The GE Universal Series is a series of diesel locomotives intended for the export market introduced by General Electric in early 1956. General Electric had previously partnered with Alco, producing locomotives for export using Alco's 244 engine, and provided electrical parts for Alco's domestic production. However, with the advent of the Universal Series, GE ended its partnership with Alco and entered the export locomotive market on its own.
The export-oriented Universal Series should not be confused with the "U-Boats" for the North American market, which began with the U25B. Universal Series locomotives can be identified by the lack of battery boxes usually found under North American locomotives' cabins
Naming convention The designations of the Universal series describe the locomotive model in compact form: U for Universal, followed by the engine's nominal horsepower rating in hundreds, and finally the number of axles; B = B-B (4 axles); C = C-C (6 axles). An 'M' indicated a modified version of the base model. Along with their development, the same numbers were often reused by different locomotive models. Even the same designation could be shared with domestic locomotives. For example, both the U18C and U20C model numbers refer to different locomotives offered at different dates with different engines (8- and 12-cylinder); and the export U30C model shared the same model number with the US U30C, but had a 12-cylinder, rather than a 16-cylinder engine.
Engines The initial models of the Universal Series used Caterpillar 375 (8-cylinder), Caterpillar 397 (12-cylinder), Cooper-Bessemer FWB-6L (6-cylinder), Cooper-Bessemer FVBL-8 and FVBL-12 (8- and 12-cylinder, respectively). Later models substituted higher-power Caterpillar engines for the smaller locomotives or GE's own 7FDL8 and 7FDL12 engines for the larger ones. Unlike EMD, GE never had a 16-cylinder engined export locomotive model in the Universal series. Engine Number of locomotives built using engineCooper-Bessemer FWB-6L 40CB FBVL-8335CB FBVL-12193Caterpillar D379342Cat D398736General Electric 7FDL8885GE 7FDL121510Others79
Specifications Based on the March 1989 GE Locomotives catalog, the following models were offered at the following specifications. Model Engine Horsepower (traction) Wheel arrangement Length (over end frames) Height (over cabins) Nominal weight (fully loaded) Tractive effort (at 30% adhesion)U10BCaterpillar 3512800 hpB-BU18C7FDL81800 hpC-CU20C7FDL122000 hpC-CU22C
UM22C7FDL122150 hpC-C (UM22C)U26C7FDL122600 hpC-CU30C7FDL123000 hpC-C
Models Four models were produced before a worldwide launch. Not all features carried over to the 1956 models: ModelYear Engine Horsepower (traction) Wheel arrangement Type PhotoU100T1952CB FVL-12T1100C-CRoad switcherUM12B (rebuilt as UM20B)1954CB FVBL-8 (rebuilt: GE FDL-12)1200B-BCab unit & boosterUM18B (rebuilt as UM20B)1954CB FVBL-12 (rebuilt: GE FDL-12)1600B-BCab unit & boosterU67T1955CB FWL-6T640A1A-A1ARoad switcher
Upon introduction in 1956, nine locomotive models were offered, as follows: Model Engine Horsepower (traction) Wheel arrangement Type PhotoU4BCAT 375340B-BEnd-cab switcherNot builtU6BCAT 397640B-BEnd-cab switcherU8BCAT D398900&1000B-BRoad switcher U9B
Data SheetCB FWB-6L900B-BRoad switcherU9C
Data SheetCB FWB-6L900C-CRoad switcherU12BCB FVBL-81200B-BRoad switcherU12CCB FVBL-81200C-CRoad switcherU18BCB FVBL-121800B-BRoad switcherNot builtU18CCB FVBL-121800C-CRoad switcherUD18BCB FVBL-121800B-BRoad switcher The evolution of Universal Series locomotives is complex due to the frequent model name changes and the reusing of the same model names for different locomotives. One method to understand the growth and development of the Universal Series is to divide the nine original models into three groups: 1) small locomotives, 2) intermediate powered locomotives, and 3) high powered locomotives.
Small Locomotives Initial model First update Second update Third updateU4B
Data SheetU5B (1961)
(540 hp)
Data SheetU6B* (1965)
(640 hp)U10B* (1974)
(950 hp)U6B
Data SheetU8B (1961)
(810 hp)
Data SheetUM10B (1962), later renamed U10B (1964)
(950 hp)U11B (1974)
(1000 hp)
Data Sheet In this table, and the following two tables, asterisks indicate repeated model numbers
Between the initial models and the first update, the Caterpillar 375 and 397 engines were replaced with 379 and 398, respectively.
The UM6B was a narrow-gauge variant of the U6B, built for South African Railways.
