GE C38AChe

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The C38AChe, designated as the NJ2 by the Chinese National Railways, is a diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric in Erie, PA for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. It is designed to maintain power in a high altitude environment where there is a lack of oxygen, which is vital for combustion to occur in an internal combustion engine.



The C38AChe has a full car body design with cab on only one end (European and Asian locomotives most often have 2 cabs on either end). The prime mover of the C38AChe a 16 cylinder 7FDL also found in the Dash 9 and Genesis locomotives. However, unlike the domestic GE locomotives, the C38AChe is equipped with 3 axle trucks manufactured by the United Group of Australia instead of GE’s own trucks. The locomotive produces 4,400 hp at sea-level and 3,620 hp at 16,600 ft. above sea-level. It has a maximum starting tractive effort of 120,000 lbf and a top speed of 75 mph.

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