GE P30CH
| GE P30CH | |
|---|---|
standard gauge | |
| Trucks | GE 3-axle floating bolster |
| Wheel diameter | 40 in (1,016 mm) |
| Minimum curve | 29° (199.70 ft or 60.87 m) |
| Wheelbase | Locomotive:
46 ft (14.02 m) Truck: 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m) |
| Length | 72 ft 4 in (22.05 m) |
| Width | 10 ft 8.8 in (3.27 m) |
| Height | 15 ft 4+1⁄2 in (4.69 m) |
SP | |
| Nicknames | Pooch |
| Last run | 1992 |
| Disposition | All scrapped |
The GE P30CH was one of the first brand-new
History
Amtrak ordered 25 P30CHs in 1974, following up on its order of 40
The P30CH was the first Amtrak diesel locomotive built from the factory to offer HEP (
The six-axle P30CHs, which cost Amtrak $480,000 each,[2]: 105 were plagued with mechanical problems and were never very popular with crews or Amtrak management. In the mid-1970s Amtrak moved away from six-axle designs in favor of four-axle units; four-axle locomotives could better handle routes with numerous curves.[3]: 34 Ultimately the four-axle EMD F40PHs quickly began to supersede the P30CHs soon after their introduction by Amtrak.
Amtrak leased fifteen to the
Two units were wrecked prior to official retirement. In 1978, P30CH #713 was involved in a collision
In the later years of their Amtrak careers, the locomotives were used regularly into the mid-1980s on the
Original owners
GE produced 25 P30CHs, all of which were delivered to Amtrak:[citation needed]
| Original Owner | Road Numbers | Quantity | Builder Numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amtrak | 700-724 | 25 | 40694-40718 | 15 units leased to Southern Pacific in 1978. 715 wrecked and retired after being involved in the Harvey, Illinois train collision
|
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-29. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ ISBN 978-0-7603-1765-5.
- ^ a b Glischinkski, Steve (September 1994). "Cowls". Pacific RailNews. No. 370. pp. 31–37. Archived from the original on 2014-09-12.
- ^ "Amtrak GEs Take over Espee Commuter Work". Pacific RailNews. Vol. 18, no. 7. July 1978. pp. 12–13. Archived from the original on 2014-09-12.
- ^ Caldwell, Charles M. (February 1983). "Southern Pacific". Pacific RailNews. Vol. 22, no. 2. p. 12. Archived from the original on 2014-09-11.
- ^ "AMTK 713 - Wrecked". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
External links
Media related to GE P30CH locomotives at Wikimedia Commons
