From the current crop of new locomotives what is better, EMD or GE?
EMD still #1
Boyd,
Your question is a Chevy vs Ford type of question. They both work, and move people. As far as sales, GE has sold more GEVO’s than EMD has sold SD70ACe’s(GE got a head start with their new Tier II model before EMD got theirs out). Sales from both builders have been slow due to the economy. GE has had a turbo ‘recall’ issue in the past year. Maybe we will see a trend as the economy improves.
Jim
Yes.
Must be . … what ? like 10 or 12 threads that have already discussed this over the past few years ?
All depends on who you ask and what their criteria are. There will be as many opinions as there are grains of sand in the world.
Historically its been EMD, but I know they started having troubles around the time of the SD50. And GE took over in sales, but as has been said it will all depend on who answers. There are a lot of people here who operate them that I am sure have their own reasons why they would prefer one or the other.
Both are excellent locomotive builders I’m sure…Reputations appear to be built on particular models that become the mainstay of railroading for a specific era… From 1975 to 1990 it was the SD40-2…which is still regarded as the “slant 6” of the railroad industry. GE has done very well with its AC4400CW locomotive and its successor the ES4400CW…while EMD’s SD70M-2 also appears to be doing well.
This even depends on what department someone in the industry works for. Accounts love GE, they are considerably cheaper, Mechanics love EMD, they are simple and bullet proof (SD9043’s excluded) and crews are divided. As far as I am concerned the C44AC’s are a great locomotive, they are relaible as simple as an AC unit can be, and not horrible to maintain. The C45AC evo’s are the SD50’s of GE. the best I can say is they have nice paint still, EMD built the SD40-2, it’s been all down hill in locomotive development since then for ALL builders. The SD70’s are a great unit, and the ACE’s seem to be doing pretty good minus piston ring issues. The SD90, 9043 MACs are a disaster. Horrible electrical systems, in many cases the unit simply “thinks” too much, if it sees anything out of the ordinary it simply shuts down, but when they run they are a PULLING MACHINE, No unit has better dynamic brakes then a 90 MAC.
As stated before,
GE’s cost less to maintain., but don’t typically last as long. EMD’s cost more to maintain, but are easier to work with, and in most cases last longer, so I’ve herd. (I mean I never see any -7’s any more, but once in a while I will see a SD40-2) With this being said,
The latest crop, (SD70M-2’s, and ES40DC’s, seem to be doing well, on NS. The BNSF power we get once in a while also seems to be doing well. Rarely is there a mechanical problem (I don’t think that NS has had a turbo go in one of there ES40DC’s around my neck of the woods.) The EMD’s seem to be faring well also. (SD70M-2’s)
Now with that said, NS seems to run a lot of the “last” crop of power starting from the SD70, and proceeding to the -9. It is not too often that I see a new ES40DC, but they do happen around once in a while. Same way with the SD70M-2. I’d say that the older power is doing just as well as the new stuff.
CSX seems to run a lot of -8’s. and older EMD power. (GP15T, SD40-2’s, SD50’s etc. ) I really don’t spend a lot of time with CSX anymore, but what I’ve seen of there new power it is fairing well also.
But, everyone will have an opinion. I’m not an industry insider, so I don’t know the whole story. If I have misstated anything in this post, please notify me/correct me.
Justin
Over this way the older CSX power is still around, but the newer is making more regular appearances. You see mostly GEs but there are quite a few EMDs mixed in. A lot of GEVOs show up, I kinda like the way they look…they have a more balanced appearance to them. I would just as soon see older power as opposed to the newer models, miss seeing SD40s and kin. But you take what you get I guess.
I t might be interesting to note that while older EMDs such as GP38s and Early SDs are still around for the most part, older GEs such as U- boats seem to be mostly, if not just about all, gone from the railroad scene. Not counting tourist lines and such.
Oh, not ANOTHER GE vs. EMD thread. Both suck compared to ALCo [:P]
Better yet, let’s start a new Steam vs. Diesel thread. It’s far more entertaining than this GE vs. EMD stuff.
Oh yea alco was so good that they aint even made anymore. shows how good they are.
What? Nah, ALCo is back and building the new C644AC with perma-clean toilets, air-ride seats, push button power hand brakes, and AC traction motors. CN has already put in an order for 400.
I dunno - I enjoyed riding in 4243 all day Sunday. The engineers seem to like the old girl (SP&S 303, 1964).
Here’s an ALCO vs EMD picture for you. It wasn’t posed - that’s how they ended up being spotted while both were in Thendara Sunday afternoon (20th).
I suspect that if it weren’t for GE pulling away from ALCO to build their own locomotives, ALCO might still be in business today.
How about Passenger Vs. Freight?
What ever, Im not here to convert people from one engine to another, I know what works and what is the best engine to get from point A to point B with out breaking down and with confidence that ill get in. I have had 1 emd fail on me and it was many years ago, but i have several GEs every week break down. that is why it takes 2 GE to do the work of 1 EMD. and alcos was no differant.
Too bad neither EMD nor GE built steam, then we could really have a discussion here! I just miss the days when they were easier to tell apart.
Better yet, how about Captain Kirk and the USS Enterprise vs. Darth Vader and the Death Star.