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EMC E3
ACL #501 at the North Carolina Transportation Museum. On the down left is lettering The Champion.
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) Model E3 Build date September 1938 – June 1940 Total produced 17 A units, 2 B units
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR A1A-A1A Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Trucks EMC Blomberg A-1-A passenger Wheel diameter 36 in (914 mm) Minimum curve 21° (274.37 ft or 83.63 m radius) Wheelbase 57 ft 1 in (17.40 m) Length 70 ft 4 in (21.44 m) over coupler pulling faces Width 10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) Height 15 ft 10 in (4.83 m) Loco weight 308,400 lb (139,900 kg) Fuel capacity 1,200 US gal (1,000 imp gal; 4,500 L) Prime mover (2) EMC 12-567C RPM range 800 max Engine type (2) V12 Two-stroke diesel Aspiration Roots blower Displacement 6,804 cu in (111.50 L) each Generator (2) EMC D-4 Traction motors (4) EMC D-7 Cylinders (2) 12
Performance figures Maximum speed 116 mph (187 km/h) Power output 2,000 hp (1,490 kW) total Tractive effort Starting: 56,500 lbf (25,628 kgf) @25% Continuous: 31,000 lbf (14,061 kgf) @11 mph (18 km/h)
Career Preserved Atlantic Coast Line 501 preserved at the North Carolina Transportation Museum Disposition One preserved, remainder scrapped

The EMC E3 is a 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW), A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive that was manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois. The EMC demonstrator #822 was released from La Grange for test on September 12, 1938. The cab version, or E3A, was manufactured from September 1938 to June 1940, and 17 were produced. The booster version, or E3B, was manufactured in March 1939 and September 1939, and 2 were produced. The 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) was achieved by putting two 1,000 horsepower (750 kW), 12-cylinder, model 567 engines in the engine compartment. Each engine drove its own electrical generator to power the traction motors. The E3 was the fourth model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.

Compared with passenger locomotives made later by EMD, the noses of the E3, E4, E5, and E6 cab units had pronounced slants when viewed from the side. Therefore, these four models have been nicknamed "slant nose" units. Later E models had the more vertical "bulldog nose" of the F series. E3 demonstrator 822 was built with a nose identical to earlier EA and E1A units, but later locomotives in the series featured an elevated headlamp mounted in a nacelle, distinct from the flush profile mounting of the earlier units. 822 was modified in a similar fashion prior to delivery to the Kansas City Southern Railway.

The E3 introduced a 12-cylinder version of the 567 series Diesel engine, with two being used for a total of 2,000 hp at 800 rpm. Earlier E-units had used two Winton 201A prime movers, but that engine was ill-suited to railroad use and was unreliable. The 567, which was specifically designed for railroad motive power applications, is a mechanically aspirated, two-stroke 45-degree V-type with 567 cubic inches (9,290 cm³; 9.29 L) displacement per cylinder, and remained in production until 1966. Two direct current generators, one per engine, provide power to four traction motors, two on each truck, in an A1A-A1A arrangement. This truck design was used on all E-units and on MP 7100, CB&Q 9908, and Rock Island AB6 power cars. EMC/EMD has built all of its major components since 1939.^[1][2]

The only remaining E3 is ex-Atlantic Coast Line Railroad E3A #501. It was formerly owned by the late Glen Monhart, and operated on excursions in Wisconsin. Today, it is owned by the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation Rail Division, and is on long-term loan to the North Carolina Transportation Museum, in Spencer, North Carolina. It is stored in operating condition, and is run occasionally. In January 2013, NCDOT transferred ownership of the engine to the NC Department of Cultural Resources, Spencer Shops parent organization.

• List of GM-EMD locomotives

• North Carolina Transportation Museum