EMD GP30

The EMD GP30 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between July 1961 and November 1963. A total of 948 units were built for railroads in the United States and Canada (2 only), including 40 cabless B units for the Union Pacific Railroad.

It was the first so-called "second generation" EMD diesel locomotive, and was produced in response to increased competition by a new entrant, General Electric's U25B, which was released in 1959. The GP30 is easily recognizable due to its high profile and stepped cab roof, unique among American locomotives. A number are still in service today in original or rebuilt form.

History

Development The GP30 was conceived out of the necessity of matching new competitor GE's U25B. The U25B offered while EMD's GP20 and its 567D2 prime mover was only rated at . The U25B also featured a sealed, airtight long hood with a single inertial air intake for electrical cooling, with a pressurized cooling system which kept dust out of the engine and equipment area. Finally, the entire GE design was optimized for ease of access and maintenance. The U25B demonstrators were receiving much praise—and orders—from the railroads that tested them. Meanwhile, ALCO had been producing the 2,400 hp (1,800 kW) RS-27 since 1959, though it had not sold well.

EMD's engineering department pushed their DC traction system for an extra . The wasn't quite equivalent to the GE and ALCO offerings, but EMD hoped the railroads' familiarity with EMD equipment would improve their chances. The locomotive in which the 16 cylinder, 567D3 would be fitted, was improved along the lines of the U25B; sealed long hood, central air intake, and engineered for easier maintenance access. The frame and trucks of the GP20 were carried across; the extra equipment for the centralized air system required more space behind the cab, and since the locomotive was not going to be lengthened, extra space was achieved vertically by raising the height of the locomotive, giving room for the central air system, turbocharger and electrical cabinet all behind the cab. This extra height behind the cab meant that the body style used for previous GP units was not suitable.

Since EMD wanted the new locomotive to be visibly modern and updated, they turned to the GM Automotive Styling Center at Troy, Michigan for help. The automobile stylists created the GP30's trademark "hump" and cab roof profile. The hump-like bulge started at the front of the cab and enveloped the air intakes for the central air system and the dynamic brake blister. Units ordered without dynamic brakes were the same shape, but lacked the intakes to cool the dynamic brake resistor grids.

A high short hood could be ordered, but only holdouts Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway received such units. EMD originally planned to name the locomotive the GP22, but EMD's marketing department decided to leapfrog GE's numbering to make the new locomotive seem more advanced. Marketing literature claimed 30 distinct improvements from the GP20 and that this was the reason for the number.

Sales and in service The GP30 successfully countered the GE threat and kept EMD in the dominant position in the North American diesel market. While losing a little power to the GE and ALCO competition, the solidity and reliability of the GP30—and the familiarity of railroad mechanical departments with EMD products—ultimately won many more orders for EMD. 948 were sold, in comparison to 476 U25Bs. In addition, the GP30 was only sold until the end of 1963, while the U25B was available until 1966.

Most major railroads ordered GP30s, and many smaller ones did too. The largest orders were from the SOU (120), UP (111), ATSF (85), and the B&O (77).

The sole purchaser of B units (by the mid-1960s generally an outdated concept) was the UP, who kept the practice of running its locomotives in matched sets much longer than others. Thirteen of those GP30B units were fitted with steam generators for heating passenger trains, the only GP30s to receive them. Prior to Amtrak, UP would use a GP30 and two boiler equipped GP30Bs on passenger trains when no E8s or E9s were available.

Some units for the GM&O, MILW and SOO were built using trucks from ALCO trade-ins and therefore ride on AAR type B trucks instead of the EMD standard Blomberg Bs. An indisputable tribute to the quality of the GP30 design is the fact that a good number are still in service as of 2015, which is a service lifespan of over 50 years and well in excess of the design life of 25–30 years for the average diesel locomotive. Furthermore, when life-expired, some railroads chose to give them major rebuilds instead of scrapping them.

