It seems like every railfan, enthusiast, and model railroader has a favorite locomotive class. I can never remember a time when I didn't like trains. Even as a young kid I loved watching the huge locomotives of the Reading Company and Lehigh Valley do their thing. Late in 1976, however, I became more serious about building and running model trains. It was during this time that certain types of locomotives had a stronger pull over my young, impressionable mind than other locomotives had. My favorite type of locomotive came from General Electric and were the U-Series, nicknamed "U Boats" by fans and railroaders alike. Yes, many locomotives in the U Series were unreliable, but the distinctive glugging sound their prime movers made enthralled me. Who cared about grown-up things like reliability and parts maintenance? I just liked what I saw.As I grew into my teenage years, my states began changing. I was becoming more "educated" about railroading and locomotives, probably from all the excessive amount of time I spent hanging around railroad crews and reading railroad magazines. As a result, my childlike fascination with General Electric locomotives faded away, replaced with a more mature appreciation of the more reliable and trustworthy Dash-2 locomotives from the ElectoMotive Division of General Motors. No longer was the U25B my "cool" locomotive. Now it was the SD40-2, which came to symbolize, for me at least, Conrail during the early 1980's. GE was out. EMD was in.
I spent most of the 1980's in taking college classes and dating. Eventually I got married and had a son. Trains, including Conrail, took such a backseat in my life that I didn't even take notice of all the changes that had been happening on the railroad. By the time 1990 rolled around, Conrail was a different railroad. Conrail was looking forward.
With less burdensome regulation, they had become a leaner, meaner, and profitable railroad entering a new era of revitalized railroading across North America. Their fleet of EMD SD40-2's were nearly 15 years old. EMD's SD50 and SD60 class locomotives were still operating across Conrail's system, but these locomotives were beginning to show their age as well. Sometime during the 1980's, EMD had slipped from America's number one locomotive manufacturer, surpassed by a revamped and modernized General Electric, with the C40-8W (as Conrail classed them) leading the way for GE toward the 21st century.
In 1990, Conrail placed their first order of C40-8W's. The first C40-8W in the series was CR 6050, delivered in May 1990. By the end of that same year, 100 units would be running across the entirety of Conrail's system, with more to come during the next three years. The last unit in the series was CR 6285, delivered in September 1994.
The C40-8W's Arrive
When the first C40-8W rolled onto Conrail in May 1990, the locomotive looked like a beast compared to what was currently operating in the railroad. The C40-8W's new "wide cab" or "comfort-cab" (the name depended upon who was saying it) was completely different from other General Electric and EMD locomotives at the time. In fact, Conrail was the second railroad in the United States after the Union Pacific to purchase GE locomotives with this option.Cabs & Horsepower: Like the standard cab C40-8, 25 of which had been delivered the previous year, the C40-8W had the same 4,000 horsepower under the long hood. The C40-8W had an overall length of 70'8". It had excellent tractive effort, perfect for hauling heavy freights over the mountainous lines across Pennsylvania and the mountainous Boston & Albany lines. Its advanced prime movers could idle at notch 0 at three different speeds--330, 440, or 580 r.p.m.--allowing the locomotive to adjust to the task at hand while saving fuel. Plus, nearly every system in the locomotive was monitored and controlled by computers, with terminals located in the cab. Gone were the dingy seats and control stands of the standard cab locomotives; instead, the conductor and engineer sat at a clean desk with monitors, throttle, and other controls positioned within easy reach. Of course, having to run the locomotives in reverse did become painful on the arm as the engineer twisted around to look out the rear window.
Not the Standard Dash 8-40CW: Conrail's C40-8w's were different from those purchased by other railroads. Conrail ordered their C40-8W's with headlights mounted above the cab windows, numberboards mounted on the nose, and recessed FRA classification lights. Plus, some of their cab access doors have a different arrangement than those found on C40-8W's from Union Pacific, CSX, or other class one railroads.
