Hello everyone and welcome to Train Talk!
In today’s episode, we will be continuing our look at the various diesel-electric freight
locomotives that have been built for North American railroads over the years.
Our focus in this video will be on the General Electric Dash-8 locomotive series.
We will take a look at the various different models that were built as part of the Dash-8
line along with the history of their use in both freight and passenger service.
Finishing off, we will talk about the likely future for these locomotives as many of the
major railroads continue to retire them and place them into storage.
But before we get to all of that, what is the Dash-8?
The Dash-8 is a series of diesel-electric locomotives built by General Electric in the
mid 1980s and early 1990s.
It was primarily intended for use in freight service, but a passenger version was also
purchased by Amtrak.
Additionally, the Dash-8 was used as the basis for General Electric’s “Genesis” Series
of passenger locomotives that were later purchased by Amtrak, Metro North, and Via Rail Canada.
Dash-8’s were designed to replace GE’s older Dash-7 series of the 1970s.
While it is difficult to find an official answer as to where the name “Dash-8” came
from, many sources indicate that the name was chosen because development and first production
of the series began in the 1980s, following the Dash-7 of the 1970s and preceding the
Dash-9 series of the 1990s.
When they were developed, the Dash-8s were among the most powerful locomotives available
on the market.
So, one of GE’s main selling points was that dash-8s could decrease operational costs
for railroads by reducing the number of locomotives needed to pull a train.
Besides higher horsepower offerings, the dash-8s also had upgraded electronics including one
of the earliest uses of microprocessor controlled fuel injection systems for General Electric.
Because of this, the Dash-8 is often viewed as a historically significant locomotive series,
serving as a transition to the modern era of locomotive construction as well as the
turning point in new locomotive sales when GE finally started to overtake General Motors’
Electromotive Division as the dominant North American freight locomotive manufacturer.
The Dash-8 catalog comprises a number of different models.
In general, there were three main variations between the different types of locomotives
in the series.
These are the rated horsepower for the unit, the total number of locomotive axles, and
the option of the standard cab design or the new wide cab design.
Dash-8s use General Electric’s 7FDL series four stroke Diesel engine as the prime mover
and all models have DC electric traction motors.
Models used either a 12 cylinder version or a 16 cylinder prime mover, depending on the
specified horsepower output of the unit.
As previously mentioned, models in the Dash-8 series can be broken up based on the number
of axles they have, their horsepower, and their cab style.
This was also reflected in General Electric’s model numbering system for the various different
units.
As with many General Electric locomotives of the time, GE’s basic model numbering
system for the dash-8s went as follows: A one letter prefix indicating the number of
axles on the unit, a two digit number indicating the locomotive horsepower in the hundreds,
a hyphen, and then the number 8, indicating the locomotive was part of the Dash-8 series.
Locomotives were offered as both 4 axle and 6 axle variants.
4 axle units were designated by the letter “B” at the beginning of the model designation
and 6 axle units were represented by the letter “C”.
These letters are short for the B-B and C-C four and six axle wheel arrangement designations
as devised by the Association of American Railroads.
Various different models of the Dash-8 were rated at either 3200, 3900, 4000, 4135, or
4400 horsepower.
Lastly, the locomotive was produced in two different cab styles.
The “standard cab” narrow nose design had no special letter designation while the
Wide cab design was indicated by the letter “W” at the end of the designation.
This resulted in nearly a dozen different possible combinations that were produced for
various railroads in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The common models that were produced were the B32-8, B39-8, B40-8, B40-8W, C39-8,
C40-8, C40-8W, C41-8W, and the C44-8W.
In addition to these, a four axle wide cab version was constructed for Amtrak in 1991
and originally intended for passenger service.
These 3200 horsepower locomotives were dubbed the B32-8WH, or sometimes the “P32-8BWH”.
The addition of the letter “H” indicated that these locomotives were capable of supplying
electricity to passenger cars, a system known as “Head End Power”.
