The AAR wheel arrangement system is a method of classifying locomotive (or unit) wheel arrangements that was developed by the Association of American Railroads . Essentially a simplification of the European UIC classification , it is widely used in North America to describe diesel and electric locomotives (including third-rail electric locomotives ). It is not used for steam locomotives , which use the Whyte notation instead (except geared steam locomotives , which are instead classified by their model and their number of trucks).
56-561: The 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 3,600 hp (2,680 kW). After sponsoring the development of the FP45 passenger locomotive, the Santa Fe requested a similar freight locomotive from Electro-Motive . Where the FP45
112-597: A 60-year lease of Burlington Northern 's southern Montana main line between Sandpoint , Idaho and Huntley, Montana , near Billings. This spin-off was controversial as it happened during contract negotiations between Burlington Northern and the United Transportation Union . MRL workers were represented by various unions. Montana Rail Link trains operated between Billings and Spokane using trackage rights over BN successor BNSF 's tracks connecting those points. Montana Rail Link used cabooses until
168-718: A hinge. Examples include the Milwaukee Road EF-1 "Boxcab" electrics. "B+B-B+B" means there are four trucks under the unit. Within each truck, there are two powered axles, and pairs of them are connected by span bolsters . One example would be the General Electric U50 , built from 1963 to 1965. The 4500 horsepower (3.4 MW) turbine locomotives built by GE for Union Pacific also used this arrangement. The EFVM railway of Brazil uses narrow gauge GE "BB" locomotives with this arrangement, both with "standard" and wide cabs. A GE Dash 9-40BBW , for instance,
224-437: A living room, kitchen, master bedroom and bath. The cab has been restored to the current BNSF Railway specification for new and re-manufactured locomotives. It is the only locomotive in the world that has been converted to luxury living space available for rent. Dynamic Railway Preservation was raising money to acquire and restore Montana Rail Link F45 #390, formerly Burlington Northern #6644. The project ended in 2014 when
280-410: A pair of high-powered B-B locomotives on a common frame as far as traction and power was concerned). In fact, a usual consist of a D-D unit included a leading C-C unit and a trailing C-C unit, for a total of about 12,600 hp (9.4 MW) (with four total prime-movers). With today's higher horsepower C-C units (about 4,300 hp (3.2 MW) apiece), three such C-C units exceeds the total power of
336-442: A row, "C" to three powered axles in a row, and "D" to four powered axles in a row. "1" refers to one idler axle, and "2" to two idler axles in a row. A dash ("–") separates trucks or wheel assemblies. A plus sign ("+") refers to articulation, either by connecting bogies with span bolsters or by connecting individual locomotives via solid drawbars instead of couplers . "1A-A1" means there are two trucks (or wheel assemblies) under
392-523: A special train, called the Gas Local, between Missoula and Thompson Falls, Montana, to bridge a gap in a long-distance gasoline pipeline. On September 8, 2005, Montana Rail Link took delivery of locomotive number 4300, the first of 16 new EMD SD70ACe locomotives. This was the first locomotive that the railroad has ordered new from a manufacturer, and it and the rest of the class were intended to replace aging SD40 and SD45 locomotives on trains crossing
448-637: A westbound freight train derailed near Reed Point in Stillwater County , while traveling on a bridge over the Yellowstone River . The bridge collapsed and ten cars derailed, of which at least eight fell into the river. Breached cars included either molten sulfur or asphalt. Two cars carried sodium hydro sulfate, however, these did not rupture. Yellowstone County Disaster and Emergency Services stated that several cars were damaged and leaked petroleum products. Yellow liquid flowing out of
504-490: Is "Four axle". "B-2-B" means there are three trucks. The center truck has two unpowered axles and the truck at each end has two powered axles. The locomotive frame must either articulate or allow for significant side play to be provided to the center truck. Examples of this type were built as light rail vehicles. "B-B-B" means there are three trucks. Each truck has two powered axles. The locomotive frame must either articulate or allow for significant side play to be provided to
