The GE Dash 8-32BWH, also known as the P32-8BWH, B32-8WH, or P32-8, is a passenger train locomotive used by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

, based on GE's Dash 8 series of freight train locomotives. Built in 1991, they were the first locomotives purchased to replace the

EMD F40PH The EMD F40PH is a four-axle 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 ...

Design

The Dash 8-32BWH operates in a diesel-electric configuration that uses DC to power the

traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles ( electric multiple ...

s, producing at 1047

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

. When providing

head end power 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 (or a generator car) at the front or 'head' of a train, p ...

to the train, the engine is speed locked to 900 rpm. Power output to the traction motors is when running in HEP mode with a 0 kW HEP load. Traction horsepower decreases to a bare minimum of when providing the maximum HEP load to the train. The Dash 8-32BWH has a 74:29 gear ratio, resulting in a maximum operating speed of in passenger operation.

History

Dash 8 locomotive at Oakland Maintenance Facility, July 2020

Twenty of these locomotives were delivered to

in 1991, numbered 500 through 519. They were nicknamed "

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

Cans" by many

railfan A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter ( Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rai ...

s, due to being delivered in a wide-striped red, white, and blue livery. Since the most recent overhaul, however, the locomotives now wear the Phase V livery. The Dash 8-32BWH has since been relegated to yard switching (mainly in Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, Miami, and the

Auto Train ''Auto Train'' is an scheduled daily train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando). ''Auto Train'' is the only motorail service i ...

terminals), maintenance of way service, and transfer service, displaced by the newer and more powerful

GE Genesis General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked 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- ...

and

Siemens Charger The Siemens Charger is a family of diesel-electric passenger locomotives designed and manufactured by Siemens Mobility for the North American market. There are five variants of the Charger, tailored for different operators and types of service ...

. However, the Dash–8s occasionally substitute for the Genesis and Charger units if necessary. The Los Angeles-based units see frequent use on the ''

Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, which has operated continuously since Amtrak's format ...

'' and ''

Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The service carried 2,924,117 passengers during fiscal year 2016, a 3.4% increase from F ...

'', and many are also frequently used on Amtrak's Cascades service. The East Coast-based units back up the routes in and out of Washington DC, sometimes running on the ''Cardinal'', ''Crescent'', ''Silver ''Service'', or the Virginia ''Northeast Regional'' train. Two of the locomotives, 501 and 502, were sold to the

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacr ...

. The locomotives were renumbered 2051 and 2052, and received the

Amtrak California Amtrak California is a brand name used by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Division of Rail for three state-supported Amtrak commuter rail routes in Californiathe ''Capitol Corridor'', the ''Pacific Surfliner'', and the ...

paint scheme. They are used on the '' San Joaquin'' and ''

Capitol Corridor The ''Capitol Corridor'' is a passenger train route in Northern California operated by Amtrak between San Jose, in the Bay Area, and Auburn, in the Sacramento Valley. The route is named after the two points most trains operate between, San J ...

'' trains.

References

External links

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General Electric Four-Axle Dash-8s
B-B locomotives 8-32BWH Passenger locomotives Amtrak locomotives Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1991 Standard gauge locomotives of the United States {{US-train-stub