GE Dash 8-40CM

The GE Dash 8-40CM, also designated by GE as the C40-8M, was a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive produced by GE Transportation Systems between 1990 and 1994 exclusively for Canadian railway operators. With a total production run of just 84 units, the model represented a specialized adaptation of GE's broader Dash 8 series, which had been redefining North American freight locomotive standards throughout the late 1980s and into the 1990s. Its restriction to the Canadian market was not merely a commercial arrangement but was reflected in several concrete design choices that distinguished it from its American counterparts. The most visually striking characteristic of the Dash 8-40CM was its full-width cowl body finished in the so-called Draper Taper style, a configuration that gave the locomotive a more enclosed, streamlined appearance compared to the conventional hood units common on American railroads. Notably, the Dash 8-40CM holds the distinction of being the last locomotives constructed with this particular cowl body style. The Canadian market orientation was further reflected in the nose and windshield configuration, which followed conventions specific to Canadian railway practice rather than the standard North American wide-cab arrangement seen on the mechanically similar Dash 8-40CW built for American customers. One example of the class, British Columbia Rail locomotive number 4618, has been preserved at the Alberta Railway Museum. This unit was donated by Canadian National in September 2023, reflecting the eventual consolidation of Canadian railway operations that brought former regional fleets under larger corporate ownership. The Dash 8-40CM's short production window and exclusively Canadian identity have made it a distinctive footnote in the history of the Dash 8 series, representing the tailored approach GE took when entering markets with established preferences for particular locomotive configurations.

The Dash 8-40CM was powered by a GE 7FDL-16 prime mover, a sixteen-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine producing 4,000 horsepower. This engine drove a GE GMG187 main alternator, which in turn supplied current to six GE 752AG or 752AH direct current traction motors, one per axle on the locomotive's two three-axle trucks. Each traction motor drove 40-inch wheels through a gear ratio of 83:20, yielding a maximum operating speed of 70 miles per hour. The locomotive's continuous tractive effort was rated at approximately 108,600 pounds-force at 11 miles per hour, and its overall length measured 70 feet 8 inches. Fuel capacity was approximately 5,000 US gallons, supported by around 410 US gallons of lubricating oil and 380 US gallons of coolant capacity. A particularly significant engineering detail of the Dash 8-40CM was its use of Dofasco Hi-Ad trucks, a running gear design associated with Canadian locomotive manufacturing traditions, having been used on equipment produced by Montreal Locomotive Works, Bombardier, and Morrison-Knudsen. This choice of trucks set the Dash 8-40CM apart from the Dash 8-40CW, which was mechanically its closest relative but rode on a different truck design. The adoption of Canadian-standard components such as the Dofasco trucks, combined with the Draper Taper cowl body and the distinctive nose arrangement, gave the Dash 8-40CM a genuinely differentiated engineering identity despite sharing its core power plant and electrical systems with other members of the Dash 8 family.

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Models by: Rapido Trains