Norfolk Southern unveiled on Sept. 1, 2015 its new GP33ECO switcher locomotive during ceremonies at Inman Yard in Atlanta, Ga.
Designed and constructed at the railroad’s Juniata backshops, the GP33ECO will yard service as the mother unit in a mother-slug set. So far, 10 have been built. They will be deployed in Atlanta; 65% of their cost has been subsidized by a CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) Improvement Program grant administered through various federal and state agencies, among them the Federal Highway Administration, the Georgia DOT, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
Based on an EMD GP50, the four-axle, 3,000-hp GP33ECO uses an EPA Tier 3-compliant 12N-710G3BT3 three (“710 ECO Kit”) prime-mover from EMD, D87 traction motors (which offer 10% higher tractive effort than a D77), new radiators with two-speed fans, electrical cabinets with EMD’s EM 2000 microprocessor, an AR15 main traction alternator (retained from the GP50) and a CA6 companion alternator (a replacement for the D 18). NS’s Admiral Cab, with its angled windshield, has been fitted to the carbody. The unit’s flared radiators “are similar to those of an SD70,” according to NS Mechanical Engineer-Locomotive Design Mark Duve.
The GP33ECO mother unit is mated to a ballasted slug unit equipped with four d.c. traction motors and two EMD electrical cabinets. “Unlike other slugs, this one goes through transition and does not cut out at 20 mph,” said Duve. “The combination gets very close to Tier 4, compared to two switcher locomotives operating as a multiple unit. It runs at a higher, more efficient throttle notch setting, notches 4 through 6. We estimate its tractive effort to be equivalent to that of a new GP59.”
Use of these locomotives “will help Atlanta achieve federal clean air standards and will produce significant, measurable emissions reductions and fuel savings,” NS said.