The GE U18B

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 ...

was introduced by

GE Transportation GE Transportation is a 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 railroad, marine, mining, drilling and energy generation ...

as a branch line

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. A road ...

in 1973. It was the only North American locomotive powered by the

8-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

7FDL engine. The U18B was not a popular seller with GE only making about 150 of them, and they were mostly purchased by

Maine Central The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to w ...

and

Seaboard Coast Line The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a 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 lin ...

. Railroads lost interest in specialized road units entering the 1970s. The U18Bs were noted for having reliability issues and being underpowered. The

referred to their U18Bs as the independence class and named their units after revolutionary war heroes. GE included information about a B18-7 locomotive (which would have followed the U18B) in its 1978 "Series-7 Road Locomotives" service manual, but none of these updated units were ordered, sold, or built.

Original Owners

References

{{Reflist U18B B-B locomotives Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1973 Freight locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Standard gauge locomotives of Mexico

Original Owners

See also

References