Burlington Northern Santa Fe 2500 EMD GP35, 25 January 2008.
(terry cantrell, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
EMD GP35 DIESEL-ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE
The EMD GP35 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between July 1963 and December 1965 and by General Motors Diesel Div. (GMD) between May 1964 and January 1966. 1251 examples were built for American railroads, 26 were built for Canadian railroads and 57 were built for Mexican railroads. Power was provided by a turbocharged EMD 567D3A 16-cylinder engine which generated 2,500 horsepower (1,860 kW).
Many railroads traded in Alco FA units and EMD F-units for GP35s, reusing the trucks and traction motors. Examples with Alco trucks include those owned by Gulf, Mobile and Ohio, Southern Railway, and Ann Arbor Railroad.
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico EMD GP35 8221 at Valle de Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico, February 27, 1974. Photographer: Keith Ardinger.
NdeM owned 55 EMD GP35's, delivered in 1964 and 1965 and numbered 8200-8254.
NdeM 8215-8254 were built with high short hoods and had steam generators for passenger service.
(Craig Garver, Public domain, https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalrailartist/51721040666/)
Original buyers
| Railroad | Quantity | Road Numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Railroad | 3 | 2501–2503 | |
| Ann Arbor Railroad | 10 | 385–394 | Type B Trucks |
| Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | 161 | 1300–1460 | Renumbered 3300-3460 |
| Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | 6 | 909–914 | To Seaboard Coast Line 1400-1405 |
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | 41 | 3500–3519, 3540–3559, 3581 | |
| Canadian National Railway | 2 | 4000–4001 | Renumbered 9300, 9301 |
| Canadian Pacific Railway | 24 | 8202–8213, 5014–5025 | 8202–8213 renumbered to 5002–5013, 5024–5025 last GP35s built |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | 42 | 3520–3539, 3560–3575 | |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | 42 | 3582 | Rebuilt from wrecked GP7 |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | 42 | 3045, 3047 | Rebuilt from wrecked GP30s; Renumbered 3583,3584 |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | 42 | 3537 (2nd), 3563 (2nd), 3574 (2nd) | Rebuilt from wrecked GP35s |
| Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad | 31 | 242–259 | To Missouri Pacific Railroad 650–667 |
| Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad | 31 | 260–272 | To Missouri Pacific Railroad 668–680, Louisville and Nashville Railroad 1116–1128 |
| Chicago and North Western Railway | 43 | 824–866 | 824 and 825 were replacements for wrecked GP9s |
| Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad | 22 | 978–999 | To Burlington Northern 2524-2545 |
| Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad | 12 | 360–371 | Renumbered 1500–1511 |
| Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad | 34 | 300–333 | |
| De Queen and Eastern Railroad | 1 | D-6 | |
| Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad | 22 | 3029–3050 | |
| Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad | 8 | 350–357 | |
| Erie Lackawanna Railroad | 36 | 2551–2586 | To Conrail 3657-3692 |
| Ferrocarril Sonora–Baja California | 2 | 2307–2308 | |
| Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México | 55 | 8200–8254 | 8215–8229 High Short Hood with steam generator |
| Great Northern Railway | 24 | 3017–3040 | To Burlington Northern 2500-2523[5] |
| Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad | 48 | 601–648 | Type B trucks |
| Louisville and Nashville Railroad | 17 | 1100–1115, 1101 (2nd) | 1101 (2nd) wreck rebuild |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad | 50 | 615–639 | |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad | 50 | 600–614, 640–649 | From Texas and Pacific Railway |
| New York Central Railroad | 31 | 6125–6155 | Renumbered 2369–2399; numbers retained under Penn Central and Conrail. NYC 6155 was ex-EMD 1964 the New York World's Fair unit, exx EMD 5661 |
| New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad | 1 | 910 | Rebuild of wrecked GP9. To N&W 2910 |
| Norfolk and Western Railway | 69 | 200–239, 1309–1328 | |
| Norfolk and Western Railway | 69 | 1300–1301 | Low nose, ordered by Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway |
| Norfolk and Western Railway | 69 | 1302–1308 | Low nose, ordered by Wabash Railroad |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 119 | 2252–2370 | 2309–2310 renumbered 2250–2251, and 2369–2370 renumbered 2309–2310; numbers retained under Penn Central and Conrail; 5 units to Housatonic Railroad 3600-3604 |
