Rivet Counter N Scale GE ET44C6H, BNSF/Heritage III

Introduced in 2012, General Electric’s ET44 GEVO Series represents the latest in diesel-electric locomotive technology. The GE Tier 4 GEVO is designed to meet stringent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions regulations. The EPA “Tier” emissions standards are a series, or Tiers, of allowable emissions levels based upon a locomotive’s date of manufacture. The highest and most stringent tier level, Tier 4, sets the maximum allowable NOx and hydrocarbon emissions levels for locomotives built for use in the United States from 2015 onward.

While similar in appearance to previous GE ES44 GEVO designs, the Tier 4 models featured a longer frame compared to their predecessors. This allows for a larger radiator “cab” (GE refers to the various sections of the long hood as “cabs”), and a “hump” over the engine cab for advanced exhaust treatment equipment. Initially, a boxy housing filled the entire roofline on the blue-painted field test/demonstrator units.

Due to changes in treatment equipment and clearance issues, the “hump” would decrease in size and shape into a boxy compartment around the exhaust on initial production units. This culminated in an angled compartment surrounding the exhaust manifold on locomotives produced since 2016. Despite boxier engine cab rooflines and a radically styled radiator cab, the basic Tier 4 design shares a family appearance with GE safety cab-equipped units going back to the DASH-9s of the 1990s. It even includes the same 12-cylinder GEVo-12 series prime mover and 4,400 hp as its predecessor model.

In February of 2019, Wabtec purchased General Electric’s Transportation Division. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wabtec Corporation is a provider of equipment, operating systems, and services for freight and passenger rail systems all over the world. The company produces locomotives for customers both domestically and abroad, including the ET44 GEVO locomotives, which are built in Wabtec’s plants in Fort Worth, Texas, and Erie, Pennsylvania.

The Tier 4 units have proven popular with nearly all major U.S. and Canadian railroads. While GE has settled on a basic carbody design to keep production costs down, there are notable variations and detail differences due to customer specifications, including antennas, dynamic brakes, trucks, and more. With over 1,000 units built, the ET44 is a common sight on North American Class I Railroads.