560-408: Is "Six axle". "1-C+C-1" means there are two sets of articulated axles under the unit. Within each of these sets, there is a truck with one idler axle, and inboard of it are three powered axles. Two of these articulated sets are placed back to back and connected by a hinge. The PRR FF1 and FF2 electric locomotives used this arrangement. "2-C+C-2" means there are two sets of articulated axles under
616-523: Is a guiding truck with two idler axles, and inboard of this, and hinged to it, is a truck with three powered axles. The GE steam turbine-electric locomotives of 1939 were notable examples of this arrangement. "2-C1+2-C1-B" means there are five trucks. Only the first three axles on the four-axle trucks were powered, as were both axles in the last truck; the first and middle trucks had two unpowered axles each. The only examples of this arrangement were three unique coal -fired steam-turbine locomotives built by
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#1732790775704672-584: Is a narrow-gauge adaptation of the SD45 , which required additional axles due to using smaller traction motors. "2-D+D-2" means there are two sets of articulated axles under the unit. Within each of these sets, there is a truck with two idler axles, and inboard of it are four powered axles. Two of these articulated sets are placed back to back and connected by a hinge. Examples include the Baldwin DR-12-8-1500/2 "Centipede" diesel locomotives and
728-751: Is a truck with two idler axles, and inboard of it are four powered axles. Two of these articulated sets are placed back to back and connected by a hinge. The Little Joes , Baldwin DR-12-8-1500/2 , and Baldwin 4-8+8-4-750/8-DE locomotives used this arrangement. "D-D" means there are two trucks each with four powered axles. Examples include the EMD DD units. D-D locomotives have fallen out of favor as nearly all of these were twin-engined locomotives, which placed too much horsepower in too few axles which made these consists rather inflexible (each locomotive featured two prime movers , making each unit essentially
784-399: Is a wide cab GE Dash 9-40CW series 4,000 hp (3,000 kW) locomotive with a B+B-B+B wheel arrangement. The EMD SD70ACe-BB produced from 2015 onward also has a B+B-B+B arrangement. "B-B+B-B" means that the locomotive has four trucks. Each truck contains two powered axles. The middle pair of trucks are connected by a span bolster . In most cases, the locomotive is articulated over
840-551: Is under the back of the unit, and has one idler axle. Examples include the three EMD LWT12 locomotives built by EMD in 1956. Twenty SD70ACe-P4 locomotives were built by EMD with a B1-1B arrangement that has two three axle trucks with each truck having two AC traction motors and one idler axle nearest the fuel tank. The locomotive was designed as an AC traction alternative to the SD70M-2 that uses three DC traction motors on each of two three axle trucks. Only BNSF ordered
896-465: Is under the back of the unit, and has two idler axles in a row. Examples include the three lightweight RP-210 locomotives built by Baldwin in 1956 and 1957 for use with Pullman-Standard Train-X equipment. "B-A1A" means there are two trucks. The "B" truck is under the front of the unit, and has two powered axles. The "A1A" truck is under the back of the unit, and has one powered axle, one idler axle, and one more powered axle. Examples include some of
952-600: Is under the front of the unit, and has one powered axle, one idler axle, and one more powered axle. The "3" truck is under the back of the unit, and has three idler axles in a row. An example is the Baldwin DR-6-2-10 1,000 hp (750 kW) cab unit, only one of which was built for the Chicago and North Western Railway in 1948. "A1A-A1A" means there are two trucks under the locomotive. Each truck has two powered axles, with an idler axle between them. This spreads
1008-539: Is under the front of the unit, and has three idler axles in a row. The "A1A" truck is under the rear of the unit, and has one powered axle, one idler axle, and one more powered axle. An example is the later built FM OP800 800 hp (600 kW) railcar, six of which were built by the St. Louis Car Company exclusively for the Southern Railway in 1939. "A1-1A" means there are two trucks or wheel assemblies under
