GE Dash 9-40C
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 Norfolk Southern 8801, which has since been rebuilt as AC44C6M 4014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The GE Dash 9-40C, also called a C40-9, was a 4,000-horsepower (3,000 kW) diesel locomotive that was built by GE Transportation Systems of Erie, Pennsylvania, between January 1995 and March 1995. The C40-9 was equipped with the 16-cylinder 7FDL-16 prime mover which is rated at a lower power than the 4,400 hp (3,300 kW) GE Dash 9-44CW that debuted a year earlier in 1994.[1] It featured GE's direct current B13B traction motors.[1]
The C40-9 featured the standard cab design and was the only model in the Dash-9 series to do so. It is essentially identical to the wide-cab C40-9W model otherwise. All units had rooftop-mounted air conditioner units which gave them their distinct "top hat" look.
Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) was the sole operator of this model.[2] The company owned 125 units, numbered 8764–8888.[3] NS specifically requested the standard cab and may have purchased more units had the Federal Railroad Administration not required it to purchase the wide-cab C40-9W version instead.[1]
Upgrade
[edit]In mid 2015, NS started to upgrade its C40-9s into 4400 hp. C44-9s by upgrading the wattage to 3,281 kW, up from the as-delivered 3,000 kW. The units are being upgraded as they go in for their 184-day maintenance cycle.
Also in 2015, NS 8799 became the first NS GE Dash 9-40C to be rebuilt as an AC44C6M. The locomotive was rebuilt with a new GE wide nose and cab, and had locomotive speed limiter (LSL) and cab signals installed. These traction motor replacements are part of a Norfolk Southern / General Electric project to test the economic feasibility of converting Norfolk Southern's large (125 units), but relatively old Dash 9 fleet to AC traction. (BNSF Railway is also considering a similar upgrade program for its even bigger - originally 1797 units - C44-9W fleet). Work on the 8879 was sub-contracted out to and completed by American Motive Power, Inc. (AMP) in Dansville, NY. Two more units were soon added to the conversion program, NS C40-9 8799 and NS C40-9W 8900.
As of 2023, all C40-9 units have been rebuilt as AC44C6Ms.[4] The cab of NS #8808 would later be reused for a custom-built switcher at GE's Erie plant.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "The GE C40-9/W". American-Rails.com. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ Wilson, Jeff (2009). The model railroader's guide to diesel locomotives. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-89024-761-7.
- ^ "Norfolk Southern Motive Power". The Diesel Shop. 4 January 2011. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ "NS Diesel Locomotive Roster - GE Dash 9-40C (D9-40C)/Dash 9-44C (D9-44C) Nos. 8802-8887". www.nsdash9.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
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