D8-40C vs C40-8??

[NellsChoo]

Hello all

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but I have wanted to ask it for some time now.

Why will an NS unit say it is a D8-40C on the cab, but when I go to post a photo on RRPictureArchives, it says it is a C40-8? The same happens with units being marked as D9-40CW, and listed as a C40-9W on the website.

What's the deal??

[scottychaos]

The deal is, different railroads choose to call the same locomotive different things..

D8-40C
D8 = Dash 8
40 = 4,000 HP
C = 6 axle trucks

C40-8
C = 6 axle trucks
40 = 4,000 HP
-8 = Dash 8

I believe the different names came about because GE changed their own naming convention..
in the Dash-7 days, they called a locomotive "C30-7"..or "B23-7", or whatever..
C = 6 axle
B = 4 axle
the 2-digit number = horsepower
and the -7 = "dash 7" (the "series" name)
made sense, easy to follow, and the railroads started using this convention, and all was well..

But at some point GE switched things around..
instead of calling a loco a C40-8, which it would have been under their own previous naming convention,
GE changed the name to "Dash 8-40C"..which I believe is the official name for the loco in question..
some railroads didnt bother to change the naming convention, and they called a "Dash 8-40C" a C40-8, (matching the old Dash-7 convention)
while other railroads changed the naming convention, based on GE's name change, which leads to NS calling a "Dash 8-40C" a D8-40C.

(if the above isnt quite correct, corrections are welcome!

Scot

[NellsChoo]

I read that over a few times... I THINK I get it! Both names have the same info, just spelled out differently. D8 vs -8, 40C vs C40. I had a feeling there was a rather simple explaination!

By the way, does the dash-8 have something to do with wiring, like the EMD -2 models?

[jgallaway81]

As I understand it, the -7 series from GE was named that just to make it sound as though it was far more advanced than a simple -2 from EMD.

Once the name was set on the -7, it was a simple Change to make the next model the DASH-8, and the DASH-9 after that.

Wasn't till the next locomotive series that that all changed, GE's Evolution Series, which railfans call GEVO's and the roads call 'em "ES40DC/ES44DC/ES44AC". This change came about from the abolition of 4-axle engines from the production lineup. ALL Evolution Series (ES) are six axles, so the B/C moniker was no longer needed.

As an NS engineer, I just call 'em 9000-series (DASH-9/D9-40CW's) or 1000's for the EMD SD70ACe's we just got.

[MEC407]

The -7 series was originally known as the "New Series." I've seen GE locomotive operator manuals that say "for New Series locomotives" and they cover B18-7 through C36-7 (i.e. the entire -7 line).

My understanding was that the 7 was chosen because they were introduced in the '70s. Likewise, the 8 was chosen because the Dash 8 line was introduced in the '80s, and the 9 was chosen because the Dash 9 line was introduced in the '90s. Obviously they couldn't call the GEVO series the Dash 0...


This topic might be more germane to the GE forum at this point.