Reflective Paint: The C40-8W's introduced a revised paint scheme: the white stripe along the frame was painted using reflective paint, and the "CONRAIL" lettering on the nose went from being a decal to being painted using the same reflective white paint. Of course, 30 years later reflective paint on locomotives is commonplace.
Conrail and the Total Quality Movement
The consensus is that the idea of quality control in business and management began in the 1920's with the production line at the Ford Motor Company. The movement then went through various phases during the 20th century. The 1980's and 1990's was one of those phases. During this time, quality control became known as Total Quality Management. Phrases such as customer focus and continuous improvement among other began defining the movement.It was during this time that Conrail, like so many other Western companies, began adopting many of the TQM principles. To improve their public image, Conrail created a new Conrail Quality logo along with a new Conrail Quality paint scheme for their locomotives. (The TQM phrase of "continuous quality improvement" even found its way into the Conrail Quality logo, which I've been using for many years in the banner of the CRCyc.)
Announcing the Conrail Quality Scheme: On October 8, 1991, Conrail operated a special business train called the Maryland Express, a 280-mile round-trip inspection tour from Wilmington (DE) to Baltimore (MD) to Morgantown (WV). Conrail gave each rider a packet containing information about important locations along the route, maps, photos of the business train, and an assortment of other items. In the packet, Conrail included an Outline, Paint & Lettering guide for the new C40-8W's in the Quality scheme, showing off their newest locomotives and paint scheme devoted to improving their image.
The paint crews used this Outline, Paint & Lettering guide when applying the final paint and lettering to the units. Since the guide has exact measurements for applying the logos and notes on what parts of the locomotive do and do not get painted. I'd like to thank Dave Goldsmith for his generous contribution of this diagram.
The Locomotive Management Services (LMS) C40-8W's
Beginning in 1994, Conrail purchased a total of 60 C40-8W's for their joint locomotive leasing service with General Electric. This service was called Locomotive Management Services, or LMS for short. To make their C40-8W's more compatible in lease service with other railroads' locomotives, the LMS units lacked the Epic electronic air brake system and IFC package normally found on all other Conrail C40-8W's.The first units, LMS 700-739, arrived in 1994 and were painted Conrail blue with LMS initials. The second order arrived painted in the standard Conrail Quality scheme. Even though these were parts of LMS, these units maintained all of Conrail's markings and were on the roster as CR 740-759. In the summer of 1997, Conrail began moving 740-759 from lease service into their regular fleet, renumbering the units into series CR 6266-6285.
Comprehensive GE C40-8W Roster
