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#3872

EMD SD40

🇺🇸 United States ·built by General Motors Diesel· from 1966· model of North American 3000hp Co′Co′ diesel-electric locomotives

🛤️ diesel locomotive diesel
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. NECR 6281 and 5032 (1413943088): reivax from Washington, DC, USA· CC BY-SA 2.0
  2. 2. SP 7342 in Oakland, CA in December 1980 (31185863985): Marty Bernard from U.S.A.· Public domain
  3. 3. A.J. Verel Behind the Scenes 2: Adam Graves· Public domain
  4. 4. BPRR 3319, Goodland: Jerry Huddleston· CC BY 2.0
  5. 5. CC 102, 106 und 104 mit Erzzug im Bahnhof km 420: Matthias-Tf· CC BY 4.0
  6. 6. CC 123, dahinter CC 115 in Zouerat im Februar 2025: Matthias-Tf· CC BY 4.0
  7. 7. CCH 3348 Broadway9thst 2254: Casey Thomason· CC BY 4.0
  8. 8. CN 5289 at gladstone mi yard: TrainsAndGames234YT· CC BY-SA 4.0
  9. 9. Belt Railway Co. of Chicago No. 560 - 4673202229: vxla· CC BY 2.0
  10. 10. CN 402, Proctor, Minn: chief_huddleston· CC BY 2.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
EMD SD40, photo 1 of 10
1/10 reivax from Washington, DC, USA· CC BY-SA 2.0

what is it?

The EMD SD40 is a model of 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and August 1972. 1,268 locomotives were built between 1966 and 1972. In 1972, an improved version with new electronics was developed and marketed as a new locomotive, the SD40-2.

base stats

  • speed 134 km/htop speed
  • power 2.2 MWpower output
  • weight 163 tin working order
  • built 1,268made 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.
  • 2.2 MW is about 26 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
  • Weighs about as much as 27 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • 19.8 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
1966–1972
number built
1,268
kind
Diesel-electric
traction
diesel
origin
🇺🇸 United States
builders
General Motors, General Motors Diesel, Electro-Motive Diesel
top speed
134 km/h
power
2.2 MW
gauge
1,435 mm standard gauge
wheel arrangement
C-C
length
19.8 m
weight
163 t

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

Sources: Wikidata Q2633071, Wikipedia: EMD SD40 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.

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