EMD GP20

what is it?

The EMD GP20 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between November 1959 and April 1962. Power was provided by an EMD 16-567D2 16-cylinder turbocharged engine which generated 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW). EMD was initially hesitant to turbocharge their 567-series diesel engine, but was spurred on to do so following successful tests made by Union Pacific in the form of UP's experimental Omaha GP20 units.

who runs it

Union Pacific RailroadAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayCBChicago, Burlington and Quincy RailroadElectro-Motive DieselSLSt. Louis Southwestern RailwayGNGreat Northern RailwaySPSouthern Pacific Transportation CompanyWestern Pacific RailroadNew York Central Railroad

base stats

• speed 105 km/htop speed
• power 1.5 MWpower output
• weight 109 tin working order
• built 260made in total

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 67 years ago, in 1959.
• 🚗1.5 MW is about 18 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
• 🐘Weighs about as much as 18 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 📏17.1 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.

diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).

spec sheet

built

1959–1962

number built

260

kind

Diesel-electric

traction

diesel

origin

🇺🇸 United States

builders

Electro-Motive Diesel

operators

Union Pacific Railroad, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Electro-Motive Diesel, St. Louis Southwestern Railway, Great Northern Railway, Southern Pacific Transportation Company, Western Pacific Railroad, New York Central Railroad

top speed

105 km/h

power

1.5 MW

gauge

1,435 mm standard gauge

wheel arrangement

Bo′Bo′

length

17.1 m

weight

109 t

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.