GE Dash 8-40BW

GE Dash 8-40BW
Power type Diesel-electric
Builder GE Transportation Systems
Model Dash 8-40BW
AAR wheel arr. B-B
Gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Power output 4000 hp
Career Santa Fe Railroad, BNSF Railway, Providence and Worcester Railroad
Class B40-8W
Locale western United States

The Dash 8-40BW, or B40-8W as some call it, is a four-axle road diesel locomotive built by GE Transportation Systems for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) in the early 1990s. ATSF was the only railroad to order it, and a B unit (cabless booster unit) was almost made with it, but because the price would have been the same for B40-8Ws with cabs or without, they decided to order units with cabs only.

The locomotive model designation is interpreted as follows: B (B type truck arrangement, 2 axles per truck) 40 (4000 horsepower) -8 (the generation when it was designed, in this case meaning the late 1980s) W (Widecab)

All of ATSF's B40-8Ws became part of BNSF Railway, and many of them were repainted into BNSF's orange, yellow, and green "Heritage 2" paint scheme.

Contents

Sell off by BNSF

In mid 2010, The BNSF Railway put 15 of the B40-8W's up for sale. These units were on Long Term lease and were returned to their leasor. These units are BNSF 560-583, the last batch of B40-8W's built for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway as ATSF 560-583. So far, Three have been sold, 561, 562, 583 were sold to the Providence and Worcester Railroad in Massachusetts.

Original owners

Railroad Quantity Road numbers Notes
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 83 500-582
General Electric 1 809 wide cab prototype and testbed, rebuilt from B39-8E #808

Second Hand Owners

Railroad Quantity Former ATSF/BNSF Numbers
Providence and Worcester Railroad 3 Ex-BNSF 561, 562 and 582
Nashville and Eastern Railroad 4 Ex-BNSF 568, 573, 574 and 579
Arkansas - Oklahoma Railroad 3 Ex-BNSF 567, 578, and 581
Great Western Railway of Saskatchewan 2 Ex-BNSF 575 and 563

References