The EMD GP39 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between June 1969 and July 1970. The GP39 was a derivative of the GP38 equipped with a turbocharged EMD 645E3 12-cylinder engine which generated 2,300 hp (1.72 MW).[1][2]

EMD GP39
Copper Basin Railway #505 at Hayden, Arizona in 2010.
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) Model GP39 Build date June 1969 - July 1970 Total produced 23
Specifications Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Prime mover EMD 645E3 Engine type V12 diesel engine Cylinders 12
Performance figures Power output 2,300 hp (1.72 MW)
Career Locale United States

23 examples of this locomotive model were built for American railroads.[3]

Burlington Northern Railway later rebuilt GP30 and GP35 locomotives that it classified as GP39s, but they were not built as such by GM/EMD.

Production History

Twenty of the original 23 were built for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, while the other buyers were Kennecott Copper (2) and Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay (1).[3]

GP39DC

Two examples of the GP39 were built as GP39DC locomotives in June 1970. These used a DC main generator instead of the alternator used on the standard GP39 units, but were otherwise identical. 2 examples of this locomotive model were built for Kennecott Copper Company as 1 and 2, later sold to Copper Basin Railway as 401 and 402.

Successor

Though the GP39 was not a popular locomotive, EMD later revisited the idea of a turbocharged GP38 with its GP39-2 in 1974.[4]

References

External links

Media related to EMD GP39 locomotives at Wikimedia Commons

• Sarberenyi, Robert. EMD GP39 Original Owners

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