EMD DDA40X

what is it?

The EMD DDA40X is a 6,600 hp (4,922 kW) D-D locomotive, built by EMD from 1969 to 1971, exclusively for the Union Pacific Railroad. It is the most powerful diesel–electric locomotive model ever built on a single frame, having two 16-645E3A diesel prime movers. Union Pacific has marked DD40X on the cab exteriors, while EMD literature inconsistently refers to this model as either DD-40X or DDA40X. UP's DDA40X locomotives were the culmination of the company's experiments with extremely powerful locomotives that began with its gas turbine–electric locomotives and DD35s.

who runs it

Union Pacific Railroad

base stats

• speed 145 km/htop speed
• power 4.9 MWpower output
• weight 237 tin working order
• built 47made 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 57 years ago, in 1969.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗4.9 MW is about 58 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
• 🐘Weighs about as much as 39 African elephants (~6 t each).
• ⌛Served for 2 years (1969–1971).

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

spec sheet

built

1969–1971

in service from

1969

retired

1971

status

retired

number built

47

kind

Diesel–electric

traction

diesel

origin

🇺🇸 United States

builders

General Motors, Electro-Motive Diesel

operators

Union Pacific Railroad

top speed

145 km/h

power

4.9 MW

gauge

1,435 mm standard gauge

wheel arrangement

Do'Do'

weight

237 t

nicknames

"Centennial"

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