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#3871

EMD GP38

🇨🇦 Canada ·built by General Motors Diesel· from 1966· model of 706 North American 2000hp Bo′Bo′ diesel-electric locomotives

🛤️ diesel locomotive diesel
9 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. GWWR 2037 EMD GP38: terry cantrell· CC BY-SA 2.0
  2. 2. 19980306 07 Wisconsin Central RR, Stevens Point, Wisconsin: David Wilson· CC BY 2.0
  3. 3. 20220818 07 KB&S RR, Kankakee, Illinois (52683499730): David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA· CC BY 2.0
  4. 4. 2335 at the depot in Bryson city - Jul. 2024: Jmj8799· CC BY-SA 4.0
  5. 5. 25.05.25 Burlington, VT 700 and 110 (54570855020): Phil Richards from London, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
  6. 6. A&O Yard Buckhannon WV: Nathan7457· CC BY-SA 4.0
  7. 7. Belt Line 5260 at Berkley on Nov.28, 2015 - Dave George Photo (2): Dcgeorge76 David E. George III· CC BY-SA 4.0
  8. 8. NECR -3857: Mikerowave· CC BY-SA 4.0
  9. 9. 4 Iowa River Railroad (IARR) 3802 (GP38M) & 4206 (GP38M) 6-6-24 (53794598445): Tyler Silvest· CC BY 2.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
EMD GP38, photo 1 of 9
1/9 terry cantrell· CC BY-SA 2.0

what is it?

The EMD GP38 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and December 1971. The locomotive's prime mover was an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine that generated 2,000 horsepower (1.49 MW). The company built 706 GP38s for North American railroads.

base stats

  • power 1.5 MWpower output
  • built 706made 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 60 years ago, in 1966.
  • 1.5 MW is about 18 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
1966–1971
number built
706
kind
Diesel-electric
traction
diesel
origin
🇨🇦 Canada
builders
General Motors Diesel, Electro-Motive Diesel
top speed
—
power
1.5 MW
gauge
1,435 mm standard gauge
wheel arrangement
Bo'Bo'

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

Sources: Wikidata Q841684, Wikipedia: EMD GP38 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.

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