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1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Southern Pacific Popsicles (30588553390): Roger Puta· Public domain
what is it?
The M-K TE70-4S was a four-axle 2,800 hp (2.1 MW) B-B diesel-electric locomotive built by Morrison-Knudsen. The locomotive was a rebuild of the GE U25B with a Sulzer V-12 prime mover installed. Morrison-Knudsen rebuilt four for the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1978.
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.
- 2.1 MW is about 25 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 21 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 18.3 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 9 years (1978–1987).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1978
- in service from
- 1978
- retired
- 1987
- status
- retired
- number built
- 4
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- Morrison-Knudsen
- designer
- General Electric
- operators
- Southern Pacific Transportation Company
- top speed
- 113 km/h
- power
- 2.1 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- length
- 18.3 m
- weight
- 127 t
- nicknames
- Popsicle
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q30636032, Wikipedia: M-K TE70-4S (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.