One other variant of the Dash-8 was constructed for Canadian roads.
Given the model number C40-8M, these locomotives had full width or “COWLed” bodies so that
crews could walk the length of the locomotive in the harsh Canadian winters while being
sheltered from the cold.
These units also had trucks that differed from other units in the Dash-8 series.
Appearance wise, Dash-8s, especially those offered in the wide cab version, are very
similar to many modern General Electric locomotives, especially the Dash-9.
The two easiest ways to distinguish between a 6 axle dash-8 and a dash-9 is the truck
design and the rear radiator section.
First, if you look at the radiator section of a newer GE, such as a dash-9, you will
notice that it’s thicker than that of a six axle dash-8.
As for the trucks used on the Dash-8, the side frames have many rounded off edges as
opposed to the more squared off appearance of the newer design of the GE HiAdhesion trucks
found on the Dash-9.
Between different models within the dash-8 series, the easiest ways to tell different
locomotives from one another is by the number of axles and cab design.
Some of the models that only vary by horsepower, such as the C40-8W and C41-8W, can be quite
difficult to distinguish from one another unless you are able to identify them based
on the individual locomotive number.
The first Dash-8 prototypes were completed in 1983.
These were a four axle, 3600 horsepower B36-8 and a six axle, 3600 horsepower C36-8.
They were both one of a kind units that were never offered for purchase as part of the
Dash-8 series.
In 1984, the first production units were completed.
Initially, the four models that were offered were the B32-8, the B39-8, the C32-8, and
the C39-8.
Most of these units were built for either Norfolk Southern or Southern Pacific, although
over 100 B39-8s were retained by General Electric as lease units.
In the late 1980s, all four of these models were retired from the GE catalog and replaced
with the higher horsepower B40-8 and C40-8.
Santa Fe and Southern Pacific subsidiary Cotton Belt were the two biggest customers for the
B40-8.
Several railroads placed significant orders for the C40-8 including Union Pacific, Chicago
Northwestern, Norfolk Southern, and CSX.
The late 1980’s also saw the introduction of the General Electric wide cab, built for
enhanced crew safety.
This same cab style is still used on all General Electric design freight locomotives.
With the option of the wide cab came the new offerings of the B40-8W and the C40-8W.
Santa Fe came back to the table again with large orders for both the B40-8W and the C40-8W.
While Conrail, CSX, and Union Pacific also purchased many C40-8W locomotives, no other
railroads besides the Santa Fe ever ordered any of the B40-8W models.
It is worth mentioning that the Santa Fe B40-8W locomotives were the last four axle freight
units built by GE.
General Electric modified the C40-8W, increasing the horsepower slightly to 4135, resulting
in the C41-8W.
Both Santa Fe and Union Pacific purchased a few of these units in 1993 and 1994.
The Union Pacific C41-8Ws would be the last new locomotives constructed as part of the
Dash-8 series.
Rewinding a couple years, Amtrak was looking for some new passenger power in the late 1980s.
While the Genesis series was still being developed, Amtrak ordered 20 P32-8BWH locomotives from
GE.
These were based off the earlier B32-8 locomotives ordered by Norfolk Southern, but with a wide
cab, giving the units a similar appearance to the Santa Fe B40-8W fleet.
The Amtrak units were also given the ability to pull electricity generated by the locomotive’s
prime mover to power lights and heating for passenger cars.
Amtrak’s Dash-8 locomotives were delivered in 1991 and pressed into service on both long
distance and corridor trains in the western half of the country.
Two of the units were sold shortly after delivery to the California Department of Transportation
for use on California state supported services.
Around the same time as the Amtrak order, GE worked with Canadian Railroads to develop
the C40-8M.
Internally, these units were more or less identical to the standard C40-8 model.
Canadian National, BC Rail, and Quebec North Shore and Labrador were the only customers
for these units.
The last model of Dash-8 that was offered was the C44-8W.
