GE B23-7
The GE B23-7 is a road switcher diesel locomotive model that was first offered by GE in late 1977. Featuring a smaller 12 cylinder version of the FDL engine, it is the successor to GE's U23B produced from early 1968 to mid 1977, but at 62 ft 2 in (18.95 m) long is exactly 2 ft 0 in (0.61 m). longer. It competed with the very successful EMD GP38-2. General Electric also produced a variant, the BQ23-7,[1][2] No. 5130-5139, for the Seaboard Coast Line. A total of 537 B23-7's were built for 9 U.S. customers and 2 Mexican customers.
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A B23-7A is a 12-cylinder B23-7 with horsepower boosted to 250 per cylinder or 3,000 horsepower. In 1980 the Missouri Pacific ordered three B23-7A's (#'s 4667-4669, later UP #'s 257-259) and tested them system-wide. The result was the GE model B30-7A, B30-7 with a 12-cylinder FDL prime mover. They were not renumbered into the B30-7A series on the MP because they lacked Sentry Wheel Slip and had different engine governors.
13 B23-7's were built by GE of Brazil in Dec.1979 for United South Eastern Railways(FUS) no.522-524 and National Railways of Mexico(NdeM) no.9130-9139. 17 B23-7s were built from GE kits in Mexico as Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México no.10047-10052 and no.12001-12011.
Southern Railway's 54 units had Southern's "standard" high-short-hoods.
Union Pacific Railroad converted many of their B23-7's into Control Car Remote Control Locomotives by installing remote control equipment and removing the fuel tank and traction motors. This locomotive class (along with the B30-7) were chosen for conversion due to their low value on the used locomotive market.
Original owners
| Owner | Quantity | Numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | 69 | 6350-6418 | 6405-6418 last B23-7s built
Transferred to BNSF |
| Conrail | 141 | 1900-2023, 2800-2816 | 2800-2816 first B23-7s built
Three sold to Metro-North, others split between CSX & NS. One sold to the Delmarva coast line railroad from Conrail. |
| Ferrocaril Unidos del Sureste | 3 | 522- 524 | |
| Louisville and Nashville Railroad (Family Lines) | 15 | 5115-5129 | Transferred to CSX |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad | 85 | 2289-2358, 4670-4684 | 2289-2358 renumbered to 4600-4669
Transferred To Union Pacific |
| Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México | 122 | 1-01-1-08, 9130-9180, 10001-10052, 12000-12011 | |
| Providence and Worcester | 1 | 2201 | |
| Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (Family Lines) | 29 | 5100-5114, 5130-5139 (BQ23-7), 5140-5153 | |
| Southern Railway | 54 | 3970-4023 | High Hoods. Transferred to NS |
| Southern Pacific Railroad | 15 | 5100-5114 | |
| Texas Utilities | 2 | 3306–3307 | |
| Finger Lakes Railway | 11 | 1943 (Ex Conway Scenic, Exx CR), 1989 (Ex Conrail), 2300 (Ex NYS&W Exx P&W, 2301 (Ex CR 1979), 2303 (Ex CR 2004), 2305 (Ex Norfolk Southern). 2306 & 2307 (Ex Providence & Worcester Railroad). FGLK added unit 2308, from the Camas Prairie Railroad. The original build was a highhood model for the Southern Railway as #4008. In mid June 2010 FGLK B23-7's 2309 & 2310 joined the fleet. Both are Ex Ohio Central, Exx BNSF, Exxx ATSF. 2309 and 2310 were painted into the FGLK lightning stripe scheme in 2010 and 2012. |
References
- Hans Halberstadt (13 September 1996). Modern Diesel Locomotives. MBI Publishing Company. pp. 62–. ISBN 978-0-7603-0199-9. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- Gerald L. Foster (18 March 1996). A Field Guide to Trains of North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 46–. ISBN 978-0-395-70112-6. Retrieved 14 April 2010.