Winding Through Willowton - Empty Limestone train 69Q winds through the New River Valley in Willowton, WV as it approaches the junction to the Princeton-Deepwater District.
Railroad
Norfolk Southern
Class
GE AC44C6M
Road Number
NS 4648
Line/Subdivision
Christiansburg District
Location
Willowton, West Virginia, USA
Date Taken
August 24, 2024
Date Uploaded
August 24, 2024
Views
91
Favorites
Hot Shot
50 Views
Winding Through Willowton - Empty Limestone train 69Q winds through the New River Valley in Willowton, WV as it approaches the junction to the Princeton-Deepwater District.
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GE AC44C6M
The GE AC44C6M is a refurbished Dash 9 locomotive from GE Transportation Systems that has 4,400 horsepower (3,300 kW) of AC-traction. Since September 2015, GE (now Wabtec), American Motive Power, Inc., and Norfolk Southern Railway's Juniata and Roanoke Shops have been doing AC44C6M rebuilds. The AC44C6M replaces the Dash 9's DC traction motors with alternating current GE 5GEB13B7 traction motors while keeping the 16-cylinder 7FDL-16 prime mover that was previously used in the core locomotive. The rebuilds still contain the original Dash 9 units' underframe, engine, and radiator compartments, but they have new wide-nosed cabins, a new front hood section, and a new inverter cabinet. The cost of converting a vintage Dash 9 locomotive into an AC44C6M is only 50–60% of purchasing a brand new Tier-4 Compliant locomotive. In comparison to an un-rebuilt Dash 9, the AC44C6M is found to have an improvement of 17% in fuel efficiency, 30% improvement in reliability, and a 55% improvement in haulage capability according to Wabtec.
NS 4648 is a class GE AC44C6M and is pictured in Willowton, West Virginia, USA. This was taken along the Christiansburg District on the Norfolk Southern. Photo Copyright: RF&P Productions uploaded to Railroad Gallery on 08/24/2024. This photograph of NS 4648 was taken on Saturday, August 24, 2024. All Rights Reserved.