Original buyers

Cab-equipped 'A' units Railroad Quantity Road numbers NotesElectro Motive Division (demonstrator)25629to Union Pacific Railroad 8755639to Seaboard Air Line Railroad 534, to Seaboard Coast Line Railroad 1343Alaska Railroad12000Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway851200–1284Renumbered 3200–3284. Rebuilt versions called GP30u**upgraded at Cleburne, Texas shops.Atlantic Coast Line Railroad9900–908to Seaboard Coast Line Railroad 1300–1308Baltimore and Ohio Railroad776900–6976Chesapeake and Ohio Railway483000–3047Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad38940–977to Burlington Northern Railroad 2217–2254Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad3239–241Chicago Great Western Railway8201–208to Chicago & North Western Railway 802–809Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad16340–355AAR type B trucks. Renumbered 1000–1015Chicago and North Western Railway14810–823Canadian Pacific Railway28200–8201Built by General Motors Diesel (GMD) in London, Ontario. Renumbered 5000–5001Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad283001–3028Great Northern Railway173000–3016to Burlington Northern Railroad 2200–2216Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad31500–530AAR type B trucksKansas City Southern Railway20100–119Louisville and Nashville Railroad581000–1057New York Central Railroad106115–6124to Penn Central 2188–2197, to Conrail same numbersNew York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad10900–909to Norfolk and Western 2900-2909, to Norfolk Southern same numbersNorfolk and Western Railway44522–565High short hood, operated long hood-forwardPennsylvania Railroad522200–22512250-2251 renumbered to Penn Central then Conrail 2198–2199, 2200–2249 to Penn Central then Conrail same numbersPhelps Dodge Corporation924–32New Cornelia Branch mineReading Company205501–5520renumbered 3600–3619; to Conrail 2168-2187Seaboard Air Line Railroad34500–533to Seaboard Coast Line Railroad 1309–1342Soo Line Railroad22700–721AAR type B trucks. Eighteen to Wisconsin Central Limited, same numbersSouthern Pacific Railroad87400–7407Southern Railway1202525–2644High short hoodSt. Louis Southwestern Railway10750–759Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway1700To ATSF as 3285Union Pacific Railroad111700–735, 800–874Totals 908

Cabless booster 'B' units Railroad Quantity Road numbers NotesUnion Pacific Railroad40700B–739B Thirteen units, 727B-739B, fitted with steam generatorsTotals 40

Rebuilds

The Burlington Northern Railroad was the most extensive user of rebuilt GP30s. Finding a need for modernized units of lower power, it sent GP30s—-both its own and units purchased from other railroads-—to be rebuilt to the specifications of the later GP39. Seventy units were sent to EMD, 65 to Morrison Knudsen (now Washington Group International) and 25 to VMV Paducahbilt in Paducah for rebuilding, and the rebuilds are known as GP39E, GP39M, and GP39V respectively. The changes included new generators, Dash-2 modular electronic control systems and 567D3 engines upgraded with EMD 645-series power assemblies, rated at 2,300 hp (1,720 kW) and designated 12-645D3. Some of these units received new EMD spartan cabs. These units are still in service on locals and smaller lines throughout the BNSF Railway system.

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) had previously performed a similar upgrade in its own Cleburne, Texas shops, stripping the locomotives down to bare metal and rebuilding with new equipment. The 567D3 engines were upgraded to a 2500-horsepower rating by the use of 645-series power assemblies. The generators and traction motors were upgraded and control and electrical equipment was replaced. The trucks received Hyatt roller bearings and single-shoe brake systems. Rooftop air conditioners and new horns were added. The locomotives were repainted in the blue and yellow Yellowbonnet scheme, and designated GP30u (for upgraded). 78 of these survived until the BNSF merger, and were eventually all sold off. In 2016, BNSF traded Larry's Truck and Electric 26 GP38s for 24 of the former ATSF GP30us for their GP39-3 rebuild program. The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad acquired a total of six of the former BNSF/ATSF GP30us from Larry's and designates them as GP39RN locomotives.

The Soo Line Railroad rebuilt three GP30s with CAT 3516 engines rated at . These were designated GP30C.

The Illinois Central Gulf Railroad rebuilt two GP30s in the early 1980s. These units were designated GP26. , the units remain in service on the Cimarron Valley Railroad.

The Chessie System rebuilt its GP30 units into GP30Ms, adding newer components, new traction motors and reducing their power to 2000 hp. They lasted with CSX into the mid-to-late 1990s, long after Seaboard System GP30s had been sold, retired and scrapped, or turned into road slugs.

Preservation Many GP30s have been preserved by a variety of museums, societies and tourist railways. All preserved examples are cab units, as the cabless booster units have been scrapped. A number of these preserved locomotives are in operational condition.

EMD GP30

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