The EMD GP38AC is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between February 1970 and December 1971. It was basically a GP38 with an AR10 alternator instead of the GP38's normal generator.
261 examples of this model were built; railroads that purchased this model include CP, DT&I, GTW, GM&O, IC, LV, L&N, N&W, SLSF, SOU and Pacific Power and Light.
Many were upgraded to full GP38-2 status with the Dash 2 modular electrical cabinet.
Original buyers Railroad Quantity Road numbers NotesCP Rail3000-3020Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad210-217215 renumbered 209, 216 renumbered 208, 217 renumbered 207; to Grand Trunk Western Railroad 6207-6214215-220To Grand Trunk Western Railroad 6215-6220Grand Trunk Western Railroad5800-5811Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad721-733To Illinois Central 9540-9552Illinois Central Railroad9500-9519Lehigh Valley Railroad310-313To Conrail 7656-7659, and then to Norfolk Southern 2881-2884, Rebuilt into remote control yard slugs in 2007Louisville and Nashville Railroad4020-4049To Seaboard System Railroad 6241-6270 then to CSXNorfolk and Western Railway4100-4159To Norfolk Southern.Pacific Power & Light Company11To Arizona Public Service - Pacificorp Cholla Power PlantSouthern Railway2823–2878To Norfolk Southern.St. Louis – San Francisco Railway633-662651 wrecked, remaining to Burlington Northern Railroad 2110-2138 and later to BNSF. Some of them were rebuilt as GP38-3R or GP39-3Totals 261
Preservation
BNSF #2127 (originally Frisco #650 built in February 1971) is preserved at the Galveston Railroad Museum in Galveston, Texas. It was donated by BNSF in June 2020.
References
Sarberenyi, Robert. EMD GP38 and GP38AC Original Owners