All units in the first order (CR 6050-6099) were delivered in the standard steel wheels Conrail scheme. CR 6084 suffered damage and was repainted in 1996 into the Quality scheme. Other locomotives might have been repainted after being rebuilt. All the following C40-8W orders (CR 6100-6265) were delivered in the Quality scheme.
CR Former Built Notes
===============================
6050 --- ---- 05/90 1
6051 --- ---- 05/90 1
6052 --- ---- 05/90 1
6053 --- ---- 05/90 1
6054 --- ---- 05/90 1
6055 --- ---- 05/90 1
6056 --- ---- 05/90 1
6057 --- ---- 05/90 1
6058 --- ---- 05/90 1
6059 --- ---- 05/90 1
6060 --- ---- 05/90 1
6061 --- ---- 05/90 1
6062 --- ---- 05/90 1
6063 --- ---- 05/90 1
6064 --- ---- 05/90 1
6065 --- ---- 05/90 1
6066 --- ---- 05/90 1
6067 --- ---- 05/90 1
6068 --- ---- 05/90 1
6069 --- ---- 05/90 1
6070 --- ---- 05/90 1
6071 --- ---- 05/90 1
6072 --- ---- 05/90 1
6073 --- ---- 05/90 1
6074 --- ---- 05/90 1
6075 --- ---- 05/90 1
6076 --- ---- 05/90 1
6077 --- ---- 05/90 1
6078 --- ---- 05/90 1
6079 --- ---- 05/90 1
6080 --- ---- 05/90 1
6081 --- ---- 05/90 1
6082 --- ---- 05/90 1
6083 --- ---- 05/90 1
6084 --- ---- 05/90 1
6085 --- ---- 05/90 1
6086 --- ---- 05/90 1
6087 --- ---- 05/90 1
6088 --- ---- 05/90 1
6089 --- ---- 05/90 1
6090 --- ---- 05/90 1
6091 --- ---- 05/90 1
6092 --- ---- 05/90 1
6093 --- ---- 05/90 1
6094 --- ---- 05/90 1
6095 --- ---- 05/90 1
6096 --- ---- 05/90 1,4
6097 --- ---- 05/90 1
6098 --- ---- 05/90 1
6099 --- ---- 05/90 1
6100 --- ---- 03/91 1
6101 --- ---- 03/91 1
6102 --- ---- 03/91 1
6103 --- ---- 03/91 1
6104 --- ---- 03/91 1
6105 --- ---- 03/91 1
6106 --- ---- 03/91 1
6107 --- ---- 03/91 1
6108 --- ---- 03/91 1
6109 --- ---- 03/91 1
6110 --- ---- 03/91 1,2
6111 --- ---- 03/91 1,2
6112 --- ---- 03/91 1,2
6113 --- ---- 03/91 1,3
6114 --- ---- 03/91 1,2
6115 --- ---- 03/91 1,2
6116 --- ---- 03/91 1,2
6117 --- ---- 03/91 1,2
6118 --- ---- 03/91 1,2
6119 --- ---- 03/91 1,2
6120 --- ---- 03/91 1
6121 --- ---- 03/91 1
6122 --- ---- 03/91 1
6123 --- ---- 03/91 1
6124 --- ---- 03/91 1
6125 --- ---- 03/91 1
6126 --- ---- 03/91 1
6127 --- ---- 03/91 1
6128 --- ---- 03/91 1
6129 --- ---- 03/91 1
6130 --- ---- 03/91 1
6131 --- ---- 03/91 1
6132 --- ---- 03/91 1
6133 --- ---- 03/91 1
6134 --- ---- 03/91 1
6135 --- ---- 03/91 1
6136 --- ---- 03/91 1
6137 --- ---- 03/91 1
6138 --- ---- 03/91 1
6139 --- ---- 03/91 1
6140 --- ---- 04/91 1
6141 --- ---- 04/91 1
6142 --- ---- 04/91 1
6143 --- ---- 04/91 1
6144 --- ---- 04/91 1
6145 --- ---- 04/91 1
6146 --- ---- 04/91 1
6147 --- ---- 04/91 1
6148 --- ---- 04/91 1
6149 --- ---- 04/91 1
6150 --- ---- 02/93
6151 --- ---- 02/93
6152 --- ---- 02/93
6153 --- ---- 02/93
6154 --- ---- 02/93
6155 --- ---- 02/93
6156 --- ---- 02/93
6157 --- ---- 02/93
6158 --- ---- 02/93
6159 --- ---- 02/93
6160 --- ---- 02/93
6161 --- ---- 02/93
6162 --- ---- 02/93
6163 --- ---- 02/93
6164 --- ---- 02/93
6165 --- ---- 02/93
6166 --- ---- 02/93
6167 --- ---- 02/93
6168 --- ---- 02/93
6169 --- ---- 02/93
6170 --- ---- 03/93
6171 --- ---- 03/93
6172 --- ---- 03/93
6173 --- ---- 03/93
6174 --- ---- 03/93
