New locomotive plant in Fort Worth, Texas

[MEC407]

GE has produced a short promotional video about their Fort Worth plant, which can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYjlE4Mno3c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MEC407]

From the Star-Telegram::

Despite railroad slump, GE makes 1,000th locomotive in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH —The railroad industry may be in a slump, but orders for new locomotives at the General Electric plant in far north Fort Worth keep chugging along.

The plant near Texas Motor Speedway, known as GE Manufacturing Solutions, has grown steadily since it opened in late 2012 and now employs about 700 people. On Thursday, company officials, workers and invited guests celebrated the completion of the 1,000th locomotive built at the facility.
. . .
One of the biggest customers for the GE plant is Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway. BNSF has ordered 773 locomotives from GE since 2014, a company official said.
. . .
Workers at the Fort Worth factory build 10 locomotives per week, Simpson said.

The plant has steadily grown and has added about 200 workers, bringing the total to 700 employees, during the past two years.

Most of the workers build locomotives, although some work at a separate building adjacent to the locomotive factory that specializes in building mining equipment.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/busin ... 12632.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[es80ac]

is there any figures to what percentage of GE locomotives are produced at Erie and what percentage are produced at Fort Worth? Are there any particular models produced specifically at each plant?

[MEC407]

As far as I can tell, most (or perhaps all) export models are still being built at Erie (not including the ones that are assembled overseas). Forth Worth seems to be focused solely on ES44-series locos for the North American market. Great question about the percentage, though. I'm curious to know what it is.

Related question: how are GEVO-12 engines shipped from Grove City to Forth Worth? By truck or by rail?

[GEVO]

Related question: how are GEVO-12 engines shipped from Grove City to Forth Worth? By truck or by rail?

Everything is shipped by truck. There is a CN (Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad) rail line directly behind the plant but it is not utilized by GE for shipping.

[MEC407]

Video tour of the Forth Worth plant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HVElhNtZOQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[obsessed railfan]

GE Ft. Worth will reportedly be rebuilding 25 AC44C6Ms for Norfolk Southern next year. A somewhat surprising shift to Ft. Worth since 12 of the last rebuilds were done at GE Erie this year.

[MEC407]

From GoErie.com:

Erie isn't the only place feeling the pain of layoffs at GE Transportation.

The company announced this week that it will lay off 250 workers at its plant in Fort Worth, Texas.

The plant, which opened 2012, has been building an average of 10 locomotives a week, said Richard Simpson, vice president of GE Transportation's global supply chain. But the company hasn't booked a new order for a North American locomotive since 2014 and volume is expected to fall as the plant works through the current backlog of orders.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.goerie.com/news/20170203/lay ... exas-plant" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MEC407]

Article and video in the Dallas Business Journal:

See inside GE's manufacturing facilities in Fort Worth, where it makes locomotives and mining equipment (Video)

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/ ... -fort.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


(Personal note: it'll take some time for me to get used to seeing the words "Boston-based General Electric" in these types of articles... but as a born and raised New Englander I'm not complaining. )