1064-758: The Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway between 1947 and 1948. This locomotive is sometimes called the M-1. "C-C+C-C" means there are four trucks under the unit. Each truck has three powered axles. The only examples of this type were the 8500 horsepower (6.3 MW) turbine locomotives built by General Electric for Union Pacific . These locomotives consisted of two permanently coupled C-C units. "C+C-C+C" means there are four trucks. Each truck has three powered axles and pairs of them are connected by span bolsters . This arrangement
1120-834: The British Rail Class 28 are the only locomotives to use this wheel arrangement. "C-C" means there are two identical trucks. Each truck has three powered axles. Examples include the EMD SD (Special Duty), GMD GF6C , EMD GM6C , PRR E44 , GE E60 , Virginian EL-C and GE Evolution Series units, except the ES44C4 and ET44C4 which use the A1A-A1A wheel arrangement. This is a currently popular configuration used in low-speed, high-weight applications, such as unit coal trains. General ("manifest") freight trains also use C-C locomotives. See also Co-Co . An American colloquialism of "C-C"
1176-476: The Clark Fork River , and others derailed in the nearby tunnel. There were no injuries, fires or release of hazardous materials. Strong winds blowing the clay powder appeared like smoke and guest cabins were evacuated as a precaution. As the derailment site was only accessible by water, the fire district's water rescue team ferried responders across the river in a small boat. On June 24, 2023, part of
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#17327907757041232-931: The FM C-liners (most passenger units) built from 1950 to 1955, and the EMD FL9 . "B-B" means there are two identical trucks. Each truck has two powered axles, a currently popular configuration used in high-speed, low-weight applications such as intermodal trains and high-speed rail , as well as switcher locomotives . Examples include the EMD GP (General Purpose), EMD F-units , EMD SW1500 , Acela Express Power Cars , Siemens Charger , Siemens ACS-64 and GE Genesis units. High speed ("time") freight trains, with guaranteed schedules often use B-B locomotives of 3,800 HP (950 HP per axle), but this application, too, has largely been replaced by higher-powered, 4,500 HP C-C locomotives (750 HP per axle). An American colloquialism of "B-B"
1288-621: The GE " Little Joe " electric locomotives . "B-D+D-B" means there are two sets of articulated axles under the unit. Within each of these sets, there is a truck with two powered axles, and inboard of it are four powered axles. Two of these articulated sets are placed back to back and connected by a hinge. The W-1 class of electric locomotives built by General Electric for the Great Northern Railway used this arrangement. "1B+D+D+B1" means there are four sets of articulated axles under
1344-535: The Great Northern Z-1 electric locomotives (for the Cascade Tunnel electrification) used this arrangement. "2-D-2" means there are three trucks. At either end are trucks with two idler axles; the center truck has four powered axles. The PRR R1 electric locomotive used this arrangement. "2-D+D-2" means there are two sets of articulated axles under the unit. Within each of these sets, theare
1400-564: The Rocky Mountains over the continental divide at Mullan Pass near Helena, Montana and Bozeman Pass near Bozeman, Montana. In January 2022, BNSF agreed to pay MRL $ 2 billion for an early lease termination. The return to BNSF control required the approval of the Surface Transportation Board , and this was later approved on March 8, 2023. BNSF took over operations on January 1, 2024. This absorbed
1456-492: The Southern Railway in 1939. "2-B" means there are two trucks or wheel assemblies. The "2" truck is under the front of the unit, and has two idler axles in a row. The "B" truck is under the rear of the unit, and has two powered axles. Examples include the three lightweight power cars built by ALCO / ACF in 1935 and 1937 for use with the Rebel streamliners. "3-A1A" means there are two trucks or wheel assemblies. The "3" truck
1512-546: The Texas Mexican Railway . "2-A1A" means there are two trucks or wheel assemblies. The "2" truck is under the front of the unit, and has two idler axles in a row. The "A1A" truck is under the rear of the unit, and has one powered axle, one idler axle, and one more powered axle. An example is the FM OP800 800 hp (600 kW) railcar, six of which were built by the St. Louis Car Company exclusively for
1568-683: The Virginian Railway 's EL-2B electric locomotives. Montana Rail Link Montana Rail Link ( reporting mark MRL ) (now operated by BNSF as the MRL Subdivision) was a privately held Class II railroad in the United States . It operated on trackage originally built by the Northern Pacific Railway and leased from its successor BNSF Railway . MRL was a unit of The Washington Companies and
