Diesel of the Day 7/2: EMD SD40-2
19As the goat for July, I’ve decided to make my post of the day train-themed: each day will feature a different diesel railway locomotive, with information and a picture. (I’ll try to use my own photos!)
For the first entry, I’ll use one of the best diesels of all time: the EMD SD40-2. This workhorse machine was built by the (then) Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, now owned by Caterpillar. It was one of the most popular diesels, with almost 4,000 of them sold between 1972 and 1986 to railroads large and small across the world. Its winning combination of versatility, reliability, and durability is still going today, with better than 3/4 of the original production still in service. This model is powered by a GM-EMD 16-645E3 turbocharged two-stroke V16 diesel engine producing 3,000 horsepower. The example pictured once worked for the Union Pacific Railroad, but is now employed in my home state by the Florida East Coast Railway. UP had the nose lengthened to house special radio control equipment, and the long nose is affectionately referred to as the ‘snoot’.
- 11 comments, 17 replies
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@therealjrn TWSS
Kinda ugly, tho
/image ugly train
@compunaut My tastes tend to run towards these angular American diesels. I think they’re the perfect merging of form and function! I don’t care for most foreign designs.
@compunaut Hush. There is no such thing as an ugly train.
Wow I know very little about trains. I kinda expected a pool toy of the day. Thank you for the delightful surprise
@CaptAmehrican I’m glad you enjoy! I’d considered pooltoy of the day but may not have been able to come up with enough interesting designs for a whole month. Maybe next time…
I’ll try to keep up with your daily post. To be ready when you get there, I’ll dig through my photos to find the one that Google thought was a panorama, so it stitched a few shots of a GE ES44AC in Heritage Paint, making it a stretch version like I’ve never seen.
@Euniceandrich That sounds awesome…like a GE Centipede!
/giphy i like trains
‘snoot’
/giphy boop snoot
@fibrs86 As an avgeek as well, I appreciate this.
@djslack Adorable!! I, too, give excellent nose boops.
@PlacidPenguin I don’t get it. Should I get it?
@PlacidPenguin @therealjrn The cartoon strip represents Thomas the tank engine, a popular tv show. In the show, a man named Sir Toppem Hat was the boss of the trains.
In the white panes, the strip represents the norm of the tv show.
The gray pane portrays the Sir Toppem Hat as an insane person.
Its humor comes from the fact we took it for granted in the books/TV show, that it was normal to talk to trains with faces. Bringing that premise into the real world we see what would really happen.
@caffeine_dude @PlacidPenguin Thanks
Well, trains are nice (I do like them) but I’ve been wanting a diesel pickup for a long time. Not sure I’m going to get one at this point but a 12 valve Cummins (pre-electronic gizmo and absolutely pre-EPA mandated diesel piss additives) would make me very happy. Pickup or medium-large SUV, thank you very much.
I checked, but this one won’t fit a truck (or a train):
@duodec some of the sounds it’s making reminded me of when I got to tour a Freightliner that my dad was working on.
@duodec Diesel engines of all shapes and sizes fascinate me!
@PooltoyWolf I wanted to buy a Lister engine for a home generator set and multi-purpose motor (really a toy, though it would serve). I have no real justification other than its utter coolness. The neighbors would have choked (from laughter at least!) They got blocked from importation and the prices jumped, though I understand you can get “Listeroid” knock-offs still.
@duodec That’s odd, why the import ban? I want to do pretty much the same thing with a Detroit 6-71.
@PooltoyWolf
EPA.
A lot of formerly importable equipment with diesels got restricted years ago due to emissions; I don’t remember the dates but I did a lot of reading about it at the time. Lister type engines couldn’t be imported, though spare parts, at the time mostly from India where they had remained very popular, still could be.
@daveinwarsh how will they signal if they need to stop and pee?
/giphy Thomas the tank train
