Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 41, 2019

The EMD SD40-2 is a 3000 hp C-C road switcher diesel-electric locomotive. The SD40-2 was introduced in January 1972 as part of EMD's Dash 2 series, competing against the GE U30C and the ALCO Century 630. Although higher-horsepower locomotives were available, including EMD's own SD45-2, the reliability and versatility of the SD40-2 made it one of the best-selling models in EMD's history, edged only by the GP9, and the standard of the industry for several decades after its introduction. The SD40-2 was an improvement over the SD40, with modular electronic control systems similar to those of the experimental DDA40X. Peak production of the SD40-2 was in the mid-1970s. Sales of the SD40-2 began to diminish after 1981 due to the oil crisis, increased competition from GE's Dash-7 series and the introduction of the EMD SD50, which was available concurrently to late SD40-2 production. The last SD40-2 delivered to a United States railroad was built in July 1984, with production continuing for railroads in Canada until 1988, Mexico until February 1986, and Brazil until October 1989. SD40-2s are still quite usable nearly fifty years after the first SD40 was made. Most SD40-2s which remain in service have by now been rebuilt "in-kind", although a few (under 30) have been rebuilt to incorporate a 12-cylinder EFI-equipped 710G engine.