An EMD SD38AC is a 6-axle diesel locomotive

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...

 built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between June and October 1971. It was basically an SD38

EMD SD38

An EMD SD38 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between May 1967 and October 1971. Power was provided by an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine which generated 2000 horsepower . As compared to the EMD 645E3 engine that was turbo-charged and produced 3000HP from the...

 with an AR10 alternating current

Alternating current

In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....

 alternator

Alternator

An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current.Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used...

 instead of the SD38's normal direct current

Direct current

Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

 generator. It produces 2000 horsepower

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

(1,500 kilowatts) from a 16-cylinder

Cylinder (engine)

A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...

 EMD 645E roots blown prime mover. It came equipped with or without dynamic brakes. This locomotive shared the same common frame with the SD39

EMD SD39

An EMD SD39 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between August 1968 and May 1970. 54 examples of this locomotive model were built for American railroads....

, SD38

EMD SD38

An EMD SD38 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between May 1967 and October 1971. Power was provided by an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine which generated 2000 horsepower . As compared to the EMD 645E3 engine that was turbo-charged and produced 3000HP from the...

, SD40

EMD SD40

The EMD SD40 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and August 1972.-Design:Like its predecessor in EMD's catalog, the SD35, the SD40 is a high-horsepower, six-motor freight locomotive....

 and SD45

EMD SD45

The EMD SD45 is a six-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between December, 1965, and December, 1971. Power was provided by an EMD 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine which generated 3,600 HP. This locomotive shared the same common frame with the EMD SD38, EMD SD39, EMD...

. The SD38AC is basically the transition engine between the SD38

EMD SD38

An EMD SD38 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between May 1967 and October 1971. Power was provided by an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine which generated 2000 horsepower . As compared to the EMD 645E3 engine that was turbo-charged and produced 3000HP from the...

 and the SD38-2

EMD SD38-2

An EMD SD38-2 is a six-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division from 1972 to 1979. EMD built 83 of these medium road-switchers, which were used in both yard and mainline roles. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the SD38-2 was an upgraded SD38 with modular electronic...

. 15 examples of this model were built; 6 for B&LE

Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad

The Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad is a class II railroad that operates in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.The railroad's main route runs from the Lake Erie port of Conneaut, Ohio to the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a distance of 139 miles...

, 8 for DMIR

Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway

The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...

 and one for BC Hydro

BC Hydro

The BC Hydro and Power Authority is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia generally known simply as BC Hydro. It is the main electric distributor, serving 1.8 million customers in most areas, with the exception of the Kootenay region, where FortisBC, a subsidiary of Fortis...

.

External links

• Sarberenyi, Robert. EMD SD38, SD38AC, and SDP38 Original Owners

Original owners

Railroad	Quantity	Road numbers	Notes
Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad The Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad is a class II railroad that operates in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.The railroad's main route runs from the Lake Erie port of Conneaut, Ohio to the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a distance of 139 miles...	6	864-869	864 wrecked near Conneaut, OH (mid '70s); 865 to DM&IR Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...  200 (early '90s); 869 to DM&IR Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...  869 (?/2002); 866 (rebuilt to SD38-3 and repainted in early 2000s), 867 (rebuilt and repainted in early 2000s). 866, 867, and 868 remain on home rails as of 5-01-07.
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...	8	201-208	204, to LTEX (8/03), scrapped at Proctor (5/04); 208, stored (7/03), to LTEX (4/28/04
BC Hydro BC Hydro The BC Hydro and Power Authority is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia generally known simply as BC Hydro. It is the main electric distributor, serving 1.8 million customers in most areas, with the exception of the Kootenay region, where FortisBC, a subsidiary of Fortis...	1	381