GE U25B

The GE U25B is an American diesel-electric road-switcher locomotive built by General Electric, introduced in 1959 as the first genuinely successful mainline locomotive General Electric had produced under its own brand, after decades of building locomotive electrical components for other manufacturers and one earlier unsuccessful attempt at a mainline diesel design. Built as the first model in what became known as GE's Universal series, or U-boat locomotives, the U25B offered improved reliability and lower maintenance costs compared with contemporary offerings from the dominant American locomotive builder Electro-Motive Division, and its commercial success established General Electric as a serious, lasting competitor in the North American locomotive market. The U25B's introduction marked the beginning of a rivalry between GE and EMD that would shape American diesel locomotive design and the structure of the domestic locomotive manufacturing industry for decades afterward.