| Reading Company | 37 | 6501–6506, 3626–3656 | 6501–6506 renumbered 3620–3625; entire group to Conrail as 3620-3656 |
| Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad | 8 | 111–118 | Renumbered 131–138 |
| Seaboard Air Line Railroad | 10 | 535–544 | To Seaboard Coast Line 1406-1415 |
| Soo Line Railroad | 10 | 722–731 | 722 only Type B Trucks |
| Southern Pacific Company | 160 | 7408–7484, 7700–7782 | Renumbered 6520–6679 |
| Southern Railway | 78 | 2645–2704, 2526 | 2526 Rebuilt from wrecked GP30, 2645–2702 Type B Trucks |
| Southern Railway | 78 | 210–214 | From Central of Georgia Railway, renumbered to 240–244, to NS |
| Southern Railway | 78 | 2641 | From CNO&TP, rebuilt from wrecked GP30 |
| Southern Railway | 78 | 2705–2715 | From Savannah and Atlanta Railway Company Type B Trucks |
| St. Louis – San Francisco Railway | 33 | 700–732 | 725–731 Type B Trucks |
| St. Louis Southwestern Railway | 22 | 760–781 | Renumbered 6500–6519; 780–781 diverted from Southern Pacific Company, renumbered 6680–6681 |
| Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway | 3 | 900–902 | Type B trucks |
| Union Pacific Railroad | 24 | 740–763 | UP 762–763 were ex EMD 5652, 5654 first GP35s built as part of the GP35–DD35–DD35–GP35 demonstrator set. |
| Wabash Railroad | 8 | 540–547 | To Norfolk and Western 3540-3547 |
| Western Maryland Railway | 5 | 501–505 | Renumbered 3576–3580 |
| Western Pacific Railroad | 22 | 3001–3022 | |
| Totals | 1,334 |
Texas & Pacific EMD GP35 612 at Dupo, Illinois, July 25, 1966. Photographer: unknown.
(Craig Garver, Public domain. https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalrailartist/50319803586/)
Preservation
Some GP35s are in preservation, while others are on tourist railroads, meaning they are technically preserved.
- Conway Scenic Railroad 216 regularly operates with GP38 252 on the notch train, painted in a Maine Central inspired scheme with Conway Scenic reporting marks. It was built as Norfolk and Western 1328 and was their last GP35 built. It was sold to Springfield Terminal in 1992 and renumbered to 216. It was retired and sold to Conway Scenic in 2011.
- Fillmore and Western Railway 3501 and 3502 operated in year round excursion service, and sometimes appeared in films, TV shows and commercials. 3501 and 3502 were built as Pennsylvania Railroad 2262 and 2339. 3501 was sold to SMV when the Fillmore & Western Railway ceased operations in 2021 and 3502 remains on FWRY property.
- Gulf Mobile and Ohio 631 is stored at the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum. It was restored and put on display in Mobile, AL in 1997, then moved for restoration in 2008.
- Reading Company 3640 is under restoration at the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society in Hamburg, PA. It was the only Reading GP35 to be painted in the solid green scheme in 1974, and the society hopes to restore it to this scheme.
- Savannah and Atlanta Railway 2715 is on display at the Georgia State Railroad Museum. It was the last GP35 built for any part of Southern Railways.
- Watco 3533 is in service switching in Kansas City, Missouri. It was built as Wabash 547 in 1964. It was the last locomotive ever built for the Wabash. It was donated to the National Museum of Transportation in 2006, then was brought out of retirement in 2011 and shipped to Mid America Car & Locomotive to be restored to operation, then put in service in 2014.
Southern Pacific EMD GP35 6591 at El Centro, California, July 13, 1971. Photographer W E Harmon.
(Craig Garver, Public domain, https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalrailartist/50308869476/)
Overview
Type and origin
Power type: Diesel-electric
Builder: General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD), General Motors Diesel, Canada (GMD)
Model: GP35
Build date: July 1963 – January 1966
Total produced: 1,334
Specifications
Gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Wheel diameter: 40 in (1.016 m)
Wheelbase: 9 ft (2.743 m)
Length: 56 ft 2 in (17.12 m)
Width: 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)
Height: 15 ft 3 in (4.65 m)
Locomotive weight: 260,000 lb (117,934 kg)
Prime mover: EMD 16-567D3A
Engine type: V16 diesel
Generator: EMD D-32
Traction motors EMD D67B (x 4)
Cylinders: 16
Performance figures
Maximum speed: 65 mph (105 km/h)
Power output: 2,500 hp (1.86 MW)
Tractive effort starting: 60,500 lbf (27,442 kgf) @25%
Tractive effort continuous: 50,000 lbf (22,680 kgf) @9.3 mph (15 km/h)
Career
Locale: North America
