A General Electric box cab electric locomotive built for Illinois Central Railroad. The engine was built by Busch-Sulzer.
The locomotive had 2,000 horsepower and was pictured at GE's Erie works on 20 July, 1936.
(General Electric, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
GE-BUSCH SULZER 2000-HP TRANSFER LOCOMOTIVE
Built in 1936, the 2,000hp GE-Busch-Sulzer demonstrator was built for the Illinois Central Railroad and numbered 9201. It was powered by a two-stroke V-10 cylinder engine and produced 2,000bhp at 550rpm. Maximum speed for the unit was 60mph, and maximum tractive effort was 103,200lb at starting, 36,500lb continuous at 16.5mph. The unit weighed 154.5 tons. Co-builder General Electric built the locomotive carbody and also provided electronics such as the main generator and the six traction motors. The locomotive was equipped with a V-10 diesel engine supplied by the Busch-Sulzer Brothers Diesel Engine Company of St. Louis, Missouri.
The Busch-Sulzer 2000hp V-10 Diesel Engine.
(Busch Sulzer, Public domain, via W. Lenheim Collection)
Interestingly, this locomotive was just one of three different demonstrators supplied to the Illinois Central Railroad at the time. The second locomotive was built by Ingersoll-Rand and utilized two 900hp four-stroke engines the were directly coupled to two International G.E.C. d.c. generators, which provided power to the tractions motors. The unit's maximum speed was 60mph, with a maximum tractive effort of 80,000lbs. This unit weighed 143 tons. The third locomotive, the EMC T, was powered by two Winton engines providing a total of 1,800hp. All three of these locomotives were scrapped by June of 1947.
A photo of ICRR No. 9201 at GE's Erie Works.
(General Electric, Public domain, via the W. Lenheim Collection)
