GP16

Last updated
GP16
Buckingham Branch Railroad GP16 rebuild.JPG
Buckingham Branch Railroad #2, a GP16 rebuild, rests at Dillwyn, Virginia
Type and origin
Power type Diesel-electric
Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD);
rebuilt by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
Model GP16
Build date June 1979 —
November 1982
Total produced 155
Specifications
Configuration:
   AAR B-B
Gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Length 56 ft 0 in (17.07 m)
Loco weight 258,000 lb (117,000 kg)
Prime mover EMD 645
Engine type 2-stroke diesel
Traction motors 4 DC
Transmission Diesel-electric
Loco brake straight air
Train brakes 26L air
Performance figures
Maximum speed 65 mph (105 km/h)
Power output 1,600 hp (1,200 kW)
Tractive effort 64,500 lbf (287 kN)
Career
Locale North America

The Uceta GP16 was a series of rebuilt road switcher diesel-electric locomotives, a result of a remanufacturing program initiated by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in an effort to spare the cost of purchasing new motive power in the late 1970s. This involved the rebuilding of their aging fleet of 155 EMD GP7, GP9, and GP18 road switchers (many of which were over twenty years old).

Road switcher

A road switcher 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.

Diesel locomotive locomotive powered by a diesel engine

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

The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad is a former Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lines to create the Seaboard System in 1983.

Contents

The program

The required modifications took nine weeks per unit on average to complete. The program resulted in a cost savings of almost 50% over buying new locomotives.

Included in the program:

Blomberg B

The Blomberg B is a "B" diesel locomotive truck. These trucks were the standard EMD four wheel truck from the FT until the GP60. EMD introduced the truck in 1939. Unofficially it is named after Martin Blomberg, who joined the company in 1935. The truck was derived from an earlier three axle truck (A1A) designed by Blomberg (described in U.S. Patent 2,189,125, filed January 29, 1938, and approved February 6, 1940), and was used starting with the FT.

Bogie wheeled wagon or trolley

A bogie is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transport. A bogie may remain normally attached or be quickly detachable ; it may contain a suspension within it, or be solid and in turn be suspended ; it may be mounted on a swivel, as traditionally on a railway carriage or locomotive, additionally jointed and sprung, or held in place by other means.

EMD 567 two-stroke diesel engine of 567 cu.in. per cylinder

The EMD 567 is a line of large medium-speed diesel engines built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. This engine, which succeeded Winton's 201A, was used in EMD's locomotives from 1938 until its replacement in 1966 by the EMD 645. It has a bore of 8 12 in (216 mm), a stroke of 10 in (254 mm) and a displacement of 567 cu in (9.29 L) per cylinder. Like the 201A, the EMD 645 and the EMD 710, the EMD 567 is a two-cycle engine.

Ancillary benefits included a lowered engine idling speed and increased fuel efficiency. SCL committed over 100 of its personnel to the conversion program. The first GP16 emerged from SCL's Uceta (Tampa) shop in June 1979 while the last was placed into service during November 1982.

Tampa, Florida City in Central Florida

Tampa is a major city in, and the county seat of, Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is on the west coast of Florida on Tampa Bay, near the Gulf of Mexico, and is the largest city in the Tampa Bay Area. The bay's port is the largest in the state, near downtown's Channel District. Bayshore Boulevard runs along the bay, and is east of the historic Hyde Park neighborhood.

In service

The rebuilt locomotives saw service throughout the system, engaging in a variety of duties from local switching to main-line freight hauling. Though SCL became part of the CSX Transportation system in the 1980s, the majority of the units remained active until 1992, when the bulk of the roster was retired and sold-off. Many GP16s remain in active service today on short line railroads around the country, far exceeding their 15-year projected lifespan.

CSX Transportation railway system in the United States of America

CSX Transportation is a Class I railroad operating in the eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles (34,000 km) of track. The company operates as a subsidiary of CSX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

In 1993 the U.S. Army bought a small number of GP16s from CSX, which led some people to think the Army built it. The locomotives were sent to Conrail's Juniata Locomotive shops to be 'remanufactured' under contract with the Army. When they were completed, Conrail put a GP9M plate on them.

Conrail defunct American Class I railroad

Conrail was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name, and while it no longer operates trains it continues to do business as an asset management and network services provider in three Shared Assets Areas that were excluded from the division of its operations during its acquisition by CSX Corporation and the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Commonwealth Railway Class III railway in Virginia, USA (1989–)

The Commonwealth Railway, Inc. is a Class III short-line railroad operating 16.5 miles (26.6 km) of track of a former Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway line from Suffolk, Virginia, to Portsmouth, Virginia. The main office is in the Wilroy area of Suffolk. Commonwealth Railway is owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and is a part of Norfolk Southern's "Thoroughbred Shortline Program". They interchange with Norfolk Southern in Suffolk.

Suffolk, Virginia Independent city in Virginia, United States

Suffolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2017 census, the estimated population was 90,237. It is the largest city in Virginia by boundary land area as well as the 14th largest in the country.

These locomotives are controlled by Woodward PGR type diesel engine governors.

Other units called GP16

See also

Related Research Articles

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References