Horse Mane at Midnight

About the Author

— Spencer Harman

I have had a mild interest in trains my whole life, mainly liking railroad crossings. I haven't become a true tailfan until 2021, but I haven't looked back since. And since 2022 I've gotten into still photography.

About the Locomotive Class

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.

Photo Blurb

NS 4004 is a class GE AC44C6M and is pictured in Kendallville, Indiana, United States. This was taken along the Chicago Line on the Norfolk Southern Railway. Photo Copyright: Spencer Harman uploaded to Railroad Gallery on 12/18/2022. This photograph of NS 4004 was taken on Monday, December 19, 2022. All Rights Reserved.