The 6-cylinder U9B and U9C models were an evolutionary dead end, and no uprated versions were produced.
Intermediate Powered Locomotives (8-cylinder) Initial model First update Second update Third update Fourth update Fifth update Sixth updateU12BU13B (1960)
(1300 hp)U13B* (1963)
(1300 hp)U15B (1969)
(1500 hp)U17B (1973)
(1700 hp)U12CU13C (1960)
(1300 hp)U13C* (1963)
(1300 hp)U15C (1991)
(1500 hp)U14CP, U17C (1974)
(1400 hp, 1700 hp)U18C* (1977)
(1950 hp)U20C* (1995)
(2150 hp) Between the first and second updates, the Cooper-Bessemer engine was replaced with 7FDL8 engine. The body style was also changed with a low short hood and Hi-Ad trucks replacing the high short hood and outside-equalized trucks.
A variation of the U18C was the U18A1A, built for the Indonesian railway. These locomotives had the same C-C trucks but one fewer traction motor in each truck, and downrated to 1650 horsepower. Most of these locomotives have been rebuilt to U18C standards.
High Powered Locomotives (12-cylinder) Initial model First update Second update Third update Fourth update Fifth updateU18CU20C (1964)
(2000 hp)U20C* (1971)
(2000 hp)U26C (1971)
(2600 hp)U22C (1975)
(2150 hp)
Data Sheet
UM22C (double-ended cab forward)
Data SheetU30C (1982)
(3000 hp) As with the intermediate powered locomotives, the Cooper-Bessemer engine was also replaced with 7FDL12 engine.
The differently-rated U22C, U26C and U30C models were offered at the same time.
The U18C and the earlier U20C model had a variant with an additional non-powered leading axle in each truck, resulting in a lower axle loading and a 1C-C1 wheel arrangement. These locomotives were only purchased by the South African Railways.
No U18B was produced, and the few UD18 locomotives built were exported to Mexico.
Universal Series statistics 4,091 Universal Series locomotives were built between 1952 and 2001, consisting of the following models: Model Number constructed by modelU20C and U20C11,000U10B510U18C, U18C1 and U18A1A420U26C392U15C and U15A1A322U6B and UM6B156U5B139SG10 and SG15126U12C123U8B122U13C109U12B97U22C and UM22C93UM10B and UM10A1A91UM12C80U13B74U11B62U17C58U30C52Other models94 South Africa has the largest number of Universal Series locomotives, with 1040 locomotives (including SG10 and SG15 models), followed by Brazil with 864 locomotives. Other countries owning more than 100 locomotives are Argentina (182), Colombia (167), Indonesia (192), Mozambique (120) and The Philippines (126).
The majority of the locomotives were built in the General Electric plant in Erie, Pennsylvania, however, licensees such as Dorbyl (South Africa), GE do Brasil (Brazil) and Babcock y Wilcox (Spain) constructed significant numbers of locomotives. Other licensees building smaller numbers of locomotives included Walkers (12), Krupp (49), GE Lokindo (16), GE Montreal (16), Goninan (16) and Nippon Sharyo (1). Builder Number constructed by builderGeneral Electric2,462Dorbyl (South Africa)709GE do Brasil544Babcock y Wilcox (Spain)259Others116 Production peaked in the 1970s, with almost 2,000 locomotives built during this time. Decade Number constructed per decade1952-19605561961-19701,1251971-19801,9261981-19903691991-2001144 The majority operated on meter gauge and 3 ft 6 in gauge railways. Gauge Number constructed by track gauge and 243 and 1,0562,126300191 and 204
Gallery
Further developments Parallel to the developments of domestic US locomotives, 'Dash-7' versions of Universal Series locomotives were produced, among others, C18-7i (Egypt and Uruguay), C20-7i and C24-7i (Pakistan), C22-7i (Argentina), and C30-7i (Iran and Mongolia). The ADTranz 'Blue Tiger' (DE-AC33C) was a high-powered locomotive designed for the export market. During its short production run, three variations were produced: Germany (1435 mm gauge, 7FDL12 engine, 21 t axle load), Malaysia (1000 mm gauge, 7FDL12 engine, 20 t axle load), and Pakistan (1676 mm gauge, 7FDL16 engine).
As of 2022, no Universal Series locomotive remained in the Wabtec (successor to GE Transportation) catalog. However, the C30ACi and C21EMP-C25EMP series are the direct descendants of the U18C lineage; while the C20ACi is the descendant of the U12C series. Examples of the modern-day versions of Universal Series locomotives are Chilean C23EM, Indonesian C20EMP and CM20EMP, and Pakistani C20EMP locomotives.
See also List of GE locomotives
References
Notes
Bibliography