General Electric Locomotives: History, Photos, Models

Last revised: August 26, 2024

The General Electric Company has a history that dates back to the late 1870s. Despite some bumps in the road over the years it remains one of the largest corporations in the world, building everything from jet engines to kitchen appliances.

GE's introduction into the locomotive manufacturing market began as early as 1918 and they built modest diesel switchers during the 1930s and 1940s.

One of Union Pacific's big U50s, #32, was photographed here by Don Sims at Yermo, California on a September night in 1964. American-Rails.com collection.

The company also manufactured locomotives in conjunction with the American Locomotive Company (Alco) for many years.

However, this partnership cratered in the mid-1950s when GE recognized Alco was increasingly lagging behind industry leader Electro-Motive.

Over time, General Electric's locomotives became evermore reliable to the point that the company eclipsed EMD in the 1980's.

In November, 2017 GE reported its intentions to sell its locomotive division, GE Transportation.

This was made official in a press release made public at 7 AM on May 21, 2018 when it was announced that the Wabtec Corporation and GE Transportation would merge.

The marriage took place on February 25, 2019. The company is now known as Wabtec Freight.

U.S. Air Force 45-tonner #8581 was photographed here at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico during June, 1968. This was a unique, drop cab version. Tom Hoffman photo, Rick Burn collection.

History

GE is credited with commercially producing the very first diesel-electric locomotive in 1918, a boxcab design built for the Jay Street Connecting Railroad, #4.

Designated as model GM-50 it was essentially a diesel powered motor car, somewhat similar to an interurban car, and built in conjunction with Alco and Ingersoll-Rand.

At A Glance

Formation Date (GE Transportation)	1907
Founder	Thomas Edison
Historic Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Current Headquarters	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Wabtec)
Primary Manufacturing Facility	Erie, Pennsylvania
Secondary Manufacturing Facility	Fort Worth, Texas (opened January, 2013)
Dates of Operation	1907 - Present
GE Control	1907 - February 24, 2019
Wabtec Control	February 25, 2019 - Present
First Locomotive	1893 (Electric Locomotive)*
First Commercially Successful Locomotive	30-Ton, 0-4-0 Electric (1893)**
First Diesel Locomotive	200-Ton Boxcab (1904)***
First Commercially Successful Diesel Locomotive	Jay Street Connecting Railroad #4****
First Cataloged Road-Switcher	U25B (1959)
Most Successful Model (Currently)	ES44AC (3,764 units)
Total Diesel Locomotives Produced	27,000+*****

* General Electric's first locomotive somewhat depends on the specific question. Thomas Edison, GE's founder, began experimenting with electric propulsion as early as 1880 and soon after did more extensive tests, in collaboration with Northern Pacific's Henry Villiard, utilizing a 2 ¼-mile test track in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

The company also did extensive testing on electric railway propulsion in the 1890s with Frank J. Sprague, Leo Daft, and Stephen Field. Sprague is recognized for his efforts in developing the first large scale rapid transit system in the nation to be powered by electric motorcars, the Richmond Union Passenger Railway (Virginia) which opened in 1888.

GE also helped develop the first main line, heavy-haul freight/passenger electric locomotive for the Baltimore & Ohio as part of its Baltimore Belt Railroad which opened in 1895. The company would go on to have a hand in virtually every other notable electric design put into service in the United States through the 1950s.

** This was followed by the Type 404-E70-4 LWP (20-500 Volt) steeple-cab electric completed in 1894 for the Cayadutta Railway of Taftville, Connecticut.

*** This locomotive was developed by none other than Rudolf Diesel himself. GE provided the generator and electrical components.

***** This locomotive utilized a GM50, V-8 engine and could produce 225 horsepower. The boxcab design weighed about 7 tons.

***** This figure is approximate. GE Transportation is still producing locomotives today and also has collaborated with other companies (notably American Locomotive) on the production of diesels since the World War I period.

