EMC E4

The EMC E4 was a 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW), A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built by the Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois. All were built for the Seaboard Air Line Railway. The E4 was the fifth model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.

EMC E4
SAL #3003 leads the Orange Blossom Special into Plant City, Florida, in December 1938, inaugurating diesel service in the Southeast.
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) Model E4 Build date 1938 – 1940 Total produced 14 A units, 5 B units
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR A1A-A1A Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Prime mover EMC 12-567, 2 off Engine type V12 Two stroke diesel × 2 Cylinders 12 × 2
Performance figures Power output 2,000 hp (1,500 kW)
Career Operators Seaboard Air Line Disposition All scrapped

The 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) was achieved with two EMC model 567 V12 engines developing 1,000 hp (750 kW), each engine driving its own electrical generator to power the traction motors.

The front noses of the EA, E1A, E3A, E4A, E5A, and E6A cab units had a pronounced slant when viewed from the side. Therefore, these six models have been nicknamed "slant nose" units. Later E-unit models received the same blunted "bulldog nose" as the F-units.

Ironically, the E4 was produced before the E3. Both models were identical, save for the E4 having a pneumatically-operated nose door passageway in order to facilitate crew movement between units in a locomotive consist.

All the E4s were retired and scrapped by 1964.

Original owners

Railroad	Quantity A units	Quantity B units	Road numbers	Notes
Electro-Motive Corporation (demonstrator)	1	—	1939	to SAL 3013
Electro-Motive Corporation (demonstrator)	—	1	1939B	renumbered EMC 1940B, to SAL 3104
Seaboard Air Line Railway	13	—	3000–3012
Seaboard Air Line Railway	—	4	3100–3103

See also

• List of GM-EMD locomotives

References

• Lamb, J. Parker (2007). Evolution of the American Diesel Locomotive. Railroads Past and Present. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34863-0.
• Marre, Louis A. (1995). Diesel Locomotives: The First 50 Years: A Guide to Diesels Built Before 1972. Railroad Reference Series. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-258-2.
• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. pp. EMD–121– to EMD–123. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
• Schafer, Mike (1998). Vintage Diesel Locomotives. Enthusiast Color Series. Osceola, Wisconsin: MBI Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7603-0507-2.
• Solomon, Brian (2000). The American Diesel Locomotive. Osceola, Wisconsin: MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7603-0666-6.
• Solomon, Brian (2006). EMD Locomotives. St. Paul, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-2396-0.
• Solomon, Brian (2010). Vintage Diesel Power. Minneapolis, Minnesota: MBI Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7603-3795-0.
• Solomon, Brian (2011). Electro-Motive E-Units and F-Units: The Illustrated History of North America's Favorite Locomotives. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-4007-3.
• Solomon, Brian (2012). North American Locomotives: A Railroad-by-Railroad Photohistory. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-4370-8.
• Wilson, Jeff (2002). E Units: Electro-Motive's Classic Streamliners. Classic Trains / Golden Years of Railroading series. Waukesha, WI, USA: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0890246068.

External links

• Media related to EMC E4 locomotives at Wikimedia Commons