GE U18B

The GE U18B is a diesel-electric branch line road switcher locomotive that GE Transportation introduced in 1973. It was the only North American locomotive powered by the eight-cylinder 7FDL engine, and GE built just 163 of them, mostly for Maine Central and Seaboard Coast Line. Its small size earned it the nickname Baby Boats. Railroads were losing interest in specialized road units as the 1970s began, and the U18B was noted for reliability problems and for being underpowered. Maine Central called its units the Independence class and named them after revolutionary war heroes. A follow-on B18-7 appeared in a 1978 GE service manual but was never ordered or built. Eight former CSX units still work on the Pickens Railway in South Carolina.