GE boxcab
Encyclopedia
The GE boxcabs were diesel-electric switcher
Switcher
A switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...
locomotives. General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
built the chassis and running gear, generator, motors and controls, and Ingersoll Rand
Ingersoll Rand
Ingersoll-Rand plc is a $13 billion global diversified industrial company founded in 1871. The Ingersoll Rand name came into use in 1905 through the combination of Ingersoll-Sergeant Drill Company and Rand Drill Company...
provided the diesel engine. The principle of operation was the same as modern locomotives, the diesel engine driving a main generator of 600 volts DC with four traction motors, one per axle.
Two models were the 60-Ton with a six-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine of 300 hp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
and the 100-Ton with two of the same engines. Thirteen units were produced between 1928 and 1930.
These locomotives were originally produced by a consortium of ALCO
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
, GE and Ingersoll Rand, ALCO dropped out of the arrangement in 1928, after acquiring their own diesel engine manufacturer in McIntosh & Seymour and went on to start its own line of diesel switchers.
The only surviving example of these boxcabs, Foley Bros. #110-1, a 100-ton dual-engined locomotive, can be found at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum
Western Pacific Railroad Museum
The Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California, formerly known as the Portola Railroad Museum before , is a heritage railroad that preserves and operates historic American railroad equipment. The museum's mission is to preserve the history of the Western Pacific Railroad and is...
in Portola, CA.
These boxcabs were often termed "oil-electrics" to avoid the use of the German name "Diesel", unpopular after World War I.