This was an exclusive order built in 1993 for CSX Transportation during the transition
to the production of the Dash-9 series.
As such, these locomotives are a strange hybrid of the two different series with the larger
radiator section of a Dash-9 but the older truck design of the Dash-8.
CSX later derated all these units from 4400 to 4000 horsepower and changed their model
designation to C40-9W.
In all, over 2,200 Dash-8 locomotives were built from 1984 to 1994 with the C40-8W and
the C40-8 outselling all other models by a wide margin.
For many years, the Dash-8’s continued as the face of contemporary freight railroading.
Into the late 1990s and early 2000s, the locomotives worked hand in hand with the Dash-9 series
that was slowly beginning to take over as well as older locomotive models.
In 2003, General Electric developed the Evolution Series of locomotives, often called the GEVO,
as the replacement for the Dash-9.
Every major railroad ordered large numbers of GEVOs and soon, use of the Dash-8’s began
to decline.
Many railroads transitioned their units to the reserve or surge fleet, only seeing use
at times of peak traffic levels.
Others were sold off altogether.
Union Pacific sold much of its fleet to Canadian National in 2010.
Many of BNSF’s C40-8Ws that came from the Santa Fe were also sold to the CN that same
year.
On the Amtrak side of things, Dash-8s were seeing a transitional decline in their motive
power roles as well.
In the early to mid 2000s, Amtrak discontinued express freight service.
As a result, fewer locomotives were needed to haul the trains.
At this point, the railroad’s fleet of Dash-8s was demoted to backup motive power, and yard
and work train service.
In the decade of the 2010s, Dash-8s continued to be stored out of service, sold off, or
scrapped.
BNSF retired all of its C40-8Ws and C41-8Ws by the end of 2016 and all but one unit from
their B40-8 fleet had been placed into storage by the end of 2020.
Norfolk Southern rebuilt a few of their standard cab Dash-8s into a new model they dubbed the
“Dash-8.5-40CW” starting in 2014.
Due to ongoing issues with the new locomotives, all of the rebuilt units were retired in the
spring of 2020 along with all other Dash-8s in their fleet.
CSX also had a few of their Dash-8’s rebuilt, contracting with General Electric to overhaul
units into rebuilt C40-8WM models.
Unlike Norfolk Southern’s feet, these units remain on the active locomotive roster for
the time being.
As of early 2021, BNSF, Canadian National, and CSX were the last class 1 freight railroads
with Dash-8 locomotives still in service.
With the use of the Dash-8 dwindling on the large Class 1 railroads, the question is,
what will come next for the dash-8?
As has already happened in many cases, a large number of these locomotives will likely be
sold off to smaller railroads looking for new power to supplement their fleets.
BNSF has rebuilt many of their B40-8W locomotives for remote control yard switcher service,
a role that these units will continue to hold for the next few years.
Canadian National has the largest active fleet of Dash-8s as of early 2021.
However, it is likely that many if not all of these units will be retired in the not
too distant future.
Amtrak’s units will probably also see retirement in in the coming years as the railroad receives
new Siemens Charger locomotives to replace the Genesis series units, greatly increasing
the spare power supply.
There has also been an increased effort by Amtrak to find new yard switcher locomotives,
which would even further displace their Dash-8s.
Additionally, the two locomotives that were purchased by California have been placed into
a state of semi retirement.
Some Dash-8s have even already been donated to museums.
While the dash-8 was not nearly as prolific of a locomotive as the later General Electric
Dash-9 and Evolution series, it served an important role as GE’s step into modern
locomotive manufacturing.
With nearly 40 years of service since the completion of the first units, the Dash-8s
have forged a successful legacy in the history of contemporary North American Freight and
passenger railroading.
Hey everyone, thanks for joining me to learn all about the Dash-8.
If you have any thoughts to share with me on this or any other episode of Train Talk,
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That’s it for now.
Until next time, I’m Mike Armstrong.
I’ll see you down the line!
Thanks for watching.