EMD AB6
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Rock Island number 750 |
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| Power type | Diesel-electric |
|---|---|
| Builder | General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) |
| Total production | 2 |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) |
| Engine type | EMD 567 |
| Cylinders | V12 |
| Power output | 1,000 hp as built |
| Career | Rock Island |
| Number | 750 and 751 |
| Delivered | June 1940 |
| Retired | mid-1970s |
The EMD AB6 was a diesel locomotive type built exclusively for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (the "Rock Island Line") by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division and delivered in June 1940. Two examples were built, numbered #750 and #751. They were built for the Rocky Mountain Rocket passenger train, which travelled as a unified train from Chicago, Illinois, to Limon, Colorado, but then divided, one segment going to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the other to Denver, Colorado. The Rock Island desired a locomotive which could look like an integrated part of the train during the Chicago-Limon portion of the route, but could then be operated independently to take three cars to Colorado Springs. A regular, cab-equipped A-unit could have been purchased, but that would have ruined the streamlined look of the train, so the RI had EMD build a flat-fronted locomotive based on an E-series EMD E6B (B unit) but with an operating cab, headlight, pilot and other features to enable it to operate as an independent locomotive.
Since the small three- and four-car trains the units would have to haul independently were very light, the AB6 pair were built with only one 1,000 hp EMD 567 V12 engine, and a baggage compartment where the second engine would have been. Later, with increasing trainloads, the baggage compartment was replaced with a second engine.
In 1965, the units had their steam generators replaced with head-end power and were reassigned to push-pull suburban service in the Chicago area. In this form, they lasted until the mid 1970s.
[edit] References
- Marre, Louis A. (1995). Diesel Locomotives: The First 50 Years, p.123. Kalmbach Publishing Co. ISBN 0-89024-258-5.
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