ES44 Diesel Locomotive

Prototype Information

In 2002, GE released the first GEVo, a new series of locomotives that would replace the AC4400CW and Dash 9-44CW. The first two models were the ES44DC and ES44AC. The ES44C4 followed a few years later.

The new models were designed to meet the stricter diesel locomotive emissions standards imposed by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. The EPA “Tier” emissions standards are a series, or Tiers, of allowable emissions levels based upon a locomotive’s date of manufacture. In 2005, Tier 2 took effect followed by Tier 3 in 2010 and Tier 4 took in 2015.

GE developed a new diesel engine, the 12-cylinder GEVO 12, to meet the new emission standards. Both the bore and stroke were increased to produce the same 4,400 horsepower as the older 7FDL16 16-cylinder engine.