GE P30CH
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The GE P30CH, also nicknamed "POOCH", was one of the first brand-new diesel-electric passenger locomotives built for Amtrak in its early years. The design was based on the GE U30C, but had a cowl cab like its EMD competitors.
Twenty-five P30CHs was ordered by Amtrak in 1974, just after Amtrak ordered forty EMD SDP40Fs in 1973. Unlike the SDP40F's, the P30CH was the first Amtrak locomotive built from the factory to offer HEP (Head End Power).
The six axle P30CHs were never very popular with crews or Amtrak management. Amtrak shifted preference, and began purchasing in quantity the EMD F40PH in 1976. Some P30CHs were assigned by Amtrak to the Shenandoah route, which ran via Parkersburg, WV to Cincinnati, OH. A number were leased in the late 1970s to the Southern Pacific Railroad where they were used in San Francisco-San Jose, California Peninsula Commuter service. 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. They had their final runs in late 1990. All were subsequently scrapped. None were preserved.
Miscellanea
The nickname "POOCH" was given by crews and railfans because the designation closely matched the word "P30CH/POOCH".Data on locomotive
- Year built: 1976
- Manufacturer: GE
- Railroad: Amtrak
- Number Built: 25
- Length: 72 feet 4 inches
- Height: 15 feet 4.5 inches
- Width: 10 feet 8.8 inches
- Weight: 386,000 pounds (193 tons)
- Cost per locomotive: $480,000
- Axles: 6
- AAR wheel arrangement: C-C
Reference
External links
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