Top Three Most Powerful EMD Passenger Diesels
Naturally, a lot of the biggest diesel locomotives from each builder have been used primarily for heavy mainline freight service, but have you ever wondered what some of the most powerful passenger diesels are? Who is the queen of all locomotives that haul people? Let’s find out. We’ll begin with the top three Electro-Motive types and go from third place to first place.
Before we start, please keep in mind that some passenger locomotives were essentially freight diesels fitted with oil-fired steam generators or all-electrical head-end power for the passenger cars. For example, some of the ordinary F units were built with steam heaters as an optional feature, either located at the rear of an A unit or inside a cabless B unit. Yet the same equipment is indeed standard on the FP7, FP9, and FL9, the longer dual-purpose versions of the F7 and F9. Even some early EMD road switchers such as GP7’s and GP9’s had steam heaters located inside their high noses (or short hoods). A more modern example is the SD70MAC, some of which were actually built with head-end power for the Alaska Railroad. However, since all other 70MAC’s were built exclusively for freight duty, there is no official model name for this locomotive with HEP. With everything explained, any diesels fitted with optional steam heaters or HEP but not classified as separate variants won't be listed in the top three locomotives to be mentioned.
First up, the Bronze Medal of Passenger Power goes to the six-motor F40C, built for the Chicago-area North and Northwest Suburban Mass Transit districts in the 1970’s. The 15 EMD locomotives were numbered 40-54 and were assigned to run on former Milwaukee Road lines to and from the city’s Union Station. Rated at 3,200 horsepower with its 16-645E prime mover, the F40C was essentially a HEP version of Amtrak’s SDP40F, which was equipped with a steam generator. The Suburban Mass Transit units, on the other hand, initially had a HEP alternator powered by the main diesel engine. By 1984, the North/Northwest districts and all other lines running out of Chicago (except for the South Shore Line) were consolidated into what became Metra. As a result, all F40C’s were repainted and renumbered in the 600 series. The two remaining units, Nos. 611 and 614, now have a separate diesel engine for HEP. While some of the ever popular four-axle F40PH locomotives are rated at 3,200 hp, most of them are considered to have a 3,000-hp rating. The same thing would be true for the F59PH series. Still, the F40C would deserve a bronze medal for its massive size since it was Metra’s biggest locomotive prior to the emergence of the recently rebuilt SD70MACH (I’m not counting that in this ranking).
The Silver Medal of Passenger Power goes to the SDP45 and the cowl FP45, which are separate variants of the freight-only SD45 and F45 respectively. Regardless of their obvious differences, all the six-axle types were rated at 3,600-hp, generated by EMD’s 20-cylinder 645E diesel engine. The SDP45’s were ordered by Southern Pacific, Great Northern, and Erie-Lackawanna; the Santa Fe and the Milwaukee Road were the only customers of the FP45. Ironically, not all SDP45’s were built with steam generators because the E-L chose not to have such equipment on its own units in favor of longer fuel tanks, compared to those under the shorter SD45 frames. Although the FP45’s were all built with steam heaters, they were ultimately regeared for freight duty and their passenger power plants were removed. The SDP45 might lose a few points since the E-L had the largest fleet of them, albeit as freight-only units, but there’s no denying that the letter P suggested passenger duty. Alongside the regular SD45, the SDP45 and FP45 will always be remembered for being the largest single-engine EMD locomotives in the 1960’s.
Click on the links below to learn more about the SDP45 and FP45.
Finally, the Gold Medal of Passenger Power goes to the 4,700-hp, four-axle F125, first produced in 2016. With its 125-mile-per-hour top speed and Tier 4 emissions certifications, the F125 is not only EMD’s newest passenger model to date but also the most environmentally friendly diesel locomotive for California. Like the aforementioned SDP45 and FP45, this state-of-the-art model has a 20-cylinder diesel engine – in this case, a Caterpillar C175-20. Interestingly, the F125 is even more powerful than the freight-duty SD70ACe-T4, which uses the 12-cylinder 1010J engine. Because of its high-horsepower technology, the monocoque-shelled F unit could be suitable for long-distance and intercity passenger services. On the contrary, the only railroad currently running these locomotives is Metrolink, a Southern California commuter rail agency. The F125 is not without its operational failures as they forced Metrolink to cancel some of its trains. It has also been criticized for uncomfortably loud noises associated with its Caterpillar engine as well as its cooling system. Whether you love them or hate them, we hope that the F125 locomotives will nevertheless be given a better opportunity to provide many years and millions of miles of service. Long live the queen of EMD!
