1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 80 01: Wikimedia Commons· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The GE U17C diesel–electric locomotive was introduced by GE Transportation as an export model road switcher locomotive in 1973. Easy to spot due to its relatively short length — 52 ft 9 in (16.08 m) — it was powered by the 8-cylinder FDL-8T engine. Very similar to the U18B, it included an extended body section to house a larger air filter and cooling units.
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 53 years ago, in 1973.
- 1.3 MW is about 15 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 9 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 15.9 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
- 1973–1981
- number built
- 30
- kind
- Diesel–electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- Syria
- builders
- GE Transportation
- operators
- Syrian Railways, rail transport in Jordan
- top speed
- 103 km/h
- power
- 1.3 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- Co′Co′
- length
- 15.9 m
- weight
- 53.5 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q5513299, Wikipedia: GE U17C (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.