Electro Motive JT56ACe

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The JT56ACe is the first ever Electro-Motive (Electro-Motive Diesel is now owned by Progressive Rail Inc., a subsidiary of Caterpillar) locomotive exported to the People’s Republic of China. It is designated as HXN3 by the Chinese Ministry of Railway (HX are the initials of the word "Hé xié" which means harmony and N is the initial of the word "Neì rán", which means internal combustion; 3 is the designation of the manufacturer, CNR Dalian Locomotive Works). The JT56ACe is one of the two types of diesel-electric freight locomotives China has imported in the past few years, together with the General Electric ES59ACi which I will write about at a later date. The JT56ACe adopts a twin-cab design and does not resemble any EMDs we have seen in North America.

 


The JT56ACe uses the 16 cylinder EMD 16V265H (bore, or cylinder diameter, of 265 mm), a.k.a. the H-engine, a four stroke diesel engine, as its prime mover (remember the SD90MAC?). The 16V265H engine is US EPA Tier 2 certified and produces 6,250 horsepower (4.66 megawatts). The JT56ACe is propelled by 6 AC traction motors and has a designed maximum service speed of 120 km/h (75 mph); it weighs 150 metric tonnes (165 tons) and provides a maximum starting tractive effort of 620 kN (139,400 lbf) and a maximum continuous tractive effort of 598 kN (134,400 lbf). You may revise on what tractive effort means at the bottom of this post.

 
The Chinese characters on the ends and sides of the unit read "Hé Xié"

Mass production of the JT56ACe began in 2008 in Dalian, China and so far the Chinese Ministry of Railway ordered a total of 300 units.

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