Hello everyone and welcome to Train Talk!
In this episode, we will be taking a look at General Electric’s “Genesis” Series
of locomotives.
We’ll talk about the three different Genesis locomotives designed and built by General
Electric, the history behind them, as well as what the future will bring for these locomotives.
But before we get any further, what is the General Electric Genesis?
The GE Genesis, also originally called the AMD-103, is a series of diesel-electirc Passenger
locomotives built by General Electric Transportation between 1993 and 2001.
They were designed for Amtrak to replace the F40PH locomotives previously used on both
long distance and corridor trains.
Genesis locomotives feature a light weight “monocoque” body.
This means that the body’s shell is used as part of the locomotive’s overall structure
rather than just serving as a covering for the locomotive’s internal parts.
As a result, the Genesis locomotives had great fuel savings over older locomotives.
The Genesis is unique in that it was the first passenger diesel locomotive designed in several
decades to use a completely new frame rather than just borrowing a design from a previously
built freight locomotive.
In height, the Genesis measures just 14 feet, 4 inches.
One of the requirements Amtrak made when looking to replace their tired F40 locomotives is
that any new locomotive ordered must be short enough to meet low clearances in tunnels in
the north eastern United States.
As a result, the Genesis became one of the shortest North American diesel-electric locomotives
ever built.
Let’s take a minute to review the different Genesis locomotive types and model numbers.
There were three different locomotives built as part of the “Genesis” series: the P40DC,
the P42DC, and the P32ACDM.
The P40DC and P42DC are both DC traction diesel electric locomotives and have 16 cylinder
engines while the P32ACDM is an AC traction diesel electric or all electric Dual Mode
with a 12 cylinder engine on board and a 3rd rail electrical pickup.
As built, the P42DC and the P32ACDM both had a top speed of 110 miles per hour while the
P40 only had a top seed of 103 miles per hour.
Later on, the P40s were upgraded to reach a top speed of 110 miles per hour to match
the other diesels in the Genesis series.
Externally, these locomotives all look very similar.
The P32s are the easiest to tell apart because they do not have a door on the rear locomotive.
They also have slightly larger air intake grills on the sides of the locomotive.
Now, let’s look at the model numbers.
First is the P40DC.
P indicates that this is a passenger diesel, the 40 for 4,000 horsepower, and DC for DC
traction.
The P40 was also referred to as the AMD-103 meaning Amtrak Monocoque Diesel geared for
a top speed of 103 miles per hour.
Similar to the P40, the P in P42DC indicates that this is a passenger diesel, 42 is for
4,250 horsepower, and DC is for DC traction.
The P32ACDM is similar to both the P40 and the P42 except that the 32 stands for 3200
horsepower, the AC means that these locomotives use AC traction instead of DC, and the DM
means that these are dual mode locomotives, able to run either off the locomotive’s
diesel engine or from electricity through the electrical third rail pickup.
The Genesis series of locomotives was designed at the request of Amtrak.
In the late 1980s, Amtrak was starting to look for a locomotive to replace its well
used F40PH.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, several demonstration locomotives were tested by Amtrak
manufactured by both General Motors’ Electomotive Division and General Electric.
Eventually, Amtrak selected GE to build the new locomotives.
Amtrak first purchased 20 P32-BWH “Dash-8” locomotives from General Electric to fill
the gap while the new locomotives were still being designed.
The Dash-8 was a freight locomotive that was regeared to run at passenger speeds.
It was also able to provide electrical head end power for the passenger cars.
The dash-8’s were delivered to Amtrak starting in 1991.
Shortly after, a final design was chosen for the new AMD-103 “Genesis” locomotive.
An order for 44 P40DC locomotives began arriving in 1993.
These locomotives were placed into service on long distance Amtrak trains.
Following this, Amtrak took delivery of 10 P32ACDM dual mode locomotives in 1995 with
another 8 arriving in 1998.
These were built to replace Amtrak’s 40 year old FL9 locomotives on New York State
corridor trains out of Penn Station.
During this time, some minor changes were made to the design of the P40DC, resulting
in the P42DC.
Amtrak purchased 207 P42DC locomotives, which were built between 1996 and 2001.
The new P42DC was used on Amtrak corridor and long distance trains all across the country.
Other than Amtrak, two other railroads purchased Genesis locomotives.
The New York commuter agency Metro North purchased 31 P32ACDMs between 1995 and 1998 to replace
aging FL9 locomotives and VIA Rail Canada purchased 21 P42DC locomotives in 2001 to
run on corridor trains out of Toronto and Montreal.
In all, 321 Genesis locomotives were built between 1993 and 2001.
Starting in the early 2000s, Amtrak began withdrawing the fleet of P40DCs from active
service, stating that they were surplus locomotives.
In 2005, 8 P40s were leased and eventually sold to the Connecticut Department of Transportation
or ConnDOT for use on commuter trains.
Two years later, 4 more P40s were sold to New Jersey Transit.
These would also later be sold to ConnDot.
In 2009, after spending between 5 and 10 years in storage, 15 P40DCs were overhauled and
returned to Amtrak service as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The 17 other Amtrak P40s remained in storage, some serving as a parts source to repair locomotive
trucks on the active P42DC fleet.
The genesis locomotives are now close to or in many cases over 20 years old and all are
nearing the end of their useful service lives.
So, what’s next for these locomotives?
In late 2018, both Amtrak and VIA Rail announced plans to begin replacing their fleets of P40
and P42DC locomotives.
Both railroads have chosen Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotives to replace the Genesis series.
VIA is purchasing full train sets built by Siemens to replace P42s and passenger cars
used on corridor trains in eastern and central Canada while Amtrak is only purchasing new
locomotives at this time.
The base Amtrak order is for 75 locomotives.
However, it is likely that this will be increased in order to replace the entire fleet of P40s
and P42s.
For the time being, the Amtrak P32ACDMs will continue to run on trains in New York state,
as these locomotives are in the process of a small rehabilitation program.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is planning on overhauling all of its second
hand P40DCs from Amtrak and will likely continue to use them for a number of years.
Metro North’s fleet will also likely keep rolling on for a while, although Metro North
has also expressed some interest in purchasing new Charger locomotives.
So, with replacement now underway, what lies ahead for the Genesis?
At this point, it’s too soon to say for sure.
Amtrak recently sold off its P40 locomotives that had been sitting in storage for 15 years
and it is likely that these locomotives will be returned to service.
There is a good chance that some of the P42s and P40s that are still in Amtrak service
will also be sold to a different railroad once they are retired.
One of the problems with these locomotives is that their monocoque body design makes
any major repairs quite difficult and expensive.
For this reason, the oldest and most tired locomotives in the fleet will more than likely
be scrapped and parted out.
The fleet of Via P42s will also likely be sold off.
Since these are newer locomotives than most of the ones from Amtrak, there is a chance
that some of these will also find a home with a new operator.
The GE Genesis series of locomotives has been the backbone of both long distance and intercity
train travel in the United States for over two decades.
Now, as these locomotives live out the last years of their useful lives, it seems almost
certain that the Siemens SC-44 Charger will be their successor in this role.
Whatever may lie ahead, the General Electric Genesis has served travelers all over North
America well as another chapter closes in the history of passenger rail.
Thank you for watching this episode of Train Talk!
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Until next time, I’m Mike Armstrong.
I’ll see you down the line!
Thanks for watching.