. Two commuter operators, MARC and SEPTA, also purchased locomotives, for a total of 65.
The GE Genesis is a series of passenger diesel locomotives built by GE Transportation for Amtrak, Metro-North, and Via Rail between 1992 and 2001. A total of 321 units were produced.
A cowl unit is a diesel locomotive with full-width, enclosing bodywork, similar in appearance to the cab unit-style of earlier locomotives, such as the EMD F-units of the 1940s and 1950s. The term cowl unit is of North American origin, although similarly-styled locomotives exist elsewhere.
The EMD F40PH is a four-axle 3,000–3,200 hp (2.2–2.4 MW) B-B diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in several variants from 1975 to 1992. Intended for use on Amtrak's short-haul passenger routes, it became the backbone of Amtrak's diesel fleet after the failure of the EMD SDP40F. The F40PH also found widespread use on commuter railroads in the United States and with VIA Rail in Canada. Additional F40PH variants were manufactured by Morrison-Knudsen and MotivePower between 1988 and 1998, mostly rebuilt from older locomotives.
The EMD GP30 is a 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between July 1961 and November 1963. A total of 948 units were built for railroads in the United States and Canada, including 40 cabless B units for the Union Pacific Railroad.
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A road switcher locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive designed to both haul railcars in mainline service and shunt them in railroad yards. Both type and term are North American in origin, although similar types have been used elsewhere.
Amtrak California is a brand name used by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Division of Rail for three state-supported Amtrak regional rail routes in California – the Capitol Corridor, the Pacific Surfliner, and the San Joaquins – and their associated connecting network of Amtrak Thruway transportation services.
In rail transport, head-end power (HEP), also known as electric train supply (ETS), is the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive at the front or 'head' of a train, provides the electricity used for heating, lighting, electrical and other 'hotel' needs. The maritime equivalent is hotel electric power. A successful attempt by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in October 1881 to light the passenger cars on the London to Brighton route heralded the beginning of using electricity to light trains in the world.
The EMD SDP40F was a six-axle 3,000 hp (2.2 MW) C-C diesel–electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) from 1973 to 1974. Based on Santa Fe's EMD FP45, EMD built 150 for Amtrak, the operator of most intercity passenger trains in the United States. Amtrak, a private company but funded by the United States government, had begun operation in 1971 with a fleet of aging diesel locomotives inherited from various private railroads. The SDP40F was the first diesel locomotive built new for Amtrak and for a brief time they formed the backbone of the company's long-distance fleet.
Amtrak has used a variety of paint schemes (liveries) on its rolling stock since taking over intercity passenger rail service in the United States in 1971. A series of seven schemes termed Phases, first introduced in 1972, have seen the widest use. Phases primarily use geometric arrangements of red, white, and blue—the national colors of the United States—part of Amtrak's patriotic visual identity.
The GE Dash 8-32B is a 4-axle 3,150 hp (2,350 kW) diesel-electric locomotive built by GE Transportation between 1984 and 1989. It is part of the GE Dash 8 Series of freight locomotives.
The passenger locomotives derivatives of the General Motors EMD GP40 diesel-electric locomotive have been, and continue to be, used by multiple passenger railroads in North America. For passenger service, the locomotives required extra components for providing steam or head-end power (HEP) for heating, lighting and electricity in passenger cars. Most of these passenger locomotives were rebuilt from older freight locomotives, while some were built as brand new models.
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The GE P30CH was one of the first brand-new diesel-electric locomotives built for Amtrak by General Electric during Amtrak's early years. The design was based on the GE U30C, but had a cowl carbody like its EMD competitors. Amtrak operated them between 1975 and 1992.
The GE E60 is a family of six-axle 6,000 hp (4.5 MW) C-C electric locomotives made by GE Transportation Systems (GE) between 1972 and 1983. The E60s were produced in several variants for both freight and passenger use in the United States and Mexico. GE designed the locomotive for use on the Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad (BM&LP), a dedicated coal-hauling route in Arizona, which began operation in 1973. That same year GE adapted the design for high-speed passenger service on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. The largest customer was Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (NdeM), the state-owned railroad in Mexico, which bought 39 for a new electrification project in the early 1980s.
The Dash 8 Series is a line of diesel-electric freight locomotives built by GE Transportation. It replaced the Dash 7 Series in the mid-1980s, and was superseded by the Dash 9 Series for freight usage and the Genesis Series for passenger usage in the mid-1990s.
The Siemens Charger is a family of diesel-electric/dual-mode passenger locomotives designed and manufactured by Siemens Mobility for the North American market.
Media related to GE B32-8WH locomotives at Wikimedia Commons