Horseshoe Curve - Norfolk Southern freight train on Horseshoe Curve near Altoona
Railroad
Norfolk Southern
Class
GE AC44C6M
Road Number
NS 4073
Line/Subdivision
Pittsburgh Line
Location
Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA
Date Taken
November 12, 2022
Date Uploaded
November 12, 2022
Views
355
Favorites
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Hot Shot
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Horseshoe Curve - Norfolk Southern freight train on Horseshoe Curve near Altoona
I am well-known photographer Brandon Fiume’s wife and he has graciously introduced me to the wonderful world of trains!
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 4073 is a class GE AC44C6M and is pictured in Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA. This was taken along the Pittsburgh Line on the Norfolk Southern. Photo Copyright: Jessica Fiume uploaded to Railroad Gallery on 11/12/2022. This photograph of NS 4073 was taken on Saturday, November 12, 2022. All Rights Reserved.