1624-601: The warbonnet , and were redesignated SDF45 s. Electrically they were upgraded to SD45-2 standards. Mechanically, they were re-geared from 59:18 to 60:17, reducing their top speed from 89 to 83 mph (143 to 134 km/h). In the mid 1980s Santa Fe again re-geared them - this time to 62:15 for 71 mph (114 km/h). MotivePower used ex-ATSF 5989 as an EPA Tier-I emissions test bed in 2002. Metra in Chicago had ordered 27 MP36PH-3 passenger locomotives for commuter service. To test their emissions, 5989's 20-645-E3
1680-459: The "1" truck is under the front of the unit, and has one idler axle. The remaining 4 axles are rigidly mounted to the frame behind this lead truck (or grouped in a second truck). This is roughly the equivalent of a 2-8-0 Consolidation in the Whyte notation, particularly when built as a 1-truck/4 rigid axle locomotive. The only known examples are a series of diesel boxcab locomotives built and owned by
1736-508: The BNSF takeover in 2024, which were used to carry remote control switching equipment on Laurel switch engines. A significant number of MRL movements were actually BNSF trains, complete with locomotives, that MRL received at one end of its track and forwarded back to BNSF at the other end. MRL also operated trains of its own to gather and distribute local freight along its lines. Forest products and grain were primary commodities, and MRL also operated
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1792-545: The GN merged into the Burlington Northern (BN) prior to delivery, so they arrived with BN numbers and paint. BN followed with a final order for twenty in 1971. Afterwards they returned to ordering SD45s . This final order differed in several small ways from the GN specs. In 1982 and 1983, Santa Fe 's San Bernardino shops rebuilt F45s 5900-5939. They emerged as 5950-5989, were painted in a blue and yellow version of
1848-879: The MRL into BNSF, integrating MRL operations, technology and personnel. All 1,200 employees were offered employment with BNSF. In the Helena train wreck of February 2, 1989, 48 decoupled rail cars rolled into Helena, hit a parked work train, caught fire and exploded. While property damage was extensive, there were no casualties. On July 3, 2014, a MRL train with 90 railcars derailed near Alberton, Montana , en route from Laurel, Montana to Spokane, Washington . Twenty cars derailed, including three containing hazardous materials and six Boeing 737 fuselages. The 737 fuselages had been built in Kansas at Spirit AeroSystems and were being shipped to Renton, Washington , for final assembly. Three of
1904-505: The UK, the Class 31 uses this wheel arrangement. "A1A-B+B" means there are three trucks. The first truck has three axles, with the center one unpowered. A pair of two-axle trucks, each with both axles powered, are connected by a span bolster under the rear of the unit. The only example to date of this arrangement was a single experimental EMD SDP45 . "B" means there are two powered axles under
1960-505: The center truck. The Russian VL85 and US-American EMD GM10B was a notable example. See also Bo-Bo-Bo . "B+B+B" means there are three articulated sets of two powered axles each under the unit. The locomotive frame must allow for significant side play to be provided to the center axle set, as well as allowing for end play for the end sets. The ten Mexican Railway GE boxcab electrics of 1923 are examples of this wheel arrangement. "2-B+B-2" means there are two sets of articulated axles under
2016-438: The center trucks. "B-B+B-B+B-B" means that the locomotive has six trucks. Each truck contains two powered axles. The only known locomotives to have this configuration were the two EMD TR3 locomotives made of three permanently coupled B-B units, which had solid drawbars connecting the units instead of the typical couplers. "C" means there are three powered axles under the unit. They are not articulated relative to other parts of
2072-472: The forty F45s came in the blue and yellow freight colors. The second order of F45s were equipped with steam lines so that they could be used as trailing units on passenger consists. Great Northern (GN) ordered an initial lot of six, for 1969 delivery. These were numbered immediately following a previous lot of SD45s . Another lot of eight was ordered before the first six arrived. GN ordered twelve more for 1970 delivery - they were to be numbered 441-452 - but
