| EMD G22CU | |
|---|---|
| G22CU in Taiwan | |
| Power type | Diesel-electric |
| Builder | GM Electro-Motive Division. Under license (different G22 versions): Astarsa (Argentina), Đuro Đaković (Yugoslavia), Henschel und Sohn (Germany), MACOSA (Spain), Nohab (Sweden), Villares (Brazil) |
| Build date | 1970s |
| AAR wheel arr. | C-C |
| Gauge | 1,000 mm, 1,067 mm |
| Length | 15.506 m (50 ft 10.5 in) Brazilians:15.970 m |
| Width | 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) |
| Height | 3.772 m (12 ft 4.5 in) |
| Axle load | 15.333 t |
| Locomotive weight | 92 tonnes (90.5 long tons; 101 short tons) |
| Fuel capacity | 3,080 litres (680 imp gal; 810 US gal) |
| Prime mover | EMD 12-645 |
| Top speed | 105 km/h (65 mph) |
The EMD G22CU is a narrow gauge diesel-electric locomotive designed and built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. It was manufactured by several licensees, and exported to many countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Korea, Yugoslavia and Republic of China (Taiwan) (countries with more than 20 units).
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G22 locomotives were first built in 1967 with the export markets in mind. For that reason they carried a low per-axle weight. The CU version sports a C-C traction motors configuration, and 1-meter gauge. Its main engine is an EMD 12-645. They were produced at the General Motor's Electro-Motive Diesel plants at La Grange and London -Canada-, as well at plants -under license- in other countries, including Argentina and Spain.
In 1971 Ferrocarriles Argentinos bought 250 locomotives from General Motors, including G22 and GT22 models. 96 of them where delivered to the Ferrocarril Gral. Manuel Belgrano line, so they were the CU version, adapted to its 1-meter gauge. Belgrano Norte line received 20 built at La Grange, while Belgrano Sur line received 5 produced at London -Canada- The remaining ones where built by Astarsa at San Fernando -Buenos Aires-.
At first they were assigned to the suburban passenger service in Buenos Aires. Afterwards many of them were sent to the northern part of the country, where they ran services among several cities including Salta, Resistencia, Embarcación, Formosa and Tucumán. When Ferrocarriles Argentinos was dismembered and privatised at the beginning of 90s, these locomotives were handed over to several different companies including Ferrovias (Buenos Aires northern local line), Metropolitano (Buenos Aires southern local line, now taken by UGOFE) and Belgrano Cargas (long-distance freight service).
As of 2009 many of them are still in service for Belgrano Norte line, Belgrano Sur line and Belgrano Cargas.
The Brazilian railways company, RFFSA, acquired 24 G22CUs -produced in Spain by Materiales y Construcciones SA under license- in 1971. They were put in service at the Division #13 Rio Grande do Sul, serving the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. Due to RFFSA privatisation 21 of the locomotives (the others were already retired) where transferred to Ferrovia Sul Atlântico SA, which aftewards became part of ALL.
In order to improve the hauling efficacy, Taiwan Railway Administration bought 20 G22CU from GM-EMD IN 1973. They were named the "R150" series and numbered from R151 to R170 (EMD serial: 712755-712764 and 713120-713129)[5]. All the R150 series arrived Taiwan between 1973 and 1974. In 1982, five more G22CU (R171-R175, EMD serial: 818016-1 to 818016-5) were purchased. Currently, their main arena is the East-Trunk Line (東部幹線, from Badu Station to Taitung Station, including the Yilan Line, North-Link Line, and Taitung Line).
One of the locomotives, R164, was removed from service after an accident in 2001.
These locomotives are very similar to G22CW, which are standard or broad gauge, and to GM GT22 Series, which are turbocharged.