GE Dash 8-32BWH

Technical Specifics

The GE Dash 8-32B was a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive produced by General Electric Transportation as part of the broader Dash 8 series, which represented a significant advancement in freight locomotive technology during the 1980s. The type was offered as a somewhat lower-powered alternative within the Dash 8 family, generating 3,150 horsepower from a twelve-cylinder prime mover rather than the sixteen-cylinder arrangement found in the more powerful Dash 8-40B. General Electric built approximately 50 of these locomotives between 1987 and 1988, making the Dash 8-32B one of the less numerous models in the Dash 8 lineup. Early production units destined for the Burlington Northern Railroad carried the designation B32-8, reflecting General Electric's nomenclature conventions of that period. Following an internal shift in how GE styled its model names after 1987, units subsequently ordered by Norfolk Southern were marketed under the Dash 8-32B designation. This relatively modest production run served a limited number of North American Class I railroads, and the type never achieved the widespread adoption seen by some of its stablemates in the Dash 8 family. In later years, a number of Dash 8-32B units found continued service with regional and tourist railroads after their retirement from Class I operations. The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad acquired several examples, operating them in distinctive heritage liveries. At least one Norfolk Southern unit has been preserved at the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society in North East, Pennsylvania, donated by Norfolk Southern in 2013.

Prototype Reference

Real-world information about this equipment type