Locomotive Phases - EMD (NS) GP38-3

From 2004 to 2007, Norfolk Southern rebuilt 37 former Southern Railway GP50 units into GP38-3's. The 3500-hp, 16-cylinder turbocharged 645F engine was derated to a 2000-hp Roots-blown 645E, which resulted in the removal of the middle radiator fan, the installation of a paper air filter box, and the replacement of the exhaust silencer with two exhaust stacks. Aside from these modifications, the original long hood of the GP50 was retained largely as-is. While mechanically similar to a standard GP38-2, the units retained the Super Series wheel slip control of the GP50.

The original high short hood was replaced with an 81" low short hood - the same length as the high hood but shorter than the 88" low hood used on other GP50's as built. The original EMD handbrake was replaced with a Graham-White 393 series handbrake, and an all-new cab and sub-base were installed. The cab was built to the general design and dimensions of the EMD standard cab, with a flat panel under the headlight (as on earlier EMD-built units) and a welded rectangular side panel (as on late Dash-2 and later units). The sub-base and battery box doors, the notch for the handbrake and a few other minor details differed from the EMD-built version. During the cab conversion, the units were changed from long hood forward to short hood forward operation.

Phases

Over the course of the rebuilds, the series underwent a number of minor variations.

Number	Phase	Fans	Air filter box	Exhaust stacks	Sunshade	Dynamic brakes	LSL (1)
5801	1	Q-type	Straight sides		Sliding	Roof panel at front	Yes
5802	2		Angled top	Spaced farther apart		No roof panel
5803
5804
5805
5806
5807
5808
5809
5810
5811
5812
5813
5814
5815	3				Fixed
5816
5817
5818
5819
5820	4	Short				Angled housing extended forward on conductor's side
5821		Tall
5822		Short/tall
5823		Short
5824		Q-type
5825
5826
5827
5828
5829
5830	5						No
5831
5832
5833
5834
5835
5836
5837

Notes

LSL: Locomotive speed limiter, identifiable externally by the light mounted below the walkway on both sides behind the cab.

Other Details

Six units (5809, 5810, 5814, 5818, 5822 and 5835) were rebuilt from the last order of GP50's (NS 7073-7092) and had different end handrails from the rest.
Most had trucks with Timken wheel bearings in matching housings. Some used Timken bearings installed in Hyatt bearing housings with the end caps removed. A couple (such as 5821 and 5822) used one truck with each type.
Almost all units had Airchime K5LAR24 horns, with the majority facing the rear of the long hood. A few had Nathan P5's. The horn location varied slightly among units, with later units tending to have the horn slightly farther forward.

References

Graham-White. (2004). SafeSet LPBs. Retrieved April 2016 from http://www.grahamwhite.com/main/category.php?C1=15

Myers. (2011). Juniata Diesel Conversions - GP50 to GP38-3 for Norfolk Southern. Retrieved March 2017 from http://www.altoonaworks.info/rebuilds/ns_gp38-3.html