Cowl unit
Encyclopedia
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
. The terminology is a North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n one, though similar locomotives exist elsewhere. A cowl unit is one with full-width enclosing bodywork, similar to the cab unit
Cab unit
A cab unit and a carbody unit are body styles of locomotives in railroad terminology. While closely related, they are not exactly the same....
style of earlier locomotives, but unlike the cab unit style, the bodywork is merely a casing and is not load-bearing. All the strength is in the locomotive's frame, beneath the floor, rather than the bridge-truss load bearing carbody of the earlier type.
Cowl units were originally produced at the request of the Santa Fe
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
, had a full-width 'cowl' body built on a hood unit
Hood unit
A hood unit, in railroad terminology, is a body style for diesel and electric locomotives. On a hood unit, the body of the locomotive is less than full-width for most of the locomotive's length, with walkways on the outside of the locomotive. In contrast, a cab unit has a full-width carbody for...
frame which provided all the
structural strength; the bodywork was cosmetic, rather than a load-bearing bridge truss frame as in cab units.
Most cowl units have been passenger-hauling locomotives. In this service, the cowl unit's full width bodywork and sleek sides match the passenger cars, do not allow unwanted riders, and allow the decorative, advertising paintwork desired by passenger operators. The cowl unit allows the basic structure of the locomotive to be identical to a freight-oriented hood unit
Hood unit
A hood unit, in railroad terminology, is a body style for diesel and electric locomotives. On a hood unit, the body of the locomotive is less than full-width for most of the locomotive's length, with walkways on the outside of the locomotive. In contrast, a cab unit has a full-width carbody for...
type.
The main disadvantage of the cowl unit is low rear visibility from the cab
Cab (locomotive)
The cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive is the part of the locomotive housing the train driver or engineer, the fireman or driver's assistant , and the controls necessary for the locomotive's operation....
of the locomotive. The EMD SD50F and SD60F, GE C40-8M and BBD HR-616
Bombardier HR-616
The Bombardier HR616, also known as the MLW HR616, was a 6 axle, freight locomotive manufactured in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Twenty were built for Canadian National Railway in 1982, numbered 2100–2119, with 2100–2103 being temporarily renumbered as Bombardier 7000–7003, and rated at for...
were given a Draper Taper (named after its creator, William L. Draper, a former CN assistant chief of motive power) where the body is narrower immediately behind the cab, and gradually widens further aft, although the roof remains full-width the length of the locomotive. This improves rear visibility somewhat, but the locomotives still cannot lead a train in reverse like a hood unit can.
Freight-oriented cowl units
- EMD F45EMD F45An EMD F45 is a C-C cowled diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1968 and 1971. Power was provided by an EMD 645E3 20-cylinder engine which generated .-Design:...
- GMD SD40-2F
- GMD SD50F
- GMD SD60F
- GE C40-8M
- BBD HR-616Bombardier HR-616The Bombardier HR616, also known as the MLW HR616, was a 6 axle, freight locomotive manufactured in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Twenty were built for Canadian National Railway in 1982, numbered 2100–2119, with 2100–2103 being temporarily renumbered as Bombardier 7000–7003, and rated at for...
Passenger cowl units
- Alstom PL42ACPL42ACThe PL42AC is a diesel-electric 4-axle locomotive built by Alstom, EMD and Vossloh España for New Jersey Transit. The first 33 locomotives were manufactured at the Vossloh España plant in Valencia, Spain in 2003. Later units were assembled at the Alstom Transport plant in Hornell, New York in 2004...
- EMD FP45EMD FP45The EMD FP45 is a cowl unit type of C-C diesel locomotive produced in the United States by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. It was produced beginning in 1967 at the request of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which did not want its prestigious Super Chief and other passenger...
- EMD SDP40FEMD SDP40FThe EMD SDP40F was a 6-axle Diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division from 1973 for Amtrak service. Power was provided by an EMD 645E3 16-cylinder turbocharged Diesel engine, which generated 3000 tractive horsepower .-Origins:The SDP40F was the first locomotive...
- EMD F40CEMD F40CThe EMD F40C is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between March and May 1974 for commuter service. It is powered by a 16-cylinder EMD 645E3B, which can produce . It uses the same frame as the EMD SD40-2, giving it an overall length of...
- EMD F40PHEMD F40PH-Amtrak NPCU Conversions:In later years, as Amtrak's F40PH fleet was being replaced by the newer GE Genesis-series locomotives, Amtrak converted a number of the retired units—generally ones with major mechanical problems limiting their value in the resale or lease marketplace—into "Non-Power...
- EMD F40PHR
- EMD F40PH-2
- EMD F40PH-2CAT (rebuild)
- EMD F40PH-2M
- EMD F59PH
- EMD F59PHI
- EMD F69PHAC
- EMD DE30AC
- EMD DM30AC
- GE P30CHGE P30CHThe GE P30CH was one of the first brand-new Diesel-electric locomotives built for Amtrak in the company's early years. The design was based on the GE U30C, but had a cowl carbody like its EMD competitors.25 P30CHs were ordered by Amtrak in 1974, just after Amtrak ordered 40 EMD SDP40Fs in 1973...
- GE U30CGGE U30CGThe GE U30CG was a passenger-hauling diesel-electric locomotive built by GE Transportation Systems. It was a passenger variant of GE's U30C design purchased by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. ATSF had purchased ten U28CG locomotives in 1966, but while these locomotives were...
- MPI MP36PH-3C
- MPI MP36PH-3S
- MPI F40PHL-2
- MPI F40PH-2C
- MPI F40PH-3C
- MKO GP40FH-2