Later, in 1924 the three companies built a 300 horsepower, 60-ton boxcab design. This variant was purchased by the Central Railroad of New Jersey, and later the Baltimore & Ohio.

In the following years, General Electric remained an insignificant player in the diesel-electric market, even as Electro-Motive exploded in the late 1930's.

A pair of Union Pacific C30-7's, with #2451 up front, along with a former Missouri Pacific unit, lead a freight west of Cheyenne, Wyoming circa 1984. Mike Bledsoe photo. American-Rails.com collection.

During this time, GE's models remained small in nature, designed primarily for light branch, yard, and industrial duty. From 1928 through 1930, GE built box and some center-cab designs ranging from 300-600 horsepower.

By 1940 the company would introduce its most successful switcher to date, the ubiquitous 380-horsepower, 44-tonner.

This little switcher was beloved by industries for its lightweight design and ability to navigate tight curves. When production ended in 1956, GE had manufactured 373 44-tonners.

A company photo of Ford Motor Company 125-tonner #1001, presumably taken when the locomotive was first delivered from General Electric (1937).

Universal Series

After the end of World War II, GE followed up its successful 44-tonner with heavier models like the 70, 95, and even 125 tonners.

In 1954, GE ended its partnership with Alco and for the rest that decade the company experimented with different road unit designs.

It sold a few examples of its first commercial variant, the UD18, in 1956. This led to the release of its first main line road-switcher in 1959, the U25B.

Southern Pacific B30-7 #7843 and B36-7 #7754 are stopped at a grade crossing with a string of autoracks in January, 1990. Location not listed. American-Rails.com collection.

The model was later dubbed the "U-boat" by railfans. Its designation was broken down as follows:

"U" stood for the Universal series

"25" for the unit’s overall horsepower (2,500)

"B" for the number of overall axles (4)

There was nothing fancy about the U25B, especially its carbody, which carried straight lines and a short, stubby square nose.

However, the unit was durable and easy to maintain, which the railroads loved, especially the maintenance crews.

Recently completed Burlington Northern Santa Fe C44-9W #4586 and Union Pacific AC4400CW #7279 were photographed here at GE's Erie, Pennsylvania production facility in December of 1999. American-Rails.com collection.

General Electric's Universal series would ultimately span a total of six different designs in comparable B-B and C-C setups.

Ranging between 2,500 and 3,500 horsepower, all models only saw a few hundred bulit.

However, beginning with its "Dash 7" series in the late 1970s, and following with the "Dash 8" and "Dash 9" series, GE propelled itself past Electro-Motive in the locomotive market.

In the 1990s, and into the 2000s, GE further solidified itself as the leading locomotive builder by producing the successful AC series (AC4400CW and AC6000CW) that sold thousands of units.

Lukens Steel Company 90-ton switcher #41 in its Bicentennial livery (with "76" on the cab) at Coatsville, Pennsylvania circa 1976. This unit was built as Shell Oil #10.

Locomotive Models

Switchers

Model Type	Units Built	Date Built	Horsepower
25-Tonner	550	1938-1974	150
35-Tonner	120	1949-1974	150
40/50-Ton End-Cab	-	1939-1975	300
44-Tonner	386	1940-1956	300-350
45/50-Ton Center-Cab	820	1939-1975	300
45-Ton Drop-Cab (Military)	94	1941	300
65-Ton Center-Cab	399	1940-1948	400
70-Ton Center-Cab	11	1940-1942	400-600
80-Ton Center-Cab	620	1936-1980	940

Other GE switcher models produced include the 65-ton, 70-ton, 95-ton, 100-ton, 110-ton, 125-ton, and 144-ton end-cab designs. The builder also cataloged a "Universal" line of switchers, most of which sold to foreign operations. These included the U4-B, U6-B, and U7-B.

