EMD's tier 2 loco enters revenue service

Railway Age, May, 2004

The SD70ACe locomotive (above) from General Motors's Electro-Motive Division is on schedule to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 2 engine emissions requirement for all new locomotives starting January 2005. Two SD70ACe units with GM's existing 710 diesel engines entered revenue service on Kansas City Southern last month following nine months of testing at TTCI. Demonstrations on other North American railroads will follow.

The units performed "flawlessly" during their first week at KCS, according to EMD Director-Market Development and Communications Curt Swenson. "Initially, the SD70ACe units GM72 and GM73 are being used ill helper service," he said, "where they are repeatedly exercised at very high tractive effort levels as they push heavy coal trains up the 1.5% grade from Heavener, Okla., to the top of Rich Mountain."

The SD70ACe units use an a.c. traction system to develop a continuous tractive effort of 157,000 pounds.