what is it?
The GE BQ23-7 was a model of diesel locomotive manufactured by General Electric, a variant of the B23-7 built between 1978 and 1979 (the 'Q' stood for "crew Quarters"). It was mechanically identical to a regular B23-7, but equipped with an enlarged operating cab for accommodating the train crew, thus making a case for eliminating the caboose from the rear of freight trains. SCL no.5130-5139 were the only ones 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 48 years ago, in 1978.
- 1.7 MW is about 20 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1978–1979
- retired
- 2001
- status
- retired
- number built
- 10
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- General Electric
- operators
- Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, Seaboard System Railroad, CSX Transportation
- top speed
- 113 km/h
- power
- 1.7 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- B-B
- nicknames
- "Busses", "Aegis Cruisers"
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q5513256, Wikipedia: GE BQ23-7 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.