EMD GP39-2


The EMD GP39-2 is a 4-axle road switcher diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1974 and 1984. 239 examples of this locomotive were built for American railroads. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP39-2 was an upgraded GP39. The power for this locomotive was provided by a turbocharged 12-cylinder EMD 645E3 diesel engine, which could produce.
Unlike the original GP39, which sold only 23 examples as railroads preferred the reliable un-turbocharged GP38, the GP39-2 was reasonably successful, ascribed to its better fuel economy relative to the GP38-2 which became of more interest in the 1970s energy-crisis, and to its better performance at altitude.

Original Owners

The GP39-2 sold to five railroads and two industrial operators:
RailroadQuantityRoad numbersNotes
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway1063600–3705All to BNSF
Burlington Northern Railroad402700–2739All to BNSF
Delaware and Hudson Railway207601–7620Later Became B&M 350-369, Sold To Union Pacific in 1996 And Now All Are Owned By WATCO.
Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation321–3, 705–711, 779–799, 905Several given high cabs for high clearance
Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad20360–379371 to UP as 2370, then to NEGS, then to WAMX as 3927, operating with AA
Phelps Dodge Corporation133
Reading Railroad203401–3420To DH, now most in service with CSX

Rebuilds

Several GP40-2 locomotives were rebuilt by Morrison–Knudsen with head-end power generators, which meant that 1,000 horsepower of the locomotive would go to the generator instead of being used for tractive effort. Because of this, they were renamed the GP39H-2 class of locomotives.

Preservation

Only one GP39-2 is preserved as of 2019: