EMD SD40-2

EMD SD40-2

Montana Rail Link XDM SD40-2 diesel locomotive #250 at Everett, Washington, United States, January 1994.

Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder GM Electro-Motive Division (EMD) General Motors Diesel (GMD) Model SD40-2 Build date January 1972 – October 1989 Total produced 3,982

Specifications AAR wheel arr. C-C UIC class Co′Co′ Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm), Brazil 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge, Guinea Driver dia. 40 in (1,016 mm) Wheelbase 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m) between bolsters; 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m) between axles in each truck Length 68 ft 10 in (20.98 m) over the coupler pulling faces Width 10 ft 3 1⁄8 in (3.13 m) over the grabirons Height 15 ft 7 1⁄8 in (4.75 m) Loco weight 368,000 lb (167,000 kilograms) or 184 short tons (164 long tons; 167 t) Fuel capacity 3,200–4,000 US gallons (12,000–15,000 l; 2,700–3,300 imp gal) Prime mover EMD 16-645-E3 Engine type V16 diesel engine Aspiration turbocharged Cylinders 16

Performance figures Power output 3,000 hp (2,240 kW)

Career Operators Various Locale North America, Mexico, Brazil, Guinea

External images

RailPictures.Net – EMD SD40-2 photographs at RailPictures.Net.

trainspo.com – SD40-2 pictures on Trainspo

The EMD SD40-2 is a 3,000-horsepower (2,200 kW) C-C diesel-electric locomotive built by EMD from 1972 to 1989.

The SD40-2 was introduced in January 1972 as part of EMD's Dash 2 series, competing against the GE U30C and the ALCO Century 630. Although higher-horsepower locomotives were available, including EMD's own SD45-2, the reliability and versatility of the 3,000-horsepower (2,200 kW) SD40-2 made it the best-selling model in EMD's history and the standard of the industry for several decades after its introduction. The SD40-2 was an improvement over the SD40, with modular electronic control systems similar to those of the experimental DDA40X.

Peak production of the SD40-2 was in the mid-1970s. Sales of the SD40-2 began to diminish after 1981 due to the oil crisis, increased competition from GE's Dash-7 series and the introduction of the EMD SD50, which was available concurrently to late SD40-2 production. The last SD40-2 delivered to a United States railroad was built in July 1984, with production continuing for railroads in Canada until 1988, Mexico until February 1986, and Brazil until October 1989. As of 2013, nearly all built still remain in service.

The SD40-2 has seen service in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Guinea. To suit export country specifications, General Motors designed the JT26CW-SS (British Rail Class 59) for Great Britain, the GT26CW-2 for Yugoslavia, South Korea, Iran, Morocco, Peru and Pakistan, while the GT26CU-2 went to Zimbabwe and Brazil. Various customizations led Algeria to receive their version of a SD40-2, known as GT26HCW-2.

SD40-2s are still quite usable nearly fifty years after the first SD40 was made, and many SD40s and locomotives from the pre-Dash-2 series (GP/SD 40s, 39s and 38s, and even some SD45s) have been updated to Dash-2 specifications, possibly including downgrading from 20-645E to 16-645E engines, including, certainly, Dash-2 electrical controls, although the pre-Dash-2 frames cannot accommodate the somewhat similar HT-C truck in the space allocated to the Flexicoil C truck (the frame is not long enough). Most SD40-2s which remain in service have by now been rebuilt "in-kind" for another 30 to 40 years of service, although a few (under 30) have been rebuilt to incorporate a 12-cylinder EFI-equipped 710G engine.