EMD E6
American diesel-passenger locomotive
title: "EMD E6" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["diesel–electric-locomotives-of-the-united-states", "a1a-a1a-locomotives", "electro-motive-division-locomotives", "passenger-locomotives", "railway-locomotives-introduced-in-1939", "locomotives-with-cabless-variants", "standard-gauge-locomotives-of-the-united-states", "streamlined-diesel-locomotives", "atchison,-topeka-and-santa-fe-railway-locomotives", "baltimore-and-ohio-locomotives", "chicago-and-north-western-railway-locomotives", "illinois-central-locomotives", "milwaukee-road-locomotives", "diesel-locomotives-of-southern-railway-(u.s.)", "union-pacific-railroad-locomotives"] description: "American diesel-passenger locomotive" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_E6" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American diesel-passenger locomotive ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox locomotive"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | EMC E6 |
| powertype | Diesel-electric |
| image | Rock Island locomotive 630.jpg |
| caption | Rock Island E6A #630, operated by Midland Railway, at Baldwin City, Kansas on November 28, 2004 |
| builder | Electro-Motive Corporation General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) |
| buildmodel | E6 |
| builddate | November 1939 – September 1942 |
| totalproduction | 91 A units, 26 B units |
| aarwheels | A1A-A1A |
| gauge | |
| trucks | EMD Blomberg A-1-A passenger |
| wheeldiameter | 36 in |
| minimumcurve | 23° (250.79 ft radius) |
| wheelbase | 57 ft |
| length | 70 ft over coupler pulling faces |
| width | 10 ft |
| height | 14 ft |
| locoweight | A unit: 311300 lb |
| | B unit: {{convert|290000|lb|kg|0|abbr | on}} | | primemover | (2) EMD 12-567 | | rpmrange | 800 | | enginetype | V12 Two-stroke diesel | | aspiration | Mechanical | | displacement | 6804 cuin each | | generator | (2) EMD D-4 | | tractionmotors | (4) EMD D-7 | | cylindercount | (2) 12 | | poweroutput | 2000 hp total | | maxspeed | 116 mph | | tractiveeffort | Starting: 56500 lbf @25% | | Continuous: {{convert|31000|lbf|N|0|abbr | on|lk=in}} @11 mph | | disposition | Two preserved, remainder scrapped | ::
| name = EMC E6 | powertype = Diesel-electric | image = Rock Island locomotive 630.jpg | caption = Rock Island E6A #630, operated by Midland Railway, at Baldwin City, Kansas on November 28, 2004 | builder = Electro-Motive Corporation General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) | buildmodel = E6 | builddate = November 1939 – September 1942 | totalproduction = 91 A units, 26 B units | aarwheels = A1A-A1A | gauge = | trucks = EMD Blomberg A-1-A passenger | wheeldiameter = 36 in | minimumcurve = 23° (250.79 ft radius) | wheelbase = 57 ft | length = 70 ft over coupler pulling faces | width = 10 ft | height = 14 ft | locoweight = A unit: 311300 lb
B unit: 290000 lb | fuelcap = | primemover = (2) EMD 12-567 | rpmrange = 800 | enginetype = V12 Two-stroke diesel | aspiration = Mechanical | displacement = 6804 cuin each | generator = (2) EMD D-4 | tractionmotors = (4) EMD D-7 | cylindercount = (2) 12 | poweroutput = 2000 hp total | maxspeed = 116 mph | tractiveeffort = Starting: 56500 lbf @25%
Continuous: 31000 lbf @11 mph | disposition = Two preserved, remainder scrapped
The EMC E6 is a 2000 hp, A1A-A1A, streamlined passenger train locomotive manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation, and its corporate successor, General Motors Electro-Motive Division, of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, E6A, was manufactured from November 1939 to September 1942; 91 were produced. The booster version, E6B, was manufactured from April 1940 to February 1942; 26 were produced. The 2000 hp was achieved by putting two 1000 hp, 12-cylinder, model 567 engines in the engine compartment. Each engine drove its own electrical generator to power the traction motors. The E6 was the seventh model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.
Compared with passenger locomotives made later by EMD, the noses of the E3, E4, E5, and E6 cab units had pronounced slants when viewed from the side. Therefore, these four models have been nicknamed "slant nose" units. Later E models had the "bulldog nose" of the F series.
One interesting E6 variant custom-produced for the Missouri Pacific was the model EMC AA. This was a motorcar-style unit which had only one prime mover and 1000 hp, and substituted a baggage compartment where the other diesel V-12 would have been. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific owned an equally interesting pair of similar power cars known as the EMC AB6, which were mechanically identical but had boxcabs in blunt noses. These acted as boosters behind conventional E6A models on the Rocky Mountain Rocket train between Chicago and Limon, Colorado, from where the E6A would take the Denver cars north and the AB6 would take the Colorado Springs section of the train south.
Original owners
::data[format=table] | Railroad | Quantity A units | Quantity B units | Road numbers A units | Road numbers B units | Notes | Total | 91 | 26 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Electro-Motive Corporation (demonstrator) | 1 | — | 1940 | — | to Seaboard Air Line 3014 | | | | | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | 22 | 5 | 502–523 | 750–754 | ACL 501 was built as an E3A, wrecked before delivery and rebuilt as an E6A | | | | | Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | 4 | 3 | 12–15 | 12A, 13A, 15A | | | | | | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | 8 | 7 | 52, 57–63 | 57x–63x | | | | | | Chicago and North Western Railway | 4 | — | 5005A,B, 5006A,B | — | | | | | | Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad | 5 | — | 627–631 | — | | | | | | Florida East Coast Railway | 3 | 1 | 1003–1005 | 1051 | | | | | | Illinois Central Railroad | 5 | — | 4000–4004 | — | | | | | | Kansas City Southern Railway | 2 | — | 4, 5 | — | | | | | | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | 16 | — | 450A,B–457A,B | — | | | | | | Milwaukee Road | 2 | — | 15A,B | — | | | | | | Missouri Pacific Railroad | 2 | 2 | 7002–7003 | 7002B–7003B | | | | | | Seaboard Air Line Railroad | 2 | — | 3015–3016 | — | EMD Demonstrator 1940 became SAL 3014 | | | | | Southern Railway | 7 | 4 | 2800–2802 2900–2903 | 2900B–2903B | | | | | | Union Pacific Railroad | 6 | — | 7M1A, 7M2A, 8M1A, 8M2A, 9M1A, 9M2A | — | | | | | | UP-C&NW joint City of Los Angeles | 1 | 2 | LA-4 | LA-5, LA-6 | | | | | | UP-SP-C&NW joint City of San Francisco | 1 | 2 | SF-4 | SF-5, SF-6 | | | | | ::
Surviving units
Two E6 locomotives survive today:
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad E6A #630, was operated by the Midland Railway, in Baldwin City, Kansas. RI 630 has since been sold and will become part of a future museum in Manly, Iowa, along with Rock Island E8A 652. Both units have been cosmetically restored but currently are under a mechanical restoration at Mid-America Car in Kansas City, MO as of March 2017.
Louisville and Nashville E6A #770, built as L&N 450B, is located at the Kentucky Railway Museum, in New Haven, Kentucky. This unit is for display only, as it came to the museum without most of its internal parts.
References
Bibliography===-->
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