EMD 30 Locomotives

For a comprehensive look at the Q's GP30s, we suggest purchasing Burlington Bulletin No. 52, which is available at the BRHS Company Store

Click on diagram 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.

Click on diagram to see larger size. GP30 #968 looks pretty clean in this shot in East St. Louis in 1970. (Courtesy Jan Kohl/Castle Graphics)

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.

Click on diagram to see larger size. 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, equipped with cab signals for the triple-track speedway in Chicago, was always on the point.

Click on diagram to see larger size. Brand-new GP30 #971 at Cicero, Illinois, October 1963. (Courtesy Jan Kohl/Castle Graphics)

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. Eighteen former Burlington GP30s remain on the BNSF roster in 2009, now carrying the model designation GP39-2R, which was applied in December of 2007. We can only speculate how long these reborn Burlington GP30's will remain in service, preserving the unique EMD styling of the early sixties.

GP30 roster text by David Lotz ©1998 Burlington Route Historical Society.
Roster compiled from Bernard G. Corbin's "the Burlington in Transition"
and Robert C. Del Grosso's "Burlington Northern 1980-1991 Annual,"
"The Burlington Northern Railroad in 1993" and current data from
Matthew J. Frahm, John B. Lee and David Lotz.