An EMD GP38AC is a 4-axle diesel locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

 built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between February 1970 and December 1971. It was basically a GP38

EMD GP38

An EMD GP38 is a 4-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and December 1971. Power was provided by an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine which generated ....

 with an AR10 alternator

Alternator

An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current.Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used...

 instead of the GP38's normal generator

Electrical generator

In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...

.

261 examples of this model were built; railroads that purchased this model include CP, DT&I

Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad

The Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad was a railroad that operated between its namesake cities of Detroit, Michigan and Ironton, Ohio via Toledo between 1905 and 1983.-Early history:...

, GTW

Grand Trunk Western Railroad

The Grand Trunk Western Railroad is an important subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway , constituting the majority of CN's Chicago Division ....

, GM&O

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad

The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St...

, IC

Illinois Central Railroad

The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

, LV

Lehigh Valley Railroad

The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...

, L&N

Louisville and Nashville Railroad

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...

, N&W, SLSF, SOU

Southern Railway (US)

The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...

 and Pacific Power and Light.

Many were upgraded to full GP38-2

EMD GP38-2

An EMD GP38-2 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive of the road switcher type built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP38-2 was an upgraded version of the earlier GP38...

 status with the Dash 2

EMD Dash 2

On January 1, 1972, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division introduced its new Dash 2 line of diesel-electric locomotives. All designations of these new models were those of the former models with "-2" added...

 modular electrical cabinet.

Original Buyers

Railroad	Quantity	Road numbers	Notes
CP Rail	21	3000-3020
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad The Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad was a railroad that operated between its namesake cities of Detroit, Michigan and Ironton, Ohio via Toledo between 1905 and 1983.-Early history:...	14	210-217	215 renumbered 209, 216 renumbered 208, 217 renumbered 207; to Grand Trunk Western Railroad 3207-6214
		215-220	To Grand Trunk Western Railroad 6215-6220
Grand Trunk Western Railroad Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad is an important subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway , constituting the majority of CN's Chicago Division ....	12	5800-5811
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St...	13	721-733	To Illinois Central Gulf Railroad 9540-9552
Illinois Central Railroad Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...	20	9500-9519
Lehigh Valley Railroad Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...	4	310-313	To Conrail 7656-7659
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...	30	4020-4049	To Seaboard System Railroad Seaboard System Railroad The Seaboard System Railroad was a former Class I railroad created by merging the railroads of the Family Lines System. Although sharing common ownership, the railroads of the Family Lines System used different names when conducting business...  6241-6270
Norfolk and Western Railway Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....	60	4100-4159
Pacific Power & Light Company	1	11
Southern Railway	56	2823-2878
St. Louis – San Francisco Railway	30	633-662	651 wrecked, remaining to Burlington Northern Railroad Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996.... 2110-2138