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The GE C40-8 is a 6-axle
diesel-electric locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conv ...
built by
GE Transportation Systems
GE Transportation is a Division (business), division of Wabtec. It was known as GE Rail and owned by General Electric until sold to Wabtec on February 25, 2019. The organization manufactures equipment for the Rail transport, railroad, marine, mi ...
between 1987 and 1992. It is part of the
GE Dash 8 Series
The Dash 8 Series is a line of diesel-electric freight locomotives built by GE Transportation Systems. It replaced the Dash 7 Series in the mid-1980s, and was superseded by the Dash 9 Series for freight usage and the Genesis Series for passen ...
of freight locomotives, and its wheel arrangement is of a
C-C type.
This locomotive model is often referred to as a Dash 8-40C or simply "Dash 8". "Dash 8" in general refers to the electrical control series, "Dash" being a carryover from the older syntax of C40-8. The "40" refers to the baseline horsepower rating () of the unit, although some units may be re-rated to .
Later units were supplied with a wide-nose cab and are designated
Dash 8-40CW, the "W" indicating a wide-nose cab.
C41-8
Some railroads, the
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...
in particular, upgraded some of their units to ~ and designated them as C42-8. This designation was modified by the
Union Pacific Railroad
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 Paci ...
to C41-8 after its takeover of C&NW in 1995. Former C&NW units are usually identified by a grab-iron on the front nose just above the Union Pacific shield logo, and/or the "C41-8" designation on the cab side. The final three C&NW C40-8s were built with , and the prior 32 units were similarly modified as well. Although none of these units were ever officially classed as C41-8 by GE, a
safety cab version was built as the
Dash 8-41CW.
Current and former owners
The companies that still own C40-8 locomotives as of 2006 include: CSX Transportation with 146, the Norfolk Southern Railway with 88, and the Union Pacific Railroad with 298 (includes former C&NW C41-8 units). In 2010, CN bought 35 C40-8 locomotives (2100-2134) from UP and 67
C40-8W locomotives (2098-2099, 2135-2199) from BNSF. Another 42 C40-8s were bought by CN in 2013 (these 42 units are numbered between 2000-2041) marking all 77 of the ex CNW Dash 8-40Cs now owned by CN. CN has 6 C40-8s that were painted for the 15th anniversary and they are numbers 2107, 2112, 2113, 2115, 2124, and 2128.
In 2016, Pan Am Railways bought 20 C40-8 locomotives (7489, 7517-7518, 7523, 7528, 7534-7535, 7541-7542, 7545, 7552, 7561, 7585, 7605, 7609, 7620, 7622, 7627, 7635, 7643) from CSX. In 2017, Pan Am Bought 4 More C40-8s: 7500, 7575, 7594, and 7595. As of early 2019, Pan Am has painted numbers 7518, 7552, and 7635 into their Phase 3 paint. In 2018, the Providence and Worcester Railroad bought 4 C40-8 locomotives from Norfolk Southern. All units are painted in the
Genesee & Wyoming
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and formerly Australia. It operates ...
orange paint scheme. As of early 2020, Pan Am has painted 4 more C40-8s: 7523, 7542, 7561, and 7585 into the Phase 3 paint. In 2022, CSX reacquired Pan Am's C40-8s following the purchase and were renumbered to the to the 9200 series to avoid conflicting with the CM44AH rebuilds.
See also
*
List of GE locomotives
The following is a list of locomotives produced by GE Transportation Systems, a subsidiary Wabtec. All were/are built at Fort Worth, Texas or Erie, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Most (except the electrics, the switchers, the AC6000CW, and t ...
External links
{{GE diesels
Railway locomotives introduced in 1987
Dash 8-40C
C-C locomotives
Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States
Freight locomotives