EMD E6
Encyclopedia
The EMD E6 was a 2000 hp, A1A-A1A, passenger train locomotive
manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation, and its corporate successor, General Motors Electro-Motive Division, of La Grange, Illinois
. The cab
version, or E6A, was manufactured from November, 1939 to September, 1942, and 91 were produced. The booster
version, or E6B, was manufactured from April, 1940 to February, 1942, and 26 were produced. The 2,000 hp was achieved by putting two 1,000 hp, 12-cylinder, model 567 engines in the engine compartment. Each engine drove its own electrical generator
to power the traction motor
s. The E6 was the seventh model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.
Compared with other passenger locomotives made by EMD before and after these models, the noses of the E3, E4, E5
, and E6 cab units had pronounced slants when viewed from the side. Therefore, these four models have been nicknamed “slant nose” units. Some units made before these models were called “shovel nose” units because of their appearance. Some units made during and after these models were called “bulldog nose” units, because of their appearance.
Two E6s survive today. One was operated by the Midland Railway
, in Baldwin City, Kansas
but has since been sold and may become part of a future museum in Manly, Iowa or possibly be restored to operation. It is ex-Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad E6A #630.
The other E6 is located at the Kentucky Railway Museum
, in New Haven, Kentucky
. It is ex-Louisville and Nashville E6A #770. This unit is for display only, as it came to the museum without a majority of its internal parts.
One interesting E6 variant custom-produced for the Missouri Pacific was the model EMC AA. This was a motorcar-style unit which had only one prime mover and 1000 horsepower, and substituted a baggage compartment where the other diesel V-12 would have been.
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation, and its corporate successor, General Motors Electro-Motive Division, of La Grange, Illinois
La Grange, Illinois
La Grange, a suburb of Chicago, is a village in Cook County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 15,608 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. The cab
A unit
An A unit, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive equipped with a driving cab, or crew compartment, and the control system to control other locomotives in a multiple unit, and therefore able to be the lead unit in a consist of several locomotives controlled from a single position...
version, or E6A, was manufactured from November, 1939 to September, 1942, and 91 were produced. The booster
B unit
A "B" unit, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive unit which does not have a driving cab, or crew compartment, and must therefore be controlled from another, coupled locomotive with a driving cab . The term booster unit is also used. The concept was largely confined to North America...
version, or E6B, was manufactured from April, 1940 to February, 1942, and 26 were produced. The 2,000 hp was achieved by putting two 1,000 hp, 12-cylinder, model 567 engines in the engine compartment. Each engine drove its own electrical generator
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
to power the traction motor
Traction motor
Traction motor refers to an electric motor providing the primary rotational torque of a machine, usually for conversion into linear motion ....
s. The E6 was the seventh model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.
Compared with other passenger locomotives made by EMD before and after these models, the noses of the E3, E4, E5
EMD E5
The EMD E5 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation, and its corporate successor, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois, and produced exclusively for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad , and its...
, and E6 cab units had pronounced slants when viewed from the side. Therefore, these four models have been nicknamed “slant nose” units. Some units made before these models were called “shovel nose” units because of their appearance. Some units made during and after these models were called “bulldog nose” units, because of their appearance.
Two E6s survive today. One was operated by the Midland Railway
Midland Railway (Kansas)
The Midland Railway is a heritage railroad headquartered in Baldwin City, Kansas.It was chartered in 1982 to find an abandoned railroad line to operate. Midland purchased the line from Baldwin City to Ottawa, Kansas from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1987, and began running excursion...
, in Baldwin City, Kansas
Baldwin City, Kansas
Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States about south of Lawrence and west of Gardner. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,515. It is part of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area...
but has since been sold and may become part of a future museum in Manly, Iowa or possibly be restored to operation. It is ex-Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad E6A #630.
The other E6 is located at the Kentucky Railway Museum
Kentucky Railway Museum
The Kentucky Railway Museum, located in New Haven, Kentucky, United States, is a non-profit railroad museum dedicated to educating the public regarding the history and heritage of Kentucky's railroads and the people who built them. Originally created in 1954 in Louisville, Kentucky, the museum is...
, in New Haven, Kentucky
New Haven, Kentucky
New Haven is a city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 849 at the 2000 census.New Haven was founded as Pottinger's Landing in 1781 and later named New Haven by Samuel Pottinger after the Connecticut town...
. It is ex-Louisville and Nashville E6A #770. This unit is for display only, as it came to the museum without a majority of its internal parts.
One interesting E6 variant custom-produced for the Missouri Pacific was the model EMC AA. This was a motorcar-style unit which had only one prime mover and 1000 horsepower, and substituted a baggage compartment where the other diesel V-12 would have been.
Original owners
| Railroad | Quantity A unit A unit An A unit, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive equipped with a driving cab, or crew compartment, and the control system to control other locomotives in a multiple unit, and therefore able to be the lead unit in a consist of several locomotives controlled from a single position... s | Quantity B unit B unit A "B" unit, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive unit which does not have a driving cab, or crew compartment, and must therefore be controlled from another, coupled locomotive with a driving cab . The term booster unit is also used. The concept was largely confined to North America... s | Road numbers A units | Road numbers B units | Notes |
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| Electro-Motive Division (demonstrator) | |
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to Seaboard Air Line 3014 |
| Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1900 and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad... |
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ACL 501, often identified as an E6A, was built as an E3A but wrecked before delivery and rebuilt by EMC as an E6A. |
| Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859... |
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| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which... |
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| Chicago and North Western Railway Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s... |
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| Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:... |
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| Florida East Coast Railway Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida; in the past, it has been a Class I railroad.Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a project of Standard Oil principal Henry Morrison... |
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| Illinois Central Railroad Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa... |
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| Kansas City Southern Railway Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states... |
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| Louisville and Nashville Railroad Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business... |
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| Milwaukee Road | |
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| Missouri Pacific Railroad Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific... |
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| Seaboard Air Line Railroad Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad whose corporate existence extended from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line... |
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EMD Demonstrator 1940 became SAL 3014 |
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| Union Pacific Railroad Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman.... |
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| UP-C&NW joint City of Los Angeles City of Los Angeles The City of Los Angeles was a streamlined passenger train that ran between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California, via Omaha, Nebraska, and Ogden, Utah. Between Omaha and Los Angeles it ran on the Union Pacific Railroad; east of Omaha it ran on the Chicago and North Western Railway until... |
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| UP-SP-C&NW joint City of San Francisco City of San Francisco The City of San Francisco was a streamlined passenger train operated jointly by the Chicago and North Western Railway, the Southern Pacific Railroad, and the Union Pacific Railroad... |
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| Total | 91 | 26 | |||