EMD GP38

"gp38" redirects here.

This article is about the locomotive. For the family of glycoproteins, see Glycoprotein.

EMD GP38
EMD GP38 of the Gateway Western Railway
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division (GM-EMD) General Motors Diesel (GMD) Model GP38 Build date January 1966 – December 1971 Total produced 706
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B  • UIC Bo'Bo' Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Fuel capacity 2,600 US gal (9,800 L; 2,200 imp gal) Prime mover EMD 16-645 Aspiration Roots type supercharger Cylinders 16
Performance figures Power output 2,000 hp (1.49 MW)
Career Locale North America

The EMD GP38 is a 4-axle road switcher diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and December 1971. The locomotive's prime mover was an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine that generated 2,000 horsepower (1.49 MW).

The company built 706 GP38s for North American railroads.

In 1972, EMD began making an updated model, the GP38-2.

Original Orders

Railroad	Quantity	Numbers	Notes
Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad	1	400
Altos Hornos de México	4	130-131, 135-136
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway	61	3500-3560	Rebuilt to GP38us and renumbered to 2300-2360
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad	70	3800-3849, 4800-4819	To CSX 2000-2049, 2100-2119
Bangor and Aroostook Railroad	8	81-88
Burlington Northern Railroad	6	2072-2077	Ordered as SP&S 200-205
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad	60	3850-3899, 4820-4829	To CSX 2050-2099, 2120-2129
Clinchfield Railroad	10	2000-2009	To Seaboard System then CSX 2180-2189
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad	7	200-206	To GTW 6200-6206
Erie Mining Company	2	700-701
Ferrocarriles Unidos del Sureste	2	512-513
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad	20	701-720	To Illinois Central Gulf then Illinois Central Railroad 9520-9539
Louisville and Nashville Railroad	20	4000-4019	To Seaboard System 6221-6240, then renumbered to 2130-2149, then to CSX
Maine Central Railroad	13	251-263	To B&M after Guilford merger
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad	4	300-304
Missouri Pacific Railroad	6	572-577
Monongahela Railway	5	2000-2004
Norfolk Southern Railway	7	2001-2007	To Southern 2880-2886, rebuilt with high noses
Penn Central Transportation Company	263	7675-7937	Biggest order of GP38s, to Conrail same numbers, dispositions vary
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines	15	2000-2014	Built with dual control stands and an extended cab face. To Conrail 7660-7674
Phelps Dodge Corporation	8	47-54
Southern Railway	107	2716-2822	Built with high hoods. To NS same numbers
Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway	1	80	To Southern then NS 2879
Texas Mexican Railway	4	857-860

Rebuilds

A number of GP38s have been rebuilt into the equivalent of a GP38-2.

Conversely, a number of higher horsepower 40 Series locomotives have been rebuilt into the equivalent of a GP38-2 (GP38AC), by the removal of the turbocharger and the substitution of twin Roots blowers.

In 2007, Norfolk Southern rebuilt a 1969 GP38 into an experimental electric locomotive dubbed the Altoona Works BP4.

Preservation

• Conway Scenic Railroad 252, built as Maine Central 252, is in Maine Central ‘harvest gold’ paint with Conway Scenic reporting marks, and currently operates on excursions on the former MEC Notch Route.
• TAG Railway 80 is preserved in operational condition at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.
• West Chester Railroad 7706, built as Penn Central 7706, is preserved and operates on tourist trains on the former PRR line.

See also

• List of GM-EMD locomotives
• List of GMD Locomotives

References

• Marre, Louis A. & Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1989). The Contemporary Diesel Spotter's Guide. Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-89024-088-4. LCCN 88083625. OCLC 19959644.
• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
• Sarberenyi, Robert. EMD GP38 and GP38AC Original Owners
• Norfolk Southern 2014 Sustainability Report [1]

External links

Media related to EMD GP38 locomotives at Wikimedia Commons