GE Dash 8-40BW


The Dash 8-40BW, or B40-8W, is a four-axle road switcher diesel locomotive built by GE Transportation Systems for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. It is part of the GE Dash 8 Series of freight locomotives.
The locomotive model designation is interpreted as follows: B 40 -8 W.
ATSF was the only railroad to order the B40-8W, and a B unit was almost made with it, but because the price would have been the same for B40-8Ws with cabs or without, they decided to order units with cabs only.
All of ATSF's B40-8Ws became part of BNSF Railway, and many of them were repainted into BNSF's "Heritage 2" paint scheme, although several units still retain their "Warbonnet" paint scheme from their previous careers with ATSF. Some units got repainted into the newer Heritage 4 scheme.

Disposition

While originally built for high-speed intermodal service, by the mid-2000s the B40-8Ws had been bumped to local service.
In mid-2010, BNSF put 15 B40-8Ws up for sale. These units were on long-term lease and were returned to their lessor. Four units have been sold to the Providence and Worcester Railroad in Massachusetts. The PW sold one of their B40-8Ws to the Arkansas-Oklahoma Railroad. The rest of BNSF's B40-8W fleet is, as of 2019, undergoing rebuild and refreshment at GE as preparation for their new role as local freight units.

Original owners

RailroadQuantityRoad numbersNotes
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway83500-582576 destroyed in Cajon pass in 1994
General Electric1809wide cab prototype and testbed, rebuilt from B39-8E #808

Current Owners