Road-Switchers

Model Type	Units Built	Date Built	Horsepower
U18B	163	3/1973-10/1976	1,800
U23B	481	8/1968-6/1977	2,250
U25B	478	4/1959-2/1966	2,500
U28B	148	1/1966-12/1966	2,800
U30B	295	5/1966-3/1975	3,000
U33B	137	9/1967-8/1970	3,300
U36B	125	5/1970-12/1974	3,600
U23C	223	3/1968-9/1970	2,250-2,300
U25C	113	9/1963-12/1965	2,500
U28C	71	12/1965-12/1966	2,800
U28CG	10	7/1966-8/1966	2,800
U30C	600	11/1966-9/1976	3,000
U30CG	6	11/1967-12/1967	3,000
U33C	375	1/1968-1/1975	3,300
U34CH	33	11/1970-1/1973, 10/1978	3,430
U36C	218	10/1971-4/1975	3,600
U36CG	20	4/1974-5/1974	3,600
U50C	40	9/1969-11/1971	5,000
U50	26	9/1963-8/1965	5,000
B23-7	535	1977-1984	2,250-2,300
BQ23-7	10 (Built For SCL)	1978-1979	2,250-2,300
B30-7	399	1977-1983	3,000
B36-7	230	1980-1985	3,600
C30-7	1,128	1976-1986	3,000
C36-7	607	1978-1989	3,600
Super-7N/R Series	127	1989-1993	2,250-3,000
B32-8	69	1984-1991	3,150
B32-8W	1 (Demonstrator)	1989	3,150
B36-8	1 (Demonstrator)	1982	3,600
B39-8	146	1984-1988	3,900
B40-8	155	1988-1989	4,000
B40-8W	84	1988-1992	4,000
C32-8	10	1984	3,200
C39-8	161	1986-1987	3,900
C40-8	584	1987-1991	4,000
C40-8W	847	1989-1994	4,000
C41-8W	108	1993	4,135
C40-8M	84	1990-1994	4,000
C44-8W	53 (Built for CSX)	1993-1994	4,400
C40-9	125 (Built for NS)	1995	4,000
C40-9W (Built for NS)	1,090	1996-2004	4,000
C44-9W	2,366	1993-2006	4,390
C44-9WL	27	1994-1995	4,400
C44-9WM (Built for Brazilian Railroads)	148	1997-2008	4,400
BB40-9WM (Built for Brazilian Railroads)	251	1997-2012	4,000
C44-MEi (Built for Brazilian Railroads)	18	2008	4,000
AC4400CW	2,972	1993-2007	4,400
AC6000CW	318	1995-2000	4,400-6,000
ES40DC	220	2004-2008	4,000
ES44DC	1,149	2005-2010	4,400
ES44AC	3,764	2002-2020	4,400
ES44C4	1,137	2009-2015	4,400
ET44AC	787	2014-2020	4,400
ET44C4	325	2015-2020	4,400

Missouri Pacific U23B #4532 was photographed here in North Little Rock, Arkansas on March 18, 1985. Author's collection.

Evolution Series

The ES40DC, ES44DC, and ES44AC are part of the newest General Electric locomotives known as Evolution Series.

Not included in the above tables are the variants and foreign examples of these designs such as the ES40ACi, ES44AC-H, ES44C4, ES44DCi, and ES58ACi.

The Evolution Series followed the builder’s Dash 9 models and is designed to offer just as much horsepower as conventional diesels but by burning much less fuel and in turn producing fewer emissions.

The series was designed to meet the EPA’s Tier 2 requirement of emissions standards and is powered by a GEVO 12-cylinder prime mover. So far these new series continues to sell well for GE, sustaining it as the premier locomotive builder nationwide.

With the marriage of GE Transportation and Wabtec, made official on February 25, 2019, the new corporation was referred to as Wabtec Freight.

Their production includes locomotives and parts, mining equipment, heavy-duty diesel engines, railroad components, information services, and transit systems.

A handsome little Santa Fe 44-tonner, #463, at rest between assignments switching the American Grain Company in Plainview, Texas, circa 1970. American-Rails.com collection.