The EMD E4 was a 2,000 hp, A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built by the General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. All were built for the Seaboard Air Line, who purchased fourteen cab-equipped lead or A units and five cabless booster B units. The E4 was the fifth model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.
The 2,000 hp was achieved with two EMD model 567 V12 engines developing 1,000 hp, each engine driving its own generator to power the traction motors.
Compared with other passenger locomotives made by EMD before and after these models, the noses of the E3, E4, and E6 cab units had pronounced slants when viewed from the side. Therefore, these three models have been nicknamed "slant nose" units. Some units made before these models were called "shovel nose" units because they looked like old coal shovels. Some units made during and after these models were called "bulldog nose" units, because they looked like a bulldog's snout.
No E4 survives today.
References
- Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter’s Guide, pp.EMD-121 to EMD-123. Kalmbach Books. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 66-22894.
