EMD E5
CB&Q EMD E5 No. 9911A Silver Pilot at the Illinois Railway Museum
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) Model E5 Build date February 1940 – June 1941 Total produced 11 A units, 5 B units
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR A1A-A1A Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Wheel diameter 36 in (0.914 m) Wheelbase: ​  • Truck 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) Length 71 ft 1 in (21.67 m) Width 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) Height 15 ft 0 in (4.57 m) Loco weight A unit: 315,000 lb (142,882 kg) B unit: 290,000 lb (131,542 kg) Prime mover EMD 567, 2 off Engine type V12 Two-stroke diesel Cylinders 12 × 2 Loco brake D22L
Performance figures Maximum speed 116 mph (187 km/h) Power output 2,000 hp (1,491 kW) Tractive effort: ​  • Starting 56,500 lbf (25,628 kgf)  • Continuous 31,000 lbf (14,061 kgf) @11 mph (18 km/h)
Career Operators Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and subsidiaries Disposition One unit preserved in operating condition at the Illinois Railway Museum

The EMD E5 is a 2,000-horsepower (1,500 kW), A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation, and its corporate successor, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of La Grange, Illinois, and produced exclusively for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (“The Burlington Route”), and its subsidiaries, during 1940 and 1941. The E5 was distinguished from the otherwise very similar E3, E4 and E6 by being clad in polished stainless steel to match the Burlington's Zephyr trains. It also featured unique small grill-like ornamentation on both sides of the upper headlight. Like the other models in the E-series, the E5 had a sloping “slant nose” and it was equipped with two headlights — a regular stationary headlight above a gyrating Mars signal light. The E5 was the sixth in the EMD E-unit series.

Engine and powertrain

The E5 used twin 12-cylinder prime movers developing a total of 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) at 800 rpm. Designed specifically for railroad locomotives, the mechanically aspirated, two-stroke, 45-degree V-type engine, with an 8+1⁄2 in (216 mm) bore by 10 in (254 mm) stroke, giving 567 cubic inches (9,290 cm³; 9.29 L) displacement per cylinder, remained in production until 1966. Two direct-current generators, one per prime mover, 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 AA6, CB&Q 9908, and CRI&P AB6 power cars. EMC/EMD has built all of its major components since 1939.^[1][2]

Original owners

Locomotive details

Surviving example

Only one E5 unit of the original 16 built survives today. The last surviving EMD E5 diesel, CB&Q No. 9911A Silver Pilot, is owned and operated by the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. Last used on the Fort Worth and Denver Railway (a CB&Q subsidiary) on the Texas Zephyr, the E5 is matched with one of the Burlington's Nebraska Zephyrs, a 5 car, articulated, stainless steel 1936 passenger train. This equipment was used in the production of the 1992 film A League of Their Own, and for the 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers, E5 9911A Silver Pilot was used with 4 stainless steel passenger cars relettered to resemble the Zephyr trainset. 9911 is equipped with dual horns, which is a WABCO E2 and a Leslie Controls RS2M.