Conrail C36-7 No. 6644 in Former ERIE Yard in Gang Mills, NY on October 4, 1987.
(Roger Puta, Courtesy Marty Bernard, railfan 44, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
GE C36-7
The GE C36-7 is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by GE Transportation Systems, GE do Brazil and A Goninan & Co between 1978 and 1989. It is an updated GE U36C with a 16-cylinder FDL engine. It is externally similar to the GE C30-7 but has larger air intakes under the radiators. The dynamic brakes grids of later units are located in a high box behind the cab. C36-7s were constructed with either 3,600 or 3,750 hp.
N&W C36-7 No. 8527 at Conneaut, OH on August 6, 1988.
(Roger Puta, Courtesy Marty Bernard, railfan 44, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Production history
599 examples of this locomotive were built, 422 of which were exported to the People's Republic of China, where it is designated as the China Railways ND5. GE do Brazil built 15 C36-7s for Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México, numbers 9327–9341. The three Hamersley Iron units built by A Goninan & Co were exported to the United States in the late 1990s after being withdrawn from service in Australia and were later sold to various railway companies. In 2003, 58 former Missouri Pacific units acquired by Union Pacific were exported to Estonia for Eesti Raudtee, alongside 19 C30-7s from Norfolk Southern and CSX.
Original owners
| Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| China Railway | 422 | ND5.0001–ND5.0422 | |
| Conrail | 25 | 6620–6644 | To CSX and Norfolk Southern. |
| Ferrocarril del Pacífico | 15 | 419–433 | To N de M. |
| General Electric (testbed) | 1 | 505 | |
| Hamersley Iron | 3 | 5057–5059 | |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad | 60 | 9000–9059 | To Union Pacific. Majority later sold to Eesti Raudtee. |
| Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México | 25 | 9317–9341 | |
| Norfolk and Western Railway | 31 | 8500–8530 | To Norfolk Southern. |
| Norfolk Southern Railway | 12 | 8531–8542 | |
| OCTRA (Trans-Gabon Railway) | 8 | CC301–CC308 |
Union Pacific 588, a General Electric model C36-7 modified to C36M configuration; Houston, Texas sometime in 2000.
(User:KLWhitehead, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Overview
Type and origin
Power type: Diesel-electric
Builder: GE Transportation Systems (most units); GE do Brazil (15 built for use in Mexico); A Goninan & Co (3 built for use in Australia
Model: C36-7
Build date: 1978–1989
Total produced: 599
Specifications
Configuration: AAR C-C
Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) as built, 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) in Estonia
Locomotive weight: 366,000 lb to 420,000 lb
Performance figures
Power output: 3,600–3,750 hp (2,680–2,800 kW)
Tractive effort: Starting 96,900 lbs; Continuous 91,500 lbs.
Career
Locale: North America, Australia, Mexico, China, Gabon, Estonia
