Diesel of the Day 7/24: EMD Model 40
18Today we go from a very big engine to a very little one! Meet the EMD Model 40. This diminutive diesel was one of the first marketed by EMD proper, after they were bought by GM. It rides on just two axles, is scarcely 25 feet long, and weighs less than 85,000 pounds. Only 11 units were built between 1940 and 1943, most going to industrial companies or the US Army. These tiny ‘critters’ were made for light industrial work and switching short strings of cars around in yards and complexes. Each one has a standard EMD SW-style cab in the center, with each adorable hood containing a GM Detroit Diesel 6-71 two-stroke supercharged inline 6 engine, which together produce 300 horsepower. They are quite powerful for their size, and might get upset if called cute! Happily, 8 of the original 11 units survive, most operational in museums. The picture for today is an EMD builder’s photo.
- 3 comments, 7 replies
- Comment
As has been the case several times this month, you got me started on additional online reading about this example, including looking for where I can go to see this one in person.
Thank you!
@Euniceandrich It would be the coolest thing if you actually got to go see one due to my banter. They’re still on my list! So happy y’all are enjoying these.
@Euniceandrich Well, where are they?
@themutilator Sadly, nowhere near me. I didn’t know how badly I needed to see a train haha
Known locomotives:
s/n 1134 Former EMC 1134.Demonstrator,Later DVR 20,Museum of Industry, Stellarton, Nova Scotia
s/n 1308 Former US Rubber, Old Ben Coal, SCRAPPED
s/n 1309 Former US Rubber, Penn Dixie Cement no , Lake Superior Railroad Museum/Duluth, Minnesota
s/n 1834 Former USAX 7403,DPC 1 Cushing Stone Company, Amsterdam, New York
s/n 1835 Former DPC 2-American steel foundry 5g1,Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum/North Judson, Indiana
s/n 2284 Former USAX 7952, Former Acme Newport steel,Newport steel,KY NPTX 1. Owned and restored by Professional Loco services in East Chicago, Indiana
s/n 2285 Former USAX 7953,Walkersville Southern Railroad, Walkersville, Maryland
s/n 2286 Former USAX 7954-SCRAPPED
s/n 2287 Former USN Travel Town Museum, Los Angeles, California
s/n 2288 Former USN 4-York County Heritage Trust, York, Pennsylvania
s/n 2289 Former GM Cleveland-SCRAPPED
@stardate820926 @themutilator @PooltoyWolf The one at Cushing Stone appears to no longer be in service.
https://www.thedieselshop.us/BuffaloSlag.HTML
http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/741/t/151363.aspx
@bdb @stardate820926 @themutilator Bah! Hopefully it’s not cut up.
Someone in that thread seems a little too indifferent to preserving railroad history. Yeah, sure, better than half the production run survived, but when the entire production amounts to 11 units, any one saved is still significant, especially when it’s a tiny one that’s relatively easy to move, work on, and store. Plus, parts for those Detroit engines are still readily available.
It really is adorable!
@stardate820926 I want to pinch its cheeks! (Brake cylinders?)
Kind of interesting to hear a pair of Detroits in a locomotive: