#2542
EMC E1
🇺🇸 United States ·built by Electro-Motive Diesel· from 1937· model of 1800 hp American passenger cab diesel locomotive
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Golden Gate Santa Fe train: Santa Fe Railway· Public domain
what is it?
The EMC E1 was an early passenger-train diesel locomotive, developing 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kW), with an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement, and manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois. They were built during 1937 and 1938 for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway for a new generation of diesel-powered streamlined trains. Eight cab-equipped lead A units and three cabless booster B units were built.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 89 years ago, in 1937.
- Top speed is 1.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 13 minutes.
- 1.3 MW is about 16 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1937–1938
- status
- retired
- number built
- 8
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- Electro-Motive Diesel
- operators
- Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
- top speed
- 187 km/h
- power
- 1.3 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- A1A-A1A
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q5323375, Wikipedia: EMC E1 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.