A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the 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, railcar or power car; the use of these self-propelled vehicles is increasingly common for passenger trains, but rare for freight trains.
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source 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 wheels. The most common are diesel-electric locomotives and diesel-hydraulic.
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.
General Electric Genesis is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro-North, and Via Rail.
A cowl unit is a body style of diesel locomotive. The terminology is a North American one, though similar locomotives exist elsewhere. A cowl unit is one with full-width enclosing bodywork, similar to the cab unit style of earlier locomotives, but unlike the cab unit style, the bodywork is merely a casing and is not load-bearing. All the strength is in the locomotive's frame, beneath the floor, rather than the bridge-truss load-bearing carbody of the earlier type.
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.
A hood unit, in North American railroad terminology, is a body style for diesel and electric locomotives where the body is less than full-width for most of its length and walkways are on the outside. In contrast, a cab unit has a full-width carbody for the length of the locomotive and walkways inside. A hood unit has sufficient visibility to be operated in both directions from a single cab. Also, the locomotive frame is the main load-bearing member, allowing the hood to be non-structural and easily opened or even removed for maintenance.
The EMD SD50 is a 3,500-horsepower (2,610 kW) diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. It was introduced in May 1981 as part of EMD's "50 Series"; production ceased in January 1986. The SD50 was a transitional model between EMD's Dash 2 series which was produced throughout the 1970s and the microprocessor-equipped SD60 and SD70 locomotives. A total of 431 were built.
The Bombardier–Alstom HHP-8 is a type of twin-cab electric locomotive manufactured by a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Alstom for Amtrak and MARC. The locomotive's electrical drive technology is directly derived from the SNCF BB 36000 manufactured by Alstom.
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.
An SDP40 is a 6-axle passenger diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) between June 1966 and May 1970.
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.
An electro-diesel locomotive is a type of locomotive that can be powered either from an electricity supply or by using the onboard diesel engine. For the most part, these locomotives are built to serve regional, niche markets with a very specific purpose.
The GE Dash 8-32BWH, also known as the P32-8BWH, B32-8WH, or P32-8, is a passenger train locomotive used by Amtrak, based on GE's Dash 8 series of freight train locomotives. Built in 1991, they were the first locomotives purchased to replace the veteran EMD F40PH.
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.
The MPI MPXpress is a line of diesel-electric locomotives built by MotivePower for commuter rail service. There are five MPXpress models: MP36PH-3S, MP36PH-3C, MP40PH-3C, MP32PH-Q, and MP54AC. Of these, only the MP54AC conforms to federal Tier 4 emissions standards, making it the only model that can be sold in the United States.
A control car, cab car, control trailer, or driving trailer is a non-powered rail vehicle from which a train can be operated. As dedicated vehicles or regular passenger cars, they have one or two driver compartments with all the controls and gauges required to remotely operate the locomotive, including exterior locomotive equipment such as horns, bells, ploughs, and lights. They also have communications and safety systems such as GSM-R or European Train Control System (ETCS). Control cars enable push-pull operation when located on the end of a train opposite its locomotive by allowing the train to reverse direction at a terminus without moving the locomotive or turning the train around.
The GT26CW-2 is the Dash-2 variant of the GT26CW diesel-electric locomotive series created by the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors for export to Iran, Israel, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, South Korea, Turkey and Yugoslavia. Various licensees have also constructed or refurbished this model. It is similar to the highly successful SD40-2 North American locomotive.
The Krauss-Maffei ML 4000 is a road switcher diesel-hydraulic locomotive, built between 1961 and 1969 by German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei in Munich, Germany. It generated 3,540 horsepower (2,640 kW) from two Maybach V16 engines. 37 examples were built for two North American railroads and one South American railroad.
The 70 class were a class of diesel-hydraulic locomotives built by Commonwealth Engineering, Granville for the New South Wales Department of Railways in 1960–61. They were ordered to replace steam locomotives at Port Kembla.
