MotivePower MP40PH-3C

By -
This was the new GO Transit locomotive we were going to take a look at quite a while ago.  Before I forget about it (although in reality I won’t), I’ll share a few things about it.  This locomotive is of the MPXpress family of 4-axle low emission (EPA Tier 2) commuter locomotives designed and manufactured by MotivePower Inc. (part of Wabtec) of Boise, Idaho.  The MP40PH-3C is specifically designed for GO Transit, a division of Metrolinx, serving the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Ontario, for hauling longer 12-car GO Trains.  With the Bombardier Bi-level coaches having a seating capacity of up to 162 passengers per carriage, each of these trains carry up to 1,944 passengers fully seated in and out of downtown Toronto.  During rush hour, one GO Train carrying 2,000 passengers takes more than 1,700 cars off of the roads of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (using 1.15 persons per car, stat provided by GO Transit).

GO 604 waiting for Oshawa Departure on the Lake Shore Line

GO 601 in transit to Toronto

Cab of the MP40PH-3C

Unlike the other members of the MPXpress family, the MP40 uses a 4,000 horsepower (2,980 kW) EMD 16-710G3B-T2 diesel engine, the EMD EM2000 control system, and EMD alternator and traction motors instead of MPI/Wabtec parts.  Like the MP36PH-3C (where the “C” possibly denotes Caterpillar), the MP40PH-3C has a separate Caterpillar diesel engine to provide HEP (head end power) to the carriages.  As a result, all of the 4,000 hp provided by the EMD 710 is utilised to provide traction.

GO 625 at Toronto Yard (Agincourt) ready for delivery

With specifications published by GO Transit, the top speed of the MP40PH-3C is 93 mph (150 km/h).  So far, GO Transit has ordered 57 units of the MP40PH-3C.

12-car GO Train on the Milton Line

Here is a clip of a MP40PH-3C GO Train in action.

Comments

Marc said…
Motive power mp40ph 3c is an advanced and innovative train. And the pictures are awesome showing the outlook of trains.
May 29, 2010, 6:47:00 PM
Anonymous said…
I operate these locos and let me tell you they are junk. They are loud they leak when it rains, ac freezes if you leave it on, heat hardly works and they slip like crazy!!! Sightlines are horrible and the ride on them is brutal.
Sep 23, 2014, 5:12:00 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Briefly on the AAR Coupler Part 2

By -
Image
Last week, we've identified the Janney coupler and briefly looked at its elegant design. This week, let's, again, very briefly, look at the different types of Janney coupler that are widely used today. I will only talk about the head of the coupler, and ignore anything that the general public may need to trespass onto railroad property and get in a unsafe situation in order to have a good look at. As far as coupler heads are concerned, there are 3 types in used today. Type E, F, and H. Types E and F are used on freight, and H used on passenger equipment. Since the withdrawal of passenger service in North America by private railroads, the Type H standard is no longer maintained by the Association of American Railroads, a trade group formed of major freight railroads, but is under the control of the APTA, the American Public Transportation Association. Now let me introduce another term, slack. Slack is an allowed gap between two coupled up couplers. In other words, when most ...
Read more

Amtrak NPCU

By -
Image
The NPCU or Non-powered Control Units are control cars used by Amtrak that are modified from surplus EMD F40PH locomotives. A control car is a generic term for a non-powered railroad vehicle that can control operation of a train from the end opposite to the position of the locomotive. They can be used with diesel or electric motive power, allowing push-pull operation without the use of an additional locomotive. Control cars first appeared in the USA and France in 1960s. Trains operating with a locomotive at one end and a control car at the other do not require the locomotive to run around to the opposite end of the train when reversing direction. In the United States, most control cars are modified from retired locomotives by removing tractive equipment and adding side baggage doors and have been used on several passenger railroads. The control cars are connected through the consist of the train by standard AAR 27-wire multiple unit jumper cables. The NPCUs at Amtrak are a...
Read more

SD70ACu

By Yi -
Image
After the post on the shiny rebuilt GE road power, it's only fair to have a look into what Progress Rail has to offer on their side of the table. I'm using the company's recently-changed, formal name of course. For those who are not up-to-date on the current state of North American railroading affairs, Progress Rail is the company (owned by Caterpillar) that purchased EMD a few years ago. The SD90MAC was arguably the biggest gong show in EMD's recent memory. It happened at a time when they were comfortably resting on their laurels, unaware the fateful changes that were about to occur in the locomotive market in the not-so-distant future (they got beaten badly by GE). What was supposed to be one of the most remarkable locomotives whose presence is to grace the mainlines in modern history, turned out to be an utter disaster (I'll redirect further readings to Wikipedia). As a result, today, the number of SD90s still in operation on a Class 1 Railroad is, if not id...
Read more