GE P30CH
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Amtrak #712 in Southern Pacific service on the Peninsula Commute in 1978. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The GE P30CH (nicknamed "Pooch" because of the similarity of the designation) was one of the first brand-new diesel-electric locomotives built for Amtrak in the company's early years. The design was based on the GE U30C, but had a cowl carbody like its EMD competitors. Amtrak operated them from 1974–1992.
Amtrak ordered 25 P30CHs in 1974, following up on its order of 40 EMD SDP40Fs in 1973. The P30CH was the first Amtrak diesel locomotive built from the factory to offer HEP (head end power) in the form of 2 Detroit Diesel generator sets, each rated at 375 kW. The six-axle P30CHs, which cost Amtrak $480,000 each,[3]:105 were plagued with mechanical problems and were never very popular with crews or Amtrak management. In the mid-1970s Amtrak moved away from six-axle designs in favor of four-axle units; four-axle locomotives could better handle routes with numerous curves.[4]:34
Amtrak leased fifteen to the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1978 for use on the Peninsula Commute between San Francisco and San Jose, California.[5]:12 Caltrans leased several P30CHs for its abortive Oxnard–Los Angeles "CalTrain" commuter service.[6] In the later years of their Amtrak careers, the locomotives were used regularly into the mid-1980s on the Sunset Limited and Auto Train routes.[3]:105 They had their final runs in late 1992; none were preserved.[4]:34
Original owners
GE produced 25 P30CHs, all of which were delivered to Amtrak:[7]
| Original Owner | Road Numbers | Quantity | Builder Numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amtrak | 700-724 | 25 | 40694-40718 | All scrapped |
References
- ↑ http://www.trainlife.com/public/magazine_page/57/4d/05/5430f_42d3.jpg?c=fc65
- ↑ http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/manual/p30ch-om.pdf
- 1 2 Solomon, Brian (2004). Amtrak. Saint Paul, MN: MBI. ISBN 0-760-31765-8. OCLC 56490949.
- 1 2 Glischinkski, Steve (September 1994). "Cowls". Pacific Rail News. No. 370. pp. 31–37.
- ↑ "Amtrak GEs Take over Espee Commuter Work". Pacific RailNews. Vol. 18 no. 7. July 1978. pp. 12–13.
- ↑ Caldwell, Charles M. (February 1983). "Southern Pacific". Pacific RailNews. Vol. 22 no. 2. p. 12.
- ↑ Komanesky, John (October 29, 2010). "GE U30 & P30CH roster". The Diesel Shop. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
External links
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Media related to GE P30CH locomotives at Wikimedia Commons