GE U25B
Encyclopedia
The GE U25B was General Electric
's first independent entry into the United States
domestic diesel-electric railroad locomotive
market for heavy production road locomotives since 1936. From 1940 through 1953, GE participated in a design, production, and marketing consortium (Alco-GE
) for diesel-electric locomotives with the American Locomotive Company
; the U25B was developed following the termination of the consortium agreement.
(Alco), a company dating back to the steam era. Along with Ingersoll-Rand, GE built the first viable American diesel-electric locomotive in 1928. GE had previously produced a number of prototype diesel switcher
s, in part with Alco.
The U-Boat put GE on the road to becoming the top locomotive producer in the U.S., much to the chagrin of EMD. It introduced many innovations to the U.S. diesel locomotive market, including a pressurized car body and a centralized air processing system that provided filtered air to the engine and electrical cabinet, thus reducing maintenance. The U25B was also the highest-horsepower four-axle diesel road locomotive in the U.S. at the time of its introduction, its contemporaries being the GP20 (2000 hp) and the RS27 (2400 hp).
Though many were produced and sold, the only remaining U25B locomotives are in museums, as many were retired or scrapped at the end of their service life by the end of the 1980s.
is now on permanent exhibit at the Orange Empire Railway Museum
in Perris, California
. Built in 1963, this locomotive was first numbered SP 7508. Later numbered SP 6800, it became a goodwill ambassador for the railroad in 1976 when it was painted in an elaborate red, white, and blue color scheme in celebration of the nation's bicentennial
; it was later renumbered and repainted in standard SP livery
and was donated to the museum
. The 3100 is fully certified to run on any of the nation's railroads and is frequently used as motive power for offsite work trains.
A second U25B locomotive is currently undergoing restoration efforts at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL. Former Milwaukee Road engine number 5056 (built in 1965) is being both cosmetically and mechanically restored for operation on the museum grounds.
A third U25B locomotive is on display at the (http://www.wplives.org Western Pacific Railroad Museum) in Portola CA Engine number is 5057 and can be made operable.
New York Central #2500 is preserved in non-operating condition at the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society museum in North East, Pennsylvania
.
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
's first independent entry into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
domestic diesel-electric railroad 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...
market for heavy production road locomotives since 1936. From 1940 through 1953, GE participated in a design, production, and marketing consortium (Alco-GE
Alco-GE
Alco-GE was a partnership between the American Locomotive Company and General Electric that lasted from 1940 to 1953. Their main competitor was EMD. Under this arrangement, Alco produced the locomotive body and prime mover, and GE supplied the electrical gear...
) for diesel-electric locomotives with the American Locomotive Company
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
; the U25B was developed following the termination of the consortium agreement.
History
The U25B (nicknamed U-Boat) was the first commercially successful domestic diesel electric road locomotive designed, built, and sold by General Electric after its split with the American Locomotive CompanyAlco-GE
Alco-GE was a partnership between the American Locomotive Company and General Electric that lasted from 1940 to 1953. Their main competitor was EMD. Under this arrangement, Alco produced the locomotive body and prime mover, and GE supplied the electrical gear...
(Alco), a company dating back to the steam era. Along with Ingersoll-Rand, GE built the first viable American diesel-electric locomotive in 1928. GE had previously produced a number of prototype diesel switcher
Switcher
A switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...
s, in part with Alco.
The U-Boat put GE on the road to becoming the top locomotive producer in the U.S., much to the chagrin of EMD. It introduced many innovations to the U.S. diesel locomotive market, including a pressurized car body and a centralized air processing system that provided filtered air to the engine and electrical cabinet, thus reducing maintenance. The U25B was also the highest-horsepower four-axle diesel road locomotive in the U.S. at the time of its introduction, its contemporaries being the GP20 (2000 hp) and the RS27 (2400 hp).
Though many were produced and sold, the only remaining U25B locomotives are in museums, as many were retired or scrapped at the end of their service life by the end of the 1980s.
