The 1980's saw a resurgence of General Electric into the US locomotive market, giving the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors a run for its money. The new Dash 8 line made several improvements over the previous Dash 7 line. For example, the Dash 8 line used microprocessors to increase fuel efficiency while boosting tractive effort. Locomotives in the Dash 8 line were able to monitor and diagnose themselves, reducing downtime in the shops.In 1988, GE introduced the 4-axle, 4,000hp Dash 8-40B locomotive, which Conrail designated the B40-8. Between 1988 and 1989, GE produced 150 of these high-horsepower low-tractive-effort locomotives. The largest buyer of the model was the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (Cotton Belt), which bought 54 units. The Santa Fe bought 40 units, while the Susquehanna bought 24 units. Conrail fell in the middle of these railroads, purchasing 30 B40-8's between April and May 1988. They took series 5060-5089, where they remained until the end of Conrail as a Class 1 railroad.
A Meaner and Leaner Railroad
During the late 1980's through the 1990's, Conrail purchased locomotives purposefully, while shedding units they no longer needed. The 1980's saw Conrail transform itself from the sprawling network of dilapidated branchlines and multiple mainlines with a crazy assortment of locomotive models inherited from the bankrupt predecessor railroads. After shedding clusters of lines that did not fit its Business Group operating model along with the locomotive models associated with those clusters, Conrail was becoming a highly profitable long-distance mainline railroad-basically a giant "X" of two mainlines across the Northeast.In the late-1980's, Conrail still had their large fleet of 6-axle, 3,000hp SD40-2's, which could pull heavy coal drags and merchandise freights over the rugged mountains of Pennsylvania at moderate speeds. They also had their GP40-2's for intermodal service, but by the late 1980's Conrail was looking for a high-horsepower locomotive with low-tractive effort that could pull their longer, high-speed, time-sensitive intermodals across those same mountain ranges.
The B40-8 Arrives, The GP9 Leaves
The 4-axle, 4,000hp B40-8 with its enormous 3,900-gallon fuel tank and improved efficiency fit that bill perfectly, often running in three-unit lashups with older B36-7's mixed in when needed. To help reduce the cost of the 30 B40-8's that Conrail would purchase, they traded in 30 former Penn Central GP9's as part of the deal. After all, the GP9 was an ancient locomotive designed for lighter branchline and yard duties that Conrail had been abandoning or spinning off into new regional railroads. The following GP9's were traded-in: CR 7003, 7017, 7037, 7039, 7043, 7073, 7074, 7086, 7091, 7116, 7141, 7250, 7259, 7312, 7310, 7331, 7332, 7349, 7355, 7359, 7468, 7382, 7383, 7389, 7393, 7405, 7426, 7444, 7469, and 7471.A Few Changes
General Electric originally delivered the locomotives with a short handrail positioned horizontally across the nose. This small middle grab on the nose was intended for use when crossing between locomotives. However, the Dash 8's had a higher walkway level than the Dash 7's, so they consequently had steeper steps, making getting on and off the units more difficult. The solution was those upside-down "L" grab irons we currently see on the nose. In 1991, a shop crewman got the inspiration for the new handrails while from thumbing through the Diesel Spotter's Guide (original edition). Since the front sand box was in the way of making any new holes in that area, reusing the original bolts was important. The bottom, outboard holes were clear of the sand box. Part of the modification included a pair of vertical grab irons on the long hood, as well. These became standard on all following Conrail Dash 8's.Working Together
A major spotting feature of Conrail's B40-8's was the Working Together for Safety, Service, and Success decal, which had been applied to the nose of all 30 units by late-1988. The Working Together program encouraged workplace safety through Labor/Management cooperation. The program had seven primary committees, one committee for each operating division and another committee for all of Conrail's shops. These seven committees were comprised of 60 subcommittees, which were equally divided between union and management personnel. The program was a great success. In 1989, for example, Conrail had its first fatality-free year since 1976. Plus, job-related injuries were down 22% across Conrail's system.
Comprehensive GE B40-8 Roster
The roster below is comprehensive for Conrail's B40-8 between their arrival on Conrail starting in April 1988 and their last day of Conrail service on May 31, 1999. All Conrail's B40-8's were transferred to Norfolk Southern or CSX on June 1, 1999. The roster includes each unit's first disposition. A special thanks to Conrail The Final Years: 1992-1997 by Withers for completing the built dates and builder's numbers.
Builder's
CR # Built Number Removed Disposition
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5060 04/88 45624 05/31/99 CSX 5950
5061 04/88 45625 05/31/99 CSX 5951
5062 04/88 45626 05/31/99 CSX 5952
5063 04/88 45627 05/31/99 NS 4800
5064 04/88 45628 05/31/99 NS 4801
5065 04/88 45629 05/31/99 CSX 5953
5066 04/88 45630 05/31/99 NS 4802
5067 04/88 45631 05/31/99 NS 4803
5068 04/88 45632 05/31/99 NS 4804
5069 04/88 45633 05/31/99 NS 4805
5070 04/88 45634 05/31/99 CSX 5954
5071 05/88 45635 05/31/99 CSX 5955
5072 05/88 45636 05/31/99 NS 4806
5073 05/88 45637 05/31/99 NS 4807
5074 05/88 45638 05/31/99 CSX 5956
5075 05/88 45639 05/31/99 CSX 5957
5076 05/88 45640 05/31/99 CSX 5958
5077 05/88 45641 05/31/99 NS 4808
5078 05/88 45642 05/31/99 NS 4809
5079 05/88 45643 05/31/99 NS 4810
5080 05/88 45644 05/31/99 CSX 5959
5081 05/88 45645 05/31/99 NS 4811
5082 05/88 45646 05/31/99 NS 4812
5083 05/88 45647 05/31/99 NS 4813
5084 05/88 45648 05/31/99 NS 4814
5085 05/88 45649 05/31/99 NS 4815
5086 05/88 45650 05/31/99 CSX 5960
5087 05/88 45651 05/31/99 CSX 5961
5088 05/88 45652 05/31/99 NS 4816
5089 05/88 45653 05/31/99 NS 4817