The EMD GP38 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and December 1971. The locomotive's prime mover was an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine that generated . The company built 706 GP38s for North American railroads.

In 1972, EMD began making an updated model, the GP38-2, as part of its Dash-2 line.

Original orders

{| class="wikitable"

! Railroad !! Quantity !! Numbers !! Notes

|-

|Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad

|1

|400

|

|-

|Altos Hornos de México

|4

|130-131, 135-136

|

|-

|Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

|61

|3500-3560

|Rebuilt to GP38us and renumbered to 2300-2360, To BNSF

|-

|Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

|70

|3800-3849, 4800-4819

|To CSX 2000–2049, 2100-2119

|-

|Bangor and Aroostook Railroad

|8

|81-88

|

|-

|Burlington Northern Railroad

|6

|2072-2077

|Ordered as SP&S 200-205, To BNSF

|-

|Chesapeake and Ohio Railway

|60

|3850-3899, 4820-4829

|To CSX 2050–2099, 2120-2129

|-

|Clinchfield Railroad

|10

|2000-2009

|To Seaboard System then CSX 2180-2189

|-

|Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad

|7

|200-206

|To GTW 6200-6206

|-

|Erie Mining Company

|2

|700-701

|

|-

|Ferrocarriles Unidos del Sureste

|2

|512-513

|

|-

|Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad

|20

|701-720

|To Illinois Central Gulf then Illinois Central Railroad 9520-9539

|-

|Louisville and Nashville Railroad

|20

|4000-4019

|To Seaboard System 6221–6240, then renumbered to 2130–2149, then to CSX

|-

|Maine Central Railroad

|13

|251-263

|252 & 254 To B&M after Guilford merger. 252 & 255 now at Conway Scenic.

|-

|Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad

|4

|300-303

| To Union Pacific

|-

|Missouri Pacific Railroad

|6

|572-577

|

|-

|Monongahela Railway

|5

|2000-2004

| To Conrail

|-

|Norfolk Southern Railway (1942–1982)

|7

|2001-2007

|To Southern Railway renumbered 2880-2886

|-

|Penn Central Transportation Company

|265

|7675-7939

|Biggest order of GP38s, to Conrail same numbers, and then to Norfolk Southern 2880 and 2885-2957 and CSX Transportation 1950–1998, Rest to various short lines.

|-

|Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines

|15

|2000-2014

|Built with dual control stands and an extended cab face. To Conrail 7660–7674, and then Norfolk Southern 2943-2957

|-

|Phelps Dodge Corporation

|8

|47-54

|

|-

|Southern Railway

|107

|2716-2822

|Built with high hoods. To NS with original numbers

|-

|Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway

|1

|80

|To Southern then NS 2879

|-

|Texas Mexican Railway

|4

|857-860

|

|-

!Totals !! 706 !! !!

|}

Rebuilds

A number of GP38s have been rebuilt into the equivalent of a GP38-2.

Conversely, a number of higher horsepower 40 Series locomotives have been rebuilt into the equivalent of a GP38-2 (GP38AC), by the removal of the turbocharger and the substitution of twin Roots blowers.

In 2007, Norfolk Southern rebuilt #2911 which is an ex Penn Central GP38 into an experimental zero-emissions Battery-Electric locomotive known as the Altoona Works BP4. The new locomotive was renumbered as NS #999. It has since been sold to Rail Propulsions Systems, where it was upgraded for eventual use in the Los Angeles Basin region.

Preservation

  • Conway Scenic Railroad 252, built as Maine Central (MEC) 252, is preserved and operates on excursions on the former MEC Notch Route.
  • Conway Scenic Railroad 255, built as Maine Central 255, was acquired in October 2021 and serves alongside 252.
  • West Chester Railroad 7706, built as Penn Central 7706, is preserved and operates on tourist trains on the former PRR line.
  • Chessie System 3802, built as Baltimore & Ohio 3802, is preserved and operates at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
  • Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines 2000, is preserved on the Cape May Seashore Lines in Tuckahoe, New Jersey.

See also

  • List of GM-EMD locomotives
  • List of GMD Locomotives

References

  • Sarberenyi, Robert. EMD GP38 and GP38AC Original Owners