Preservation
Only one remains in operating condition. Southern Pacific 3100Southern Pacific 3100
Southern Pacific 3100 is a GE U25B diesel-electric locomotive now on permanent exhibit at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, California USA...
is now on permanent exhibit at the Orange Empire Railway Museum
Orange Empire Railway Museum
The Orange Empire Railway Museum , 2201 South "A" Street, Perris, California, is a railroad museum founded in 1956 at the Pinacate Station as the "Orange Empire Trolley Museum." The museum also operates a heritage railroad on the museum grounds.-Background:The collection focuses on Southern...
in Perris, California
Perris, California
Perris is a city in Riverside County, California, USA. At the 2010 census, the city population was 68,386, up from 36,189 at the 2000 census. The city is named in honor of Fred T. Perris, chief engineer of the California Southern Railroad...
. Built in 1963, this locomotive was first numbered SP 7508. Later numbered SP 6800, it became a goodwill ambassador for the railroad in 1976 when it was painted in an elaborate red, white, and blue color scheme in celebration of the nation's bicentennial
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
; it was later renumbered and repainted in standard SP livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
and was donated to the museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
. The 3100 is fully certified to run on any of the nation's railroads and is frequently used as motive power for offsite work trains.
A second U25B locomotive is currently undergoing restoration efforts at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL. Former Milwaukee Road engine number 5056 (built in 1965) is being both cosmetically and mechanically restored for operation on the museum grounds.
A third U25B locomotive is on display at the (http://www.wplives.org Western Pacific Railroad Museum) in Portola CA Engine number is 5057 and can be made operable.
New York Central #2500 is preserved in non-operating condition at the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society museum in North East, Pennsylvania
North East, Pennsylvania
North East is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, northeast of Erie. Fruit growing was an early economic endeavor, and is still to this day, as this is a popular area for especially cherries and grapes. There is an annual Cherry Festival in the summer and an annual in the fall. It contains...
.
Original owners
| Railroad | Quantity | Numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Electric General Electric General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States... (XP-24 testbed) |
2 | 751–752 | |
| General Electric General Electric General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States... (demonstrator) |
4 | 753–756 | High short hood; to Frisco 804–807 |
| 4 | 2501–2504 | to Union Pacific 633–636 | |
| 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... |
16 | 1600–1615 | renumbered 6600–6615 |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P... |
38 | 2500–2537 | renumbered 8100–8137 |
| Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,... |
6 | 100–105 | to Burlington Northern 5424–5429 |
| Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names... ("Milwaukee Road") |
12 | 380–391 | 380 retired 1966; remainder renumbered 5000–5010; renumbered 5050–5060 |
| 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:... |
39 | 200–238 | 225–238 to Maine Central Railroad Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S... 225–238 |
| Erie Lackawanna Railroad | 27 | 2501–2527 | to Conrail 2570–2596 |
| Great Northern Railway | 24 | 2500–2523 | to Burlington Northern 5400–5423 |
| 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... |
27 | 1600–1626 | |
| New York Central Railroad New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States... |
70 | 2500–2569 | to Penn Central 2500–2569; to Conrail 2500–2569 |
| New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts... |
26 | 2500–2525 | to Penn Central 2660–2685; to Conrail 2660–2685 |
| Norfolk and Western Railway Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence.... |
1 | 3515 | renumbered 8138 |
| Pennsylvania Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.... |
59 | 2500–2548, 2649–2658 | renumbered 2600–2658; to Penn Central 2600–2658; to Conrail 2600–2658 |
| St. Louis – San Francisco Railway ("Frisco") | 28 | 800–803, 808–831 | 804–807 ex GE. Numbers 800–807 were high short hood units in black and yellow scheme; The next set (808–815) were low short hood units in black and yellow. The last 16, 816-831, were low hoods and delivered in the orange and white scheme. To Burlington Northern 5210–5233. |
| Southern Pacific Company | 68 | 7500–7567 | renumbered 6700–6767 |
| 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.... |
12 | 625–632, 637–640 | 633–636 ex GE demonstrators 2501-2504. The only railroad, other than the Frisco, to have high short hood U25Bs. |
| Wabash Railroad Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit,... |
15 | 500–514 | to Norfolk and Western 3516–3529; renumbered 8139–8152 |
| Total | 478 |