GE C39-8 on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The GE C39-8 is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive model built by GE Transportation Systems between 1984 and 1987. 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 It replaced the Dash 7 Series in the mid-1980s, and was superseded by the Dash 9 Series for freight usage and the Genesis Series for passen ...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.
A total of 161 examples of this locomotive were built for two North American railroads: Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, 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. It continues to do busin ...
and Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
.
The C39-8 was a fairly unpopular locomotive with crews, cited factors such as a rough ride, tendency to overheat, frequent turbocharger issues, issues with the fuel injection system, and various other reliability issues.
Technical
The C39-8 is powered by a V16 7FDL-16diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
driving a GE GMC187A2 main alternator. The power generated by the main alternator drove 6 GE 752AG traction motors, each with a gear ratio of 83:20 and connected to wheels which allowed the C39-8 a maximum speed of .
Depending on customer options, the C39-8 carried between of diesel fuel, of lubricating oil, and of coolant. Like most North American diesel locomotives, the C39-8 uses normal water for cooling.
The C39-8 has a maximum tractive effort of at .
Original owners
Current use
Apart from Norfolk Southern's test bed,Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad
The Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad is a short-line railroad operating on trackage mostly in Bucks and Montgomery counties to the north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created in 2011, taking over former operations from CSX Transporta ...
's former Norfolk Southern 8212 (née Conrail 6021) is the last C39-8 in active use in North America.
15 Norfolk Southern units were sold to Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
's Ferrocarril Central Andino
Ferrocarril Central Andino (FCCA) is the consortium which operates the Ferrovías Central railway in Peru linking the Pacific port of Callao and the capital Lima with Huancayo and Cerro de Pasco. As one of the Trans-Andean Railways it is the seco ...
(FCCA) after RDC acquired a significant part of the company in 1999.
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 th ...
References
* * * * * C39-8 C-C locomotives Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1984 Freight locomotives Conrail locomotives Norfolk Southern Railway locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Standard gauge locomotives of Australia Diesel-electric locomotives of Australia {{diesel-loco-stub