Reliability Defined
Of all rail locomotives produced on planet earth nothing has ever touched the versatility and the staying power of the EMD SD40-2. The SD40 series was produced by Electro-Motive Diesel beginning in January of 1966, and lasting until the final Canadian Pacific order of SD40-2F's in late 1988. The two-decade long production run undergirded the reputation these engines had as the most reliable on the rails. As rival General Electric comparatively fumbled with their U Series, and Dash 7 series motors, EMD was raking in order after order for their easy to maintain SD40-2.
Even in 2025 it is still possible to find hundreds of examples of EMD SD, and GP series EMD's working daily in class one, and shortline service.
In this image CSX 8830, formerly Conrail 6435, is paced at 1/10th of a second through the woods in south Alabama. The 8830 was on the point of the then-daily Nashville, Tennessee, to Mobile, Alabama, road train Q519. This lazy spring afternoon 519 was rolling off the miles towards the final destination of Mobile. When viewing a moving train through a zoomed in lens you notice every bump in the rail as the flexicoil trucks that defined the way these motors looked do their best to absorb the impacts even after 45 years in continuous service. At every crossing the side mounted bell dings in the same manner it always has. Even though it's nearly 25 years into CSX ownership the long-since technologically outclassed 8830 continues to roll out the miles some 48 years after Conrail 6435 rolled off the shop floor in La Grange, Illinois.
Reliability Defined.
Thanks for reading and looking!
Reliability Defined
Of all rail locomotives produced on planet earth nothing has ever touched the versatility and the staying power of the EMD SD40-2. The SD40 series was produced by Electro-Motive Diesel beginning in January of 1966, and lasting until the final Canadian Pacific order of SD40-2F's in late 1988. The two-decade long production run undergirded the reputation these engines had as the most reliable on the rails. As rival General Electric comparatively fumbled with their U Series, and Dash 7 series motors, EMD was raking in order after order for their easy to maintain SD40-2.
Even in 2025 it is still possible to find hundreds of examples of EMD SD, and GP series EMD's working daily in class one, and shortline service.
In this image CSX 8830, formerly Conrail 6435, is paced at 1/10th of a second through the woods in south Alabama. The 8830 was on the point of the then-daily Nashville, Tennessee, to Mobile, Alabama, road train Q519. This lazy spring afternoon 519 was rolling off the miles towards the final destination of Mobile. When viewing a moving train through a zoomed in lens you notice every bump in the rail as the flexicoil trucks that defined the way these motors looked do their best to absorb the impacts even after 45 years in continuous service. At every crossing the side mounted bell dings in the same manner it always has. Even though it's nearly 25 years into CSX ownership the long-since technologically outclassed 8830 continues to roll out the miles some 48 years after Conrail 6435 rolled off the shop floor in La Grange, Illinois.
Reliability Defined.
Thanks for reading and looking!