The EMD E Series, The Industry Standard

With the purchase of the company in 1930 by General Motor, and more resources at its disposal the company began developing the precursor of the modern-day diesel-electric road unit (cabs and road-switchers), the streamlined trainset, which consisted of a powered car permanently attached to a few coaches (usually two or three cars). The most famous of these streamlined trainsets was the Burlington Zephyrs, a beautiful streamlined stainless steel creation (originally powered by Winton engines, which would also become a subsidiary of GM) that was extremely lightweight and fast. The original trainset, the Zephyr 9900, made headlines in 1934 when it completed a non-stop journey from Denver to Chicago in a little over 13 hours.

Because the power cars with these trainsets were permanently attached to the coaches EMC sought to design a locomotive free of this articulated setup but designed in such a manner that a railroad could still attach it to any passenger train and obtain the same, smooth streamlined look. This it did with the unveiling of the EA model in 1937, the first in a long line of passenger diesel locomotive designs that would come to be known as the E series.

The EMD (Electro-Motive Division) E series set the stage for the end of the steam locomotive era (perhaps the key difference between the EMD E series and F series was that Fs rode on B-B trucks whereas Es rode on C-Cs and carried a noticeably longer carbody). And a swift end it was. Within twenty years of the EMC’s debut of the EA, the first in the E series, steam would all but be silenced across the rail industry’s major Class I railroads.

While for many years locomotive manufacturers, particularly the American Locomotive Company (Alco) and EMC, had been building switcher locomotives to be used in yard work or “backcountry” branch lines hauling local freight trains, a true road unit had never been developed until the EA in 1937.

The EA (E, which stood for eighteen hundred horsepower) carried two 900-horsepower, 12-cylinder 201-A Winton engines and the first buyers of these test models were the Baltimore & Ohio and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. It did not take long after the EA's debut for the industry to realize the success of these new locomotives, especially with how well the EMD’s F series proved itself and the economies it provided (particularly coupled with the earlier streamlined trainsets, such as the Burlington Railroad’s Zephyr 9900). However, with the onset of World War II and diesel-electric construction being restricted during wartime, there were not many Es purchased until after the war ended in 1945.

After 1945, however, EMC, by now known as General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division (EMD), began once again producing diesel-electrics and restyled its latest E model, the E7, with a nose much more sharply slanted to give it a “bulldog” look that much more resembled the later F series, and increased its horsepower from 1,800 to 2,000. The units also employed trucks of the A1A type, meaning that the two outside axles were powered with the middle was non-powered. Future EMD E series models were essentially the same from an aesthetic standpoint with minor changes made to locomotive’s car-body.

Following the E7 was the 1949 E8, which produced 2,250 horsepower, and later in 1954 the final model, the E9, which produced 2,400 horsepower. Totaled together the entire series did not sell as well as perhaps the later GP series but for a locomotive built specifically for passenger use it did very well totaling over 1,300 units. Likewise the EMD E series had matching streamlined cabless booster units, known as Bs (the B designation referred to cabless units with A designations meaning cab units) to increase horsepower (for instance, E8B, E7B, etc.).

Today there are several units of the EMD E series still surviving, mostly notably the E8s and E9s, some of which still even operate on commuter or freight railroads although few of the E7 models, and earlier, are still around as all are relegated to museums. Thankfully, one of the original Es does survive, B&O EA #51. Today the unit is cosmetically restored into its original condition as delivered from EMC in 1937, at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

For more information on the EMD E series consider Mike Schafer’s Vintage Diesel Locomotives which looks at virtually all of the classic builders and models from Alco PAs to early EMD Geeps. If you’re interested in classic EMDs, or diesels in general, this book gives an excellent general history of both.

Also, Brian Solomon’s The American Diesel Locomotive also studies many of the same diesel models and builders as Mr. Schafer’s publication although at nearly twice the size the book goes into a bit more detail than Vintage Diesel Locomotives and also covers newer models. All in all, though, both books are a great read and you shouldn’t be disappointed with them, not to mention that they are loaded with photos (many in color)! If you're interested in perhaps purchasing these books please visit The Railroad Diamond by clicking the tab in the menu to your left marked "TRD Store".