6175 --- ---- 03/93
6176 --- ---- 03/93
6177 --- ---- 03/93
6178 --- ---- 03/93
6179 --- ---- 03/93
6180 --- ---- 06/93
6181 --- ---- 06/93
6182 --- ---- 06/93
6183 --- ---- 06/93
6184 --- ---- 06/93
6185 --- ---- 06/93
6186 --- ---- 06/93
6187 --- ---- 06/93
6188 --- ---- 06/93
6189 --- ---- 06/93
6190 --- ---- 06/93
6191 --- ---- 06/93
6192 --- ---- 06/93
6193 --- ---- 06/93
6194 --- ---- 06/93
6195 --- ---- 06/93
6196 --- ---- 06/93
6197 --- ---- 06/93
6198 --- ---- 06/93
6199 --- ---- 06/93
6190 --- ---- 06/93
6191 --- ---- 06/93
6192 --- ---- 06/93
6193 --- ---- 06/93
6194 --- ---- 06/93
6195 --- ---- 06/93
6196 --- ---- 06/93
6197 --- ---- 06/93
6198 --- ---- 06/93
6199 --- ---- 06/93
6200 --- ---- 07/93
6201 --- ---- 07/93
6202 --- ---- 07/93
6203 --- ---- 07/93
6204 --- ---- 07/93
6205 --- ---- 07/93
6206 --- ---- 07/93
6207 --- ---- 07/93
6208 --- ---- 07/93
6209 --- ---- 07/93
6210 --- ---- 07/93
6211 --- ---- 07/93
6212 --- ---- 07/93
6213 --- ---- 07/93
6214 --- ---- 07/93
6215 --- ---- 07/93
6216 --- ---- 07/93
6217 --- ---- 07/93
6218 --- ---- 07/93
6219 --- ---- 07/93
6220 --- ---- 07/93
6221 --- ---- 07/93
6222 --- ---- 07/93
6223 --- ---- 07/93
6224 --- ---- 07/93
6225 --- ---- 07/93
6226 --- ---- 07/93
6227 --- ---- 07/93
6228 --- ---- 07/93
6229 --- ---- 07/93
6230 --- ---- 06/94
6231 --- ---- 06/94
6232 --- ---- 06/94
6233 --- ---- 06/94
6234 --- ---- 06/94
6235 --- ---- 06/94
6236 --- ---- 06/94
6237 --- ---- 06/94
6238 --- ---- 06/94
6239 --- ---- 06/94
6240 --- ---- 06/94
6241 --- ---- 06/94
6242 --- ---- 06/94
6243 --- ---- 06/94
6244 --- ---- 06/94
6245 --- ---- 06/94
6246 --- ---- 06/94
6247 --- ---- 06/94
6248 --- ---- 06/94
6249 --- ---- 06/94
6250 --- ---- 06/94
6251 --- ---- 06/94
6252 --- ---- 06/94
6253 --- ---- 06/94
6254 --- ---- 06/94
6255 --- ---- 06/94
6256 --- ---- 06/94
6257 --- ---- 06/94
6258 --- ---- 06/94
6259 --- ---- 06/94
6260 --- ---- 06/94
6261 --- ---- 06/94
6262 --- ---- 06/94
6263 --- ---- 06/94
6264 --- ---- 06/94
6265 --- ---- 06/94
6266 LMS 740 08/94 5
6267 LMS 741 08/94 5
6268 LMS 742 08/94 5
6269 LMS 743 08/94 5
6270 LMS 744 08/94 5
6271 LMS 745 08/94 5
6272 LMS 746 08/94 5
6273 LMS 747 08/94 5
6274 LMS 748 08/94 5
6275 LMS 749 08/94 5
6276 LMS 750 08/94 5
6277 LMS 751 08/94 5
6278 LMS 752 08/94 5
6279 LMS 753 08/94 5
6280 LMS 754 08/94 5
6281 LMS 755 08/94 5
6282 LMS 756 08/94 5
6283 LMS 757 08/94 5
6284 LMS 758 08/94 5
6285 LMS 759 09/94 5
Roster Notes:
1. Did not have anti-skid nose panels.
2. Conrail's C40-8W's did not come equipped with ditch lights. These units experimented with strobe lights based on those used on the Burlington Northern and Amtrak.
3. The ditch lights experimented on CR 6113 became the standard Conrail would adapt. The original bracket design on 6113 required that parts of the anticlimbers be removed. Eventually Conrail designed a bracket not requiring the anticlimbers to be cut.
4. CR 6096 was wrecked in 1-99 in Ohio and removed from the roster.
5. Beginning summer 1997 Conrail began renumbering 740-759 into 6266-6285 and placing them into the regular fleet.