Diesel Locomotives

Diesel locomotives, technically known as diesel-electrics, came into widespread use following development of Electro-Motive Corporation’s (later, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division) EA/EB design, first tested on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1937.  The motive power's genesis, however, dates back even further to the World War I period when an early switcher model entered service.  The industry remained skeptical of the diesel for many years, relegating it to secondary status while steam remained the preferred choice for main line assignments.  This changed after General Motors successfully demonstrated the diesel's viability during testing of its FT freight design in 1939.  The demonstrator set toured the country, convincing skeptic after skeptic that diesels were not only efficient and reliable but could also outperform the iron horse.  Today's newest models offer even great advancement, heavily computerized to monitor almost every aspect of a locomotive while in service.  As a result, the "old school" ways in which an engineer operated theirs has been taken away through technological improvements in models like the SD70ACe-T4 and ES44AC.