EMC EA/EB

The EMC EA/EB was an early passenger diesel locomotive built by the Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois, from May 1937 into 1938 for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It was the first model in the long line of passenger diesels later known as EMD E-units. Each unit developed 1,800 horsepower from two 900 horsepower Winton 201-A engines driving generators that fed the traction motors, on an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement. Six two-unit sets were delivered, each a cab-equipped EA lead unit and a cabless EB booster, numbered 51 through 56. They hauled B&O streamliner-style trains such as the Royal Blue and the Capitol Limited, built from rebuilt heavyweight cars. In the early 1950s the original Winton engines, which wore badly, were replaced with EMD 567 engines. The first EA, number 51, is preserved at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum.