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 Copper Basin Railway #505 atHayden, Arizona in 2010. | |||||||||||||
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TheEMD GP39 is a 4-axlediesel-electric locomotive built byGeneral Motors Electro-Motive Division between June 1969 and July 1970. The GP39 was a derivative of theGP38 equipped with aturbochargedEMD 645E3 12-cylinder engine which generated 2,300 hp (1.72 MW).[1][2]
23 examples of this locomotive model were built forAmerican railroads.[3]
Burlington Northern Railway later rebuilt GP30 and GP35 locomotives that it classified as GP39s, but they were not built as such by GM/EMD.
Twenty of the original 23 were built for theChesapeake and Ohio Railway, while the other buyers were Kennecott Copper (2) and Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay (1).[3] Though the GP39 was not a popular locomotive, EMD later revisited the idea of a turbocharged GP38 with itsGP39-2 in 1974.[4]
Two examples of the GP39 were built asGP39DC locomotives in June 1970. These used aDC maingenerator instead of thealternator used on the standard GP39 units, but were otherwise identical. 2 examples of this locomotive model were built forKennecott Copper Company as 1 and 2, later sold toCopper Basin Railway as 401 and 402.
TheEMD GP39X[5] is a 2,600 hp (1,940 kW)diesel-electric locomotive built by theGeneral Motors Electro-Motive Division. All six units built were constructed for theSouthern Railway with Southern's characteristic highshort hood. They were updated by EMD atNorfolk Southern's (Southern's successor) request toEMD GP49 standards in 1982. Norfolk Southern retired them in 2001, and they now are owned byTri-Rail, after being upgraded withhead end power and a loweredshort hood.[6]
| Railroad | Quantity | Road Numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay | 1 | 507 | to VMV 507, thenPaducah & Louisville 8507 |
| Chesapeake & Ohio | 20 | 3900-3919 | toCSXT 4280-4299, all retired with the exception of 4 converted to slugs. |
| Kennecott Copper | 2 | 1-2 | toCopper Basin Railway 401-402 |
| Totals | 23 |
Media related toEMD GP39 locomotives at Wikimedia Commons
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