EMD E8

The EMD E8 is a 2,250-horsepower (1,678 kW), A1A-A1A passenger-train locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of La Grange, Illinois. A total of 450 cab versions, or E8As, were built from August 1949 to January 1954, 447 for the U.S. and 3 for Canada. 46 E8Bs were built from December 1949 to January 1954, all for the U.S. The 2,250 hp came from two 12 cylinder model 567B engines, each driving a generator to power the two traction motors on one truck. The E8 was the ninth model in the line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units. Starting in September 1953, a total of 21 E8As were built which used either the 567BC or 567C engines.

EMD E8
Rock Island E8 #652, Formerly operated by Midland Railway of Baldwin City, Kansas.
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) Model E8 Build date August 1949 – January 1954 Total produced 450 A units, 46 B units
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR A1A-A1A Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Trucks EMD Blomberg A-1-A passenger Wheel diameter 36 in (914 mm) Minimum curve 21° (274.37 ft or 83.63 m radius) Length 70 ft 3 in (21.41 m) Width 10 ft 7 1⁄2 in (3.24 m) Height 14 ft 7 in (4.45 m) Loco weight A unit: 315,000 lb (142,882 kg), B unit: 290,000 lb (131,542 kg) Prime mover (2) EMD 12-567B Engine type V12 Two-stroke diesel Aspiration Roots blower Displacement 6,804 cu in (111.50 L) each Generator (2) EMD D-15-A Traction motors (4) GM D-27-B Cylinders (2) 12
Performance figures Maximum speed 85–117 mph (137–188 km/h) depending on gearing Power output 2,250 hp (1,678 kW) total Tractive effort 56,500 lbf (251,000 N) starting, 31,000 lbf (140,000 N) continuous
Career Locale United States Disposition About 58 preserved, remainder scrapped

In profile the front of the nose of E7, E8, and E9 units is less slanted than earlier EMD units, so E7/8/9s (and their four axle cousins, the F-unit series) have been nicknamed "bulldog nose" units. Earlier E-unit locomotives were nicknamed "slant nose" units. After passenger trains were canceled on the Erie Lackawanna in 1970 (excluding their commuter service, which the State of New Jersey subsidized starting in the late 1960s), the E8s were re-geared for freight and were very reliable for the EL. These units were on freight trains until the early years of Consolidated Railroad Corporation ("Conrail"). Amtrak used 148 E8As, 3 E8AMs, and 5 E8Bs, these all being retired between 1975 and 1985.

Units noted with the designation E8m were rebuilt using components from earlier EMC/EMD locomotives. Externally the units look just like E8s. The difference in horsepower produced in these E8m units is because the older generators are reused.

