EMD GM6C

Specifications
Specifications
Configuration:;
• AAR	C-C
• UIC	Co'Co'
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Trucks	EMD HTC
Wheel diameter	42 in (1,067 mm)
Length	68 ft 10 in (20.98 m)
Width	10 ft (3.05 m)
Height	14 ft 9+1⁄2 in (4.51 m) (over locked-down pantographs)
Loco weight	365,000 lb (165,561 kg); or 182.5 short tons (162.9 long tons; 165.6 t)
Electric system/s	Switchable: 11 kV 25 Hz,; 25 kV 60 Hz,; Northeast Corridor Catenary
Current pickup(s)	Pantograph
Generator	EMD D79MA75
Traction motors	6 × EMD E88X

Type and origin
Type and origin
Power type	Electric
Builder	Electro-Motive Division
Serial number	75605-1
Model	GM6C
Build date	May 1, 1975
Total produced	1

EMD GM6C
EMD GM6C
Power type
Type and origin
Power type	Electric
Builder	Electro-Motive Division
Serial number	75605-1
Model	GM6C
Build date	May 1, 1975
Total produced	1
Configuration:;
Specifications
Configuration:;
• AAR	C-C
• UIC	Co'Co'
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Trucks	EMD HTC
Wheel diameter	42 in (1,067 mm)
Length	68 ft 10 in (20.98 m)
Width	10 ft (3.05 m)
Height	14 ft 9+1⁄2 in (4.51 m) (over locked-down pantographs)
Loco weight	365,000 lb (165,561 kg); or 182.5 short tons (162.9 long tons; 165.6 t)
Electric system/s	Switchable: 11 kV 25 Hz,; 25 kV 60 Hz,; Northeast Corridor Catenary
Current pickup(s)	Pantograph
Generator	EMD D79MA75
Traction motors	6 × EMD E88X
Power output
Performance figures
Power output	6,000 hp (4.47 MW)
Tractive effort	Starting: 126,000 lbf (560.5 kN);; Continuous: 44,000 lbf (195.7 kN) @ 46 mph (74 km/h)
Operators
Career
Operators	Penn Central (later Amtrak and Conrail)
Numbers	1975 (later 4975)
Locale	Northeast Corridor
Disposition	Scrapped

The GM6C was a solitary testbed electric locomotive for freight duties built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of the United States in collaboration with ASEA of Sweden. It was rolled out from EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant on May 1, 1975.^[1]^[2]^[3] Equipped with close to standard C-C HTC trucks and traction motors, it was designed for lower-speed drag freight service.

Motives

At the time, high oil prices had a number of large US railroads contemplating electrification of their most heavily used lines, while the only major US railroad with freight-hauling electrification, the Penn Central, had a fleet of aging locomotives needing replacement.^[3]

Circumstances changed after the GM6C and GM10B locomotives were developed; oil prices declined, which wiped out the interest freight railroads had in electrification, while diesel locomotive power and adhesion were improved.

Meanwhile, the bankruptcy of Penn Central led to the division of the railroad's physical plant between Amtrak, which inherited much of the electrified region, and Conrail. Increased access charges on the part of Amtrak led to Conrail ceasing electric operations in 1982, dismantling the electrification on its lines and avoiding Amtrak-owned rails.^{[citation needed]} The two locomotives were now surplus to requirements and were returned to EMD, remaining in the LaGrange plant's yard until scrapping in the mid-1980s.^[3]

The BC Rail GF6C locomotives used similar technology to the GM6C but had a wide-nose cab and carbody.

References

^ EMD unveils its first all-electric unit Railway Age May 12, 1975 pages 10-12
^ First GM demonstration electric loco appears Railway Gazette International June 1975 page 232
^ ^a ^b ^c Graham-White, Sean (2007), "EMD's Freight Electrics", Diesel Era, vol. 18, no. 5, Withers, pp. 48–54, ISSN 1049-5622

[1] EMD unveils its first all-electric unit Railway Age May 12, 1975 pages 10-12

[2] First GM demonstration electric loco appears Railway Gazette International June 1975 page 232

[DieselEra-3] Graham-White, Sean (2007), "EMD's Freight Electrics", Diesel Era, vol. 18, no. 5, Withers, pp. 48–54, ISSN 1049-5622

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[2]

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