2128-523: The fuselages fell down an embankment, with two reaching the Clark Fork River . The six fuselages were recovered and scrapped within the month. On the morning of Sunday, April 2, 2023, a westbound MRL freight train derailed at Quinn's Hot Springs Resort in Paradise, Montana . About 25 cars derailed, including cases of canned and bottled beer, clay powder and one with highly flammable gas (alternately described as butane or propane); some cars tumbled into
2184-704: The locomotive was eventually sold to another private owner, and the money that was raised was used to restore SDP40F #644. It currently remains stored in a rail yard in Airway Heights, Washington . Former Santa Fe #5989 was used as a test bed by MotivePower Inc. until 2021. It is set to be restored to the "Kodachrome" scheme, with the hope that it will be eventually sent to a museum. AAR wheel arrangement#C-C The AAR system (like UIC) counts axles, unlike Whyte, which counts wheels. Letters refer to powered axles, and numbers to unpowered (or idler) axles. "A" refers to one powered axle, "B" to two powered axles in
2240-509: The locomotive. This arrangement is only used on very small locomotives (e.g. the PRR B1 ). This arrangement is sometimes referred to as 0-6-0 , the Whyte notation equivalent. "C-B" means there are two trucks. The "C" truck is under the front of the unit, and has three powered axles. The "B" truck is under the rear of the unit, and has two powered axles. The Japanese DE10 , DE11 , and DE15 and
2296-477: The model in 2014. The other locomotive with this wheel arrangement is the EMD SD70MACH , which is an SD70MAC rebuilt by Progress Rail for Metra and used for passenger service. In 2020, Metra approved of the purchase of 15 of these locomotives with options to purchase up to 27 more. "B-2" means there are two trucks. The "B" truck is under the front of the unit, and has two powered axles. The "2" truck
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2352-509: The span bolster. The Union Pacific 's M-10002 diesel streamliner and New York Central 's T-Motor third-rail electric locomotives are examples of this type. This arrangement also includes locomotives made of two permanently coupled B-B units, such as some EMD FT units which had a solid drawbar connecting two units instead of the typical couplers. "B-B-B-B" means there are four trucks. Each truck has two powered axles. The locomotive frame must allow for significant side play to be provided to
2408-462: The unit. At each end, there is one unpowered axle and two powered axles, hinged to a set of four powered axles. Two of these articulated sets are placed back to back and connected by a hinge. The "Bi-Polar" electric locomotives used by the Milwaukee Road used this arrangement. "(B+B-B+B)+(B+B-B+B)" means there are 2 units, each with 4 trucks in a B+B-B+B wheel arrangement. An example was
2464-595: The unit. Each truck has one powered axle and one idler axle, with the idler axles to the outside. Examples include Budd RDC diesel multiple unit ( DMU ) cars. "1B-1B" means there are two trucks with a leading idler axle in front of two powered axles. This arrangement was used to upgrade the B-B arrangement of two EMC 1800 hp B-B locomotives owned by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1938, for greater stability at speed. "1-D" means there are two trucks or groups of axles;
2520-608: The unit. Each truck has one powered axle and one idler axle, with the powered axles to the outside. "A1A-2" means there are two trucks. The "A1A" truck is under the front of the unit, and has one powered axle, one idler axle, and one more powered axle. The "2" truck is under the back of the unit, and has two idler axles in a row. An example is the Silver Charger power car for the General Pershing Zephyr . "A1A-3" means there are two trucks. The "A1A" truck
2576-466: The unit. These axles are not articulated relative to other parts of the locomotive. This arrangement is only used on very small locomotives, such as the EMD Model 40 . It is also used on speeders . This arrangement is sometimes referred to as 0-4-0 , the Whyte notation equivalent. "B-1" means there are two trucks. The "B" truck is under the front of the unit, and has two powered axles. The "1" truck
2632-420: The unit. Within each of these sets, there is a truck with two idler axles, and inboard of it are three powered axles. Two of these articulated sets are placed back to back and connected by a hinge. The Pennsylvania Railroad 's GG1 and Companhia Paulista 's electric locomotives were notable examples of this arrangement. "2+C-C+2" means there are two sets of axles under the unit. Within each of these sets, there
