Oops I forgot to update this blog didn't I. Well, here's a little post about one of the newest members of the EMD family featuring the vastly successful 710 family of engines. Oh and by the way, if you don't know this already, traditionally EMD has named its engines by cylinder displacement (this doesn't apply to the metric H-engine), therefore 710 engines have 710 cubic inch displacement cylinders (yup, it's big enough for my head to fit into).
A repowered GP9 demonstrator with her 8 cyl. 710 engine drawn on the side
So far, Canadian Pacific is the only user of this little EMD (well, really Caterpillar now, but what the hell). The GP20C-Eco isn't built as an entirely new locomotive in the traditional sense. They are what's called re-manufactured locos. The buyer sends older generation GP locomotives to Caterpillar, depending on the specific model, certain parts are retained, and the rest are built from scratch. In CP's case, the GP20s used GP9 "cores", the trucks were rebuilt and reused, the rest completely new. With the 8 cylinder 2 150 horsepower 710 engine, this new GP20 also came with electronic brake valves, microprocessor control systems, and a new, larger, and more comfortable cab.
The finished product looks quite different from the demonstrator indeed
So, GP20C-Eco, quite a complicated name. To be honest, I still haven't quite figured out what the C stands for, but the rest is pretty obvious. GP for general purpose, i.e., 4 axle unit, 20 for 2 000 tractive horsepower, Eco for lower emissions, EPA Tier 0 in this case.
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M-NL said…
Interesting concept. However in Europe rebuilding like this would not be possible for the majority of models, because a major rebuild is considered the same as a new build. Therefore the rebuild has to meet the same requirements a new loco has to. A lot of those requirements can either not be retrofitted at all or at a price point that makes a new build more justified.
I got to meet my childhood hero, and it's everything I dreamed it would be! Yes, by it, I mean a train, of course, given how weird and awkward I am as a human being, this shouldn't come as a surprise. It all happened when I still lived in Asia, more than half a lifetime ago. The Chinese Railways, whatever they called themselves back in the 1990s, bought (or "leased") a set of the X2 (a.k.a. X2000 or SJ 2000) from SJ for services on the KCR (Kowloon to Canton Railway) at 125 mph (the first ever regular service in China at that speed). Granted, being Chinese, they'd also conveniently and inadvertently copied its design, albeit not quite so successfully (see DJJ1).
由慕尼黑啤酒 - 自己的作品，CC BY-SA 3.0，链接 (the Chinese X2)
This time around, the X2 also brought me about my first impressions of the friendly Swedes. Judging from the sign of me taking pictures like a mad (or normal) Chinese tourist, not one, but two drivers invited me on a tour of the cab. Finally, not only did I …
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