EMD model GP30

(Roster compiled from Bernard G. Corbin's "the Burlington in Transition" and Robert C. Del Grosso's "Burlington Northern 1980-1991 Annual" and "The Burlington Northern Railroad in 1993.") Click on photos and diagrams to see larger size.

Shortly after the announcement of the 2250 horsepower GP30, the Burlington placed a $5.8 million order for thirty of the new turbocharged V-16 locomotives. Twenty-three FT's and seven F2's were traded-in to save an average of $54,000 per unit. The Burlington was the second road to accept delivery of the new locomotives and the first among the western roads. The first GP30's were delivered to Lincoln, Nebraska in April of 1962, with the remainder of the order delivered by July. The locomotives were numbered 940-969, following in sequence the year-old GP20's. Upon arrival they were assigned to the general diesel pool where they remained until the Burlington Northern merger.

GP30 #968 looks pretty clean in this shot in East St. Louis in 1970. (Courtesy Jan Kohl/Castle Graphics)

The Burlington units were a fairly standard model of the GP30 with a low nose, dynamic brakes and a three-chime air horn, initially mounted on the hood and later mounted towards the rear. The Burlington units however, did not have drop steps or walkway chains. Weighing in at 257,400 pounds, the locomotives exerted a tractive effort of 64,350 pounds at start-up and were geared with a ratio of 62:15 to allow running of up to 75 miles per hour. The new Burlington chinese-red-and-gray paint scheme, adopted in 1958, seemed to fit the GP30's "stylized" contours better than other road's schemes.

Pleased with their first order, the Burlington ordered an additional eight GP30's that were delivered between May and September of 1963. These units were numbered 970-977, and were virtually identical to the first order except that they weighed 2,900 to 3,200 pounds more per unit. Eight 15- and 16-year- old F3's were used as trade-ins on these units. In a matter of three years Burlington's F-unit roster was reduced by sixty-five units, leaving only seven FT's and two F2's.

GP30 #969 rolls through Brookfield, IL, with a GN GP20 in tow, August 1970. (Courtesy Jan Kohl/Castle Graphics)

At the beginning of their Burlington careers, the GP30's were run in solid model consists to showcase the progressiveness of their owner. It was not uncommon to see three- to five-unit matched sets on Burlington's freights. The GP30's also fit well into the motive power pooling agreements with the Union Pacific, Rio Grande, Erie Lackawanna, New York Central and the Pennsylvania . Pooling power avoids lengthy terminal delays enroute, and could cut up to two days off a scheduled coast-to-coast run. Mileage equalization between pooling roads frequently placed Burlington units from coast to coast, sometimes far from their assigned pool routes. Likewise, the other pooling partner's locomotives were often found anywhere on the Burlington system. The most familiar pool with GP30's was the Burlington-Union Pacific hot shot freight, the Chicago to Grand Island (NE) or symbol C-GI. Often, five to six GP30's from both roads were operated on this train. A Burlington unit, equip ped with cab signals for the triple-track speedway in Chicago, was always on the point.

Brand-new GP30 #971 at Cicero, Illinois, October 1963. (Courtesy Jan Kohl/Castle Graphics)

The GP30's performed well for the Burlington and all thirty-eight were turned over to the Burlington Northern on March 2, 1970, becoming BN 2217-2254, following the GN GP30's that became BN 2200-2216. The first Burlington GP30 to be scrapped was the result of a derailment in Oregon on February 18, 1974. Ex-Burlington 953 (BN 2230) was sold for scrap to Intercity Junk Company in Vancouver, WA on April 9, 1974, due to the extensive damage. In 1982, five of the Burlington GP30's were traded in to GE for B30-7A units. Of the 45 GP30's on the original BN roster, 30 have been recycled by Morrison Knudson and EMD into GP39M and GP39E rebuilds, the others were scrapped prior to the 1988 rebuild programs.