2688-570: The unit. Within each of these sets, there is a truck with two idler axles, and inboard of it are two powered axles. Two of these articulated sets are placed back to back and connected by a hinge. The PRR DD1 and DD2 electric locomotives used this arrangement. "2-B+B+B+B-2" means there are two sets of articulated axles under the unit. Within each of these sets, there is a truck with two idler axles, and inboard of it are two powered axles, hinged to yet another set of two powered axles. Two of these articulated sets are placed back to back and connected by
2744-499: The usual D-D consist by 300 hp (220 kW) (with one fewer prime-mover than a usual D-D consist, thereby significantly improving reliability and dramatically reducing maintenance). Although the D-D arrangement is associated with twin-prime-mover locomotives of high power, this does not mean a D-D with a single high-power prime mover may be built in the future, nor does it exclude two-truck, eight-axle electric locomotive. The EMD DDM45
2800-540: The weight of the locomotive more evenly over the track and counteracts the tendency of trucks to oscillate at high speeds, which is a problem with two axle trucks. The idler wheels may be smaller than the powered wheels. Examples of locomotives with this wheel arrangement include the EMD E-units and ALCO PAs , which were high speed passenger locomotives, and the dual service FM Erie-built . BNSF took delivery of ES44C4 locomotives with this type of truck in 2009. In
2856-572: Was an SDP45 wrapped in a full-width cowl carbody, the new F45 was essentially an SD45 given the same treatment. Where the Santa Fe requested a full-width carbody for aesthetics, the Great Northern saw an opportunity to protect crews from the dangers of winter operation in northern climates. The Santa Fe ordered two lots of twenty each, for 1968 delivery. The FP45s were delivered in Santa Fe's red, yellow and silver warbonnet colors,
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#17327907757042912-703: Was headquartered in Missoula, Montana . The railroad ran between Huntley, Montana and Spokane, Washington , largely within Montana, and the main line passes through the towns of Missoula, Livingston , Bozeman , Billings , and Helena . Montana Rail Link connected with the BNSF on both ends and also in Garrison, Montana . The railroad had over 900 miles (1,400 km) of track, served 100 stations, and employed approximately 1,000 personnel. The main classification yard
2968-751: Was in Laurel, Montana, with smaller yards in Missoula, Billings, Bozeman and Helena. Repair and mechanical facilities were in Livingston, Montana; turntables remain in Livingston and Laurel. In January 2022, MRL and BNSF agreed on an early lease termination to return control of the line to BNSF. This took place on January 1, 2024; MRL became a subdivision of BNSF, and all employees of MRL were offered employment with BNSF. Montana Rail Link's independent status and main line dates back to October 31, 1987, when MRL under Missoula businessman Dennis Washington commenced
3024-578: Was purchased by Revelstoke Limited LLC in June 2008. It was set to be scrapped but instead was restored externally as Great Northern 441 (GN's last F45 was 440). It has been converted to a Luxury Locomotive Lodge at the Izaak Walton Inn at Essex, Montana . It arrived at Essex on August 26, 2009, and became available for lodging in January 2010. The interior can sleep up to four people and includes
3080-785: Was replaced with the MP36PH-3's 16-645-F3B and cooling system, and its traction motors removed. GN 438, later BN 6611, became a load-test box at the Alstom shop in Montreal . Morrison-Knudsen used the cowls from several scrapped BN F45s to rebuild eleven GP40s into GP40FH-2 locomotives for New Jersey Transit . 4130-4139 were completed in 1987, and 4141 in 1989 (New cowls were fabricated for 4140 and 4142-4144). M-K also used both cowls and cabs from scrapped BN F45s, to construct five F40PHL-2 locomotives on GP40 frames. They are Tri-Rail 801-805, completed in 1988. Former Santa Fe #5960
3136-679: Was used on the Jawn Henry coal -fired steam-turbine locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Norfolk & Western Railway in May, 1954. "1-D-1" means there are three trucks under the unit. At either end are trucks with one idler axle; the center truck has four powered axles. The original 1904–1909 New York Central S-Motor third-rail electric locomotives (for the Grand Central Terminal electrification) and
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