EMD E5

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EMD E5
EMD E5
Preserved E5 at Illinois Railway Museum
Power type Diesel-electric
Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
Model E5
Build date 19401941
Total production 11 A units, 5 B units
AAR wheel arr. A1A-A1A
Gauge ft 8½ in (1435 mm)
Engine type dual EMD 567
Cylinders V12
Power output 2,000 hp
Career Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Disposition One unit preserved in operating condition at the Illinois Railway Museum

The EMD E5 was a 2,000 hp, A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive manufactured by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of La Grange, Illinois, and produced exclusively for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad ("The Burlington Route") during 1940 and 1941. Eleven cab-equipped A units were built, along with five cabless booster B units. The E5 was distinguished from the otherwise very similar E3, E4 and E6 by being clad in polished stainless steel to match the Burlington's Zephyr trains. Like those other models, the E5 had a sloping "slant nose" equipped with two headlights — a regular stationary headlight and a gyrating signal light. The E5 was the sixth model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.

The 2,000 hp. was achieved by putting two model 567 V12 1,000 hp engines in the engine compartment, each engine driving its own electrical generator to power the traction motors.

The last surviving EMD E5 diesel is owned and operated by the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. Last used on the Fort Worth and Denver Railway (a CB&Q subsidiary) on the Texas Zephyr, the E5 is matched with stainless steel passenger cars from Burlington's Nebraska Zephyr. This equipment was used in the production of the 1992 film A League of Their Own.

[edit] References

  • Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Milwaukee, WI, EMD-121–123. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.

[edit] External links


Diesel cab and cowl locomotives built by GM-EMD
Cab units
(F- & E-units):
FT, F2, F3, F7, FP7, F9, FP9, FL9, TA, EA/EB, E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7, E8, E9, AB6
Cowl units: F45, FP45, F40C, F40PH, F40PH-2, F40PH-2C, F40PH-2M, SDP40F, SD40-2F, SD50F, F59PH, F59PHI, SD60F, F69PHAC
See also: List of GM-EMD locomotives