The GP39E's from EMD have been upgraded to a 16-645D3 or 16-645D3A turbocharged engines, AR10/D14 main generators, Dash-2 electronic controls and are now rated at 2300 horsepower. The GP39M's from Morrison Knudson are essentially the same, but are rated at 3,000 horsepower. External differences are minor, except for the new cabs some have received and the M-K units that have had the middle, 36-inch radiator fan deleted. The first few rebuilds received the standard BN paint scheme, while the remainder have had the white-face scheme applied. We can only specualate how long these reborn Burlington GP30's will remain in service, preserving the unique EMD styling of the early sixties.

CB&Q Number	Date Built	Serial Number	1st BN Number	Rebuild Date	2nd BN Number	Date Retired	Disposition
940	5-62	27151	2217	09/89	2823		To GP39M - Morrison-Knudson
941	5-62	27152	2218	09/89	2819		To GP39M - Morrison-Knudson
942	5-62	27153	2219	10/89	2828		To GP39M - Morrison-Knudson
943	5-62	27154	2220			12/81	12/81 SFS General Metals Company, Tacoma WA
944	5-62	27155	2221	10/89	2830		To GP39M - Morrison-Knudson
945	5-62	27156	2222	12/89	2827		To GP39M - Morrison-Knudson
946	5-62	27157	2223	04/89	2751	08/87	To GP39E - Electro-Motive Division, General Motors
947	5-62	27158	2224	06/89	2752		To GP39E - Electro-Motive Division, General Motors
948	5-62	27159	2225	10/89	2831		To GP39M - Morrison-Knudson
949	5-62	27160	2226	05/89	2753		To GP39E - Electro-Motive Division, General Motors
950	5-62	27161	2227			06/86	08/86 Scrapped by BN
951	5-62	27162	2228			06/82	06/82 Trade in to GE on B30-7A
952	5-62	27163	2229			01/87	06/87 SFS Precision National Corporation - Mt. Vernon, IL
953	5-62	27164	2230			02/18/74	Wrecked - SFS 04/74 to Intercity Junk Company - Vancouver, WA
954	5-62	27165	2231			05/85	07/85 Scrapped by BN
955	5-62	27166	2232	12/89	2826		To GP39M - Morrison-Knudson
956	6-62	27167	2233			06/82	06/82 Trade in to GE on B30-7A
957	7-62	27168	2234			10/86	02/87 Wilson Railway Corporation - Des Moines, IA
958	6-62	27169	2235			06/84	07/84 SFS Precision National Corporation - Mt. Vernon, IL
959	7-62	27170	2236	05/89	2754		To GP39E - Electro-Motive Division, General Motors
960	7-62	27171	2237			06/82	06/82 Trade in to GE on B30-7A
961	7-62	27172	2238			08/85	08/85 SFS General Metals Company, Tacoma WA
962	7-62	27173	2239			08/82	08/82 Trade in to GE on B30-7A
963	7-62	27174	2240			01/86	01/86 SFS Southwest Railroad Car Parts, Longview, TX
964	7-62	27175	2241	07/89	2755	10/87	To GP39E - Electro-Motive Division, General Motors
965	7-62	27176	2242	08/89	2758		To GP39E - Electro-Motive Division, General Motors
966	7-62	27177	2243			06/82	06/82 Trade in to GE on B30-7A
967	7-62	27178	2244			04/87	08/87 SFS St. Louis Auto Shredding - St. Louis, MO
968	7-62	27179	2245			06/86	11/86 SFS Southwest Railroad Car Parts, Longview, TX
969	7-62	27180	2246	07/89	2757		To GP39E - Electro-Motive Division, General Motors
970	5-63	28292	2247			06/87	08/87 SFS Precision National Corporation - Mt. Vernon, IL
971	5-63	28293	2248			01/85	01/85 SFS J&J Services - Shelton, NE
972	5-63	28294	2249	06/89	2756		To GP39E - Electro-Motive Division, General Motors
973	5-63	28295	2250	10/88	2800		To GP39M - Morrison-Knudson
974	6-63	28296	2251	10/89	2824		To GP39M - Morrison-Knudson
975	7-63	28297	2252			07/86	04/87 To Indiana High Rail Corporation, scrapped
976	8-63	28298	2253	11/89	2832		To GP39M - Morrison-Knudson
977	9-63	28299	2254			06/84	06/84 SFS Precision National Corporation - Mt. Vernon, IL