Original owners

Railroad	Quantity A units	Quantity B units	Road numbers A units	Road numbers B units	Notes
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrator)	1	—	5600A	—	to Southern Pacific 6018
Electro-motive Division (demonstrator)	1	—	952	—	to Rock Island 643 1st E8A built
Electro-motive Division (demonstrator)	2	—	810-811	—	to Delaware Lackawanna & Western 810-811
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway	—	2	—	83A–84A	Model E8m, rebuilt from ATSF 1 & 1A
	8	3	2, 4, 5, 82, 84–87	4A, 80A, 82A	Model E8m, rebuilt from E1A and E1B
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad	6	—	532, 544–548	—	532 rebuilt from E7
	1	—	500	—	Model E8m, rebuilt from E3A
Boston and Maine Railroad	1	—	3821	—	to Missouri Pacific 42 in 1962
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad	16	—	26,A–32,A, 90,A–96,A	—	Even numbers only; 26,A-32,A were built with 567BC engines.
	5	6	51, 53–56	51X–56X	Model E8m, rebuilt from EA and EB
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad	38	—	9937B, 9938A,B–9948A,B, 9949A, 9964–9977	—
Central of Georgia Railway	2	—	811–812		Delivered in CofGa Blue/Gray/Orange, later repainted into Illinois Central Chocolate/Orange and used as pool power for the Seminole
Chicago and North Western Railway	22	—	5019B, 5021A,B–5030A,B, 5031A	5019B rebuilt from E7	Several former Union Pacific B units rebuilt and fitted with "Crandall Cabs"
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad	13	—	644–656	—	656 is Model E8m (Rebuilt from an E6A by EMD)
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway	31	—	4000–4030	—
Canadian Pacific Railway	3	—	1800–1802	—	Bought for joint Boston and Maine service in New England; only E-units purchased new by a Canadian railway. 1800 and 1802 to VIA Rail.
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad	9	—	812–820	—	EMD Demonstrators 810-811 became DL&W 810-811
Erie Railroad	14	—	820–833	—	E8A No. 833 survives.
Fort Worth and Denver Railway	2	—	9981A,B	—
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad,	1	—	100A	—	Model E8m, rebuilt from an ex-B&O EA
Illinois Central Railroad	16	2	4018–4033	4104–4105	4031 and 4109 destroyed in the 1971 Salem, Illinois derailment and retired and scrapped.
Kansas City Southern Railway	4	—	26–29	—
	1	—	23	—	Model E8m, rebuilt from E3A
Louisville and Nashville Railroad	4	—	794–797	—
Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad	9	—	106A,B, 107A,B, 131–135	—
Missouri Pacific Railroad	4	—	7018–7021	—	renumbered 38–41
New York Central Railroad	62	—	4036–4095, 4003, 4020	—	4003 and 4020 rebuilt from 1953 wrecked E7s; same numbers
Pennsylvania Railroad	74	—	5700A–5716A, 5760A–5769A, 5788A–5799A, 5801A–5810A, 5835A–5839A, 5884A–5899A, 5902A–5905A	—
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad	15	5	1001–1015	1051—1055	1013-1015 were built with 567BC engines
Seaboard Air Line Railroad	11	—	3049–3059	—	to Seaboard Coast Line 588-598
St. Louis–San Francisco Railway	17	—	2006–2022	—	Named after famous horses, mostly racehorses.
Southern Railway	7	—	2923–2929	—	renumbered 6900-6905, 6916
Southern Railway (New Orleans and North Eastern)	10	—	6906–6915	—	6906-6909 were built with 567BC engines; 6910-6915 were built with 567C engines.
Texas and Pacific Railway	8	—	2010–2017	—	renumbered 30–37
Union Pacific Railroad	18	24	925–942	926B–949B
	—	4	—	922B–925B	rebuilt from E2B
Wabash Railroad	14	—	1003–1015, 1000	—
Totals	450	46

Surviving examples

The Engineer / Operator position of an E8A

It is estimated that 58 E8s have survived. The former NYC 4085, preserved at the New York Central Railroad Museum, was the lead locomotive on the final eastbound 20th Century Limited. Another surviving E8 was operated by the Midland Railway, in Baldwin City, Kansas. Privately owned, this unit is ex-Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad E8A #652 and was used for special events. It and its companion, E6A #630, have been sold to a new museum in Iowa, which will be centered around the Rock Island. New York Central 4097, privately owned, is on display at Merli Manufacturing Company in Duanesburg, New York.

The Monticello Railway Museum owns a former Pennsylvania Railroad E8A. It is currently undergoing restoration, and Monticello plans to paint it up as an Illinois Central E8 to match their collection of former Illinois Central passenger cars.

There are four Southern Railway E8As preserved. Unit #6900 is operational at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina, while the railway's #6901 is preserved at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, GA, and recently underwent an operational restoration by Norfolk Southern. These engines have pulled the Southern Crescent and both bear this train's distinct logo. A Southern Railway E8, #6913, is being restored at the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum in Oak Ridge, TN for their Southern excursion train. Yet another, Southern #6914, is nearing the completion of a nearly two-decade-long restoration at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, having been unveiled at the railroad's 2018 "Railfest", resplendent in green and gold complete with "NO&NE" sublettering.

The St Louis, Iron Mountain, & Southern Railway owns former Pennsylvania Railroad E8A #5898. It was previously owned by the Blue Mountain & Reading. It is the main engine used on their tourist train, and it was repainted in 2015.

