GE B30-7

The GE B30-7 is a diesel-electric locomotive model produced by GE from 1977 to 1983 as part of their Dash 7 Series, featuring a 16 cylinder engine producing 3,000 horsepower. A total of 399 units were produced, including 120 cabless B30-7A units.^[1] The B30-7AB/A(B) is an unofficial model. The B30-7 was GE's successor to the U30B.

GE B30-7
St Louis Southwestern (SSW), aka Cotton Belt #7784 in Rosenberg, Texas, January 5, 2001, very late in life.
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder GE Transportation Systems Build date December 1977 – October 1983 Total produced 399
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Length 61 ft 2 in (18.64 m) Prime mover GE FDL-16 Engine type V16 diesel V12 diesel for B30-7A variants Cylinders 16 12 for B30-7A variants
Performance figures Power output 3,000 hp (2,200 kW)
Career Operators See table: Original owners Locale North America

Design and production history

BN 4010, a B30-7A, working in Aurora, Illinois, in 1993.

The B30-7 was designed from the B23-7, and was nearly identical in appearance. However, the B30-7 featured 3,000 horsepower, compared to the B23-7's 2,300 horsepower. Almost all were built with FB2 trucks.^[1]

GE produced several variants of the B30-7. These were developed from an experimental modification of the B23-7's 12-cylinder engine in June 1980 to uprate it to 3,000 horsepower. By using the 12 cylinder prime mover instead of the 16 cylinder version, railroads saved money on fuel and maintenance, and most subsequent B30-7s incorporated a 12-cylinder engine. Variants using this engine were the B30-7A, B30-7A1 and the cabless B30-7A. The B30-7A without a cab is unofficially known as the B30-7A(B) to distinguish it from the version with a cab.^[1]

B30-7As were built only for the Missouri Pacific Railroad and are externally identical to the 16-cylinder version B30-7. B30-7A1s, which featured a high short hood, were built only for the Southern Railway.

Cabless B30-7A(B)s were built only for the Burlington Northern Railroad.^[1]

Operational history

Shortline railroad Providence and Worcester Railroad acquired five ex-BN B30-7A(B) cabless units, reclassified as B30-7AB units, numbered #3004-3008, in 2001. National Railway Equipment acquired these locomotives in 2015.^[2] Most of the remaining B30-7A(B)s were retired in 1999.^[1]

Current Operators

As of April 2024^[update], two B30-7 or B30-7As remain in remote control master unit service on the Union Pacific Railroad (out of the original 55 that were converted). As of the same time, multiple units also remain on the Minnesota Commercial Railway and West Tennessee Railroad, while the Natchez Railway was attempting to sell theirs.^[3]

Preservation

• Chesapeake & Ohio #8272 is preserved at the Lake Shore Railway Museum in North East, Pennsylvania.^[3][4] It was donated by CSX in 2017.
• Southern Pacific #7815 is owned by the Midwest Overland Rail Preservation Society. It was donated by Pennsy Supply Inc in 2024.

• Southern Pacific #7863 is preserved by a private owner in South Fork, Colorado.^[5]

Original owners

Railroad	Quantity	Road numbers	Notes
Burlington Northern Railroad	120	4000-4119	model B30-7A(B) cabless units
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway	64	8235-8298	Chessie System Paint
Missouri Pacific Railroad	58	4800-4854	model B30-7A. The first three were an experimental modification of the B23-7.
St. Louis - San Francisco Railway	8	863-870	rode on Alco trade in trucks
St. Louis Southwestern Railway	26	7774-7799
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad	17	5500-5516	Family Lines Paint
Southern Pacific Railroad	84	7800-7883
Southern Railway	22	3500-3521	model B30-7A1