EMC E3
The EMC E3 was a 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW), A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois. The EMC demonstrator #822 was released from La Grange for test on September 12, 1938. The cab version, or E3A, was manufactured from September, 1938 to June, 1940, and 17 were produced. The booster version, or E3B, was manufactured in March, 1939 and September, 1939, and 2 were produced. The 2,000 h.p. was achieved by putting two 1,000 hp, 12-cylinder, model 567 engines in the engine compartment. Each engine drove its own electrical generator to power the traction motors. The E3 was the fourth model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.
Compared with other passenger locomotives made by EMC and EMD before and after these models, the noses of the E3, E4, E5,and E6 cab units had pronounced slants when viewed from the side. Therefore, these four models have been nicknamed "slant nose" units. Some units made before these models were called "shovel nose" units because they looked like old coal shovels. Some units made during and after these models were called "bulldog nose" units, because they looked like a bulldog's snout.
Original owners
A units
| Railroad |
Quantity |
Road numbers |
Notes |
| Electro-Motive Corporation (demonstrator) |
1
|
822 |
to Kansas City Southern Railway #1 |
| Atlantic Coast Line Railroad |
2
|
500, 501 |
501 was wrecked before delivery and rebuilt by EMC as an E6A. It has been preserved. |
| Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway |
1
|
11 |
|
| Chicago and North Western Railway |
4
|
5001A, 5001B,
5002A, 5002B |
Initially used in A-A back-to-back pairs on the Twin Cities 400. |
| Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad |
2
|
625, 626 |
|
| Florida East Coast Railroad |
2
|
1001, 1002 |
|
| Kansas City Southern Railway |
2
|
2, 3 |
|
| Missouri Pacific Railroad |
2
|
7000, 7001 |
|
| Union Pacific Railroad |
1
|
LA-5 |
|
| Total |
17 |
|
|
B units
Surviving units
Only one E3 survives today. It was formerly owned by the late Glen Monhart, and operated on excursions in Wisconsin. Today, it is owned by the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation Rail Division, and is on long term loan to the North Carolina Transportation Museum, in Spencer, North Carolina. It is ex-Atlantic Coast Line Railroad E3A #501. It is stored in operating condition, and will be run occasionally.
References
- Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Milwaukee, WI. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.
External links
Diesel cab and cowl locomotives built by GM-EMD |
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Cab units
(F- & E-units) |
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| Cowl units |
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