Union Pacific E8AM #942 is owned by the Southern California Railway Museum, and is occasionally used on their tourist train, usually pulling the museum's small collection of former Union Pacific passenger cars. It carries the designation E8AM from its time in Chicago-area commuter service. After its time on the Union Pacific, #942 was sold to the Chicago and Northwestern, which used it in commuter service. After serving with CNW, the 942 moved on to serve Chicago's RTA. Upon retirement, it was donated to the museum, and subsequently restored to UP colors in 2012. It was rebuilt with a HEP generator which is what gives it the designation E8AM. However, unlike many E units rebuilt for commuter service, it retained its twin EMD 12-567B prime movers.

Chicago and North Western #5022B, later renumbered to 519 and then used by Metra, is now labeled as "MREX 97", is at the Arizona Railway Museum. It is privately owned and stored on display.

Baltimore & Ohio E8A #92 was kept offsite on a relic track at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland for many years after obtaining the unit from Amtrak (DOTX #210). On March 4, 2004, the museum gifted the unit to the West Virginia Railroad Museum. The WVRR Museum partnered with the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad to undertake restoration of the unit as of February 20, 2024.

Of the units owned by Conrail, three were saved after their freight-service retirement and went on to be refurbished by the Juniata Locomotive Shops in Altoona, PA for use as Conrail's Office Car Special (OCS) until the merger of 1999. One unit went to CSX (never operated), and two were sold off to Bennett Levin, CEO of the Juniata Terminal Company, where they have been overhauled and painted as twin Pennsylvania Railroad E8's. As of 2019, these units are not in operation due to a decision by the owner not to retrofit them with positive train control (PTC).

Another, the former EL 833, was purchased by the New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad in 2007. The unit was repainted in its original livery as Erie 833, and was on display for a while on the turntable at Port Jervis, NY. Erie Railroad's E8A No. 833 is stored at Port Jervis station, in Port Jervis, New York, and had occasionally run on excursion trains.

In June 2008, two authentic New York Central E8 units (4080 & 4068) were brought to the Medina Railroad Museum in Western New York.

See also

• List of GM-EMD locomotives

References

Bibliography

• Dorin, Patrick C. (1972). Chicago and North Western Power. Burbank, California: Superior Publishing. p. 132. ISBN 0-87564-715-4.
• Lamb, J. Parker (2007). Evolution of the American Diesel Locomotive. Railroads Past and Present. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34863-0.
• Marre, Louis A. (1982). Rock Island Diesel Locomotives - 1930-1980. Railfax, Inc. ISBN 0-942192-00-1.
• Marre, Louis A. (1995). Diesel Locomotives: The First 50 Years: A Guide to Diesels Built Before 1972. Railroad Reference Series. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-258-2.
• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. pp. EMD–124. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
• Reich, Sy (1973). Diesel Locomotive Rosters – The Railroad Magazine Series. Wayner Publications. No Library of Congress or ISBN.
• Schafer, Mike (1998). Vintage Diesel Locomotives. Enthusiast Color Series. Osceola, Wisconsin: MBI Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7603-0507-2.
• Solomon, Brian (2000). The American Diesel Locomotive. Osceola, Wisconsin: MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7603-0666-6.
• Solomon, Brian (2006). EMD Locomotives. St. Paul, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-2396-0.
• Solomon, Brian (2010). Vintage Diesel Power. Minneapolis, Minnesota: MBI Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7603-3795-0.
• Solomon, Brian (2011). Electro-Motive E-Units and F-Units: The Illustrated History of North America's Favorite Locomotives. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-4007-3.
• Solomon, Brian (2012). North American Locomotives: A Railroad-by-Railroad Photohistory. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-4370-8.
• Wilson, Jeff (2002). E Units: Electro-Motive's Classic Streamliners. Classic Trains / Golden Years of Railroading series. Waukesha, WI, USA: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0890246068.
• EMD Product Reference Data Card dated January 1, 1959 has the 567BC and 567C engine data used in the as-built roster.

External links

• Bachand, Jean-Denis. "EMC E8 Data Sheet". Retrieved January 27, 2013.
• Midland Railway roster
• Andrew Toppan's list
• CPR Diesel Locomotive Roster