GE can build an ES44AC in 12 days

[MEC407]

This article isn't exclusively about GE Transportation, but it does mention a couple of interesting facts. Specifically:

15 years ago (Dash 9 era), it took GE 32 days to build a locomotive. Now it takes them 12 days.

They've invested over $400 million in developing the Evolution Series.

The Evolution Series has been the fastest-selling locomotive of all time.

Read more at: http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art ... BUSINESS03

[Allen Hazen]

Thank you for linking to that article!

... Still, I'm not sure what the claim that they can build a locomotive in 12 days really means. Does it really mean that all the steel/cast-iron/copper/windowglazing in a locomotive was rolled-plate/ingots/wire-on-reels/sand 12 days before the locomotive rolls out? Or were there long-lead-time subassemblies at the beginning of the 12 days that just had to be fetched from storage? Many parts of the locomotive are made outside Erie (we've seen photos of radiator cabs on highway trucks, and the foundry marks on truck frames suggest origins in South Africa)--how does this factor into the estimate of time to build a locomotive? Does some of the reduction in the time taken to build a locomotive reflect out-sourcing of components that were formerly fabricated on-site?

I'm impressed. I have no doubt that Erie has gotten MUCH faster in its building of locomotives. I'm just not sure how meaningful the precise-sounding numbers are.

[DutchRailnut]

lets make that assemble in 12 days, the major components are already on site from other factories.
Like Main engine/generator - trucks - electrical cabinets - frame - cab - tanks etc etc etc.

[MEC407]

Good points from both of you. But I would imagine that the same was basically true in 1995 -- engines built in Grove City, trucks cast in South Africa, radiator cabs built wherever those are built -- and GE still managed to cut the assembly time in half.

[Roscoe P. Coaltrain]

Building them faster may benefit the shareholders, but does it benefit the durability of the product?

Yes, I know, its all about needing to compete with cheap labor countries.

[MEC407]

By most accounts, GE locomotives are more reliable today than ever before... but that doesn't necessarily mean they're more durable. We'll have to wait and see.