The Genesis Diesel

Written by Gary Dolzall

In the long history of railroading, there have been a handful of locomotives that come to symbolize an entire era of railroading – and General Electric’s extraordinary “Genesis Diesel” is just such a locomotive. Coming soon to Train Simulator Classic is an all-new rendition of the original edition of the Genesis – the Amtrak P40DC – as masterfully created by DTM!

Joining the landmark P40DC in this upcoming DLC will be a new and beautiful set of Amtrak’s Superliner passenger equipment.

The General Electric P40DC (also often classified as the Dash 8-40BP) made its debut in March 1993 and was born of locomotive specifications Amtrak had crafted prior to placing the order with General Electric in 1991 (that GE rather than Electro-Motive won the order was something of a surprise in the railroad industry). The objective of the Genesis project was to create a new generation of diesel passenger power to replace the successful and long-serving Electro-Motive F40PH, which had first joined the Amtrak roster in 1976 and had served as the primary workhorse of the national passenger railroad for the better part of two decades.

Amtrak’s specifications for the Genesis diesel called for a micro-processor-equipped 4,000-horsepower unit with HEP (auxiliary lighting and heating) power that would be potent, stylish, and trim in size and weight (to ensure the diesel could operate throughout Amtrak’s entire system). To create this pioneering locomotive, Amtrak and General Electric collaborated with Germany’s Krupp Verkehrstechnik, which provided high-speed bolsterless two-axle trucks, and enlisted its own time-proven FDL-series 16-cylinder engine, set in the locomotive’s advanced monocoque carbody, to provide the potency. Noted designer Cesar Vergara created the distinctive exterior design of the new locomotive. Vergara was quoted as remarking “This was the first all-new passenger locomotive in 40 years, and it had to be a bold statement …”

In March and April 1993, 44 Amtrak P40DCs rolled out of GE’s Erie (Pennsylvania) plant outfitted in Amtrak’s red, blue, and silver “Phase III” livery and wearing road numbers 800-843. The flashy diesels immediately went to work across much of the Amtrak route system, hauling the likes of the Southwest Chief, Crescent, the Florida-bound “Silver Service,” and Auto-Train.

As history records, the P40DC proved to be the site of a line of Genesis locomotives. Beginning in 1995, a dual-mode sister, the 3,200-horsepower, 12-cylinder P32AC-DM, was constructed for Amtrak and Metro-North. These locomotives were created to operate either as diesel-electrics or from third rail-supplied electric power and were employed by Amtrak and MNCR for use in New York City’s Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. Then, in 1996, General Electric constructed the first of what would eventually total 228 P42DC Genesis locomotives (207 for Amtrak and 21 for VIA Rail in Canada). Enhancements to electronic and control systems provided the P42DC with an additional 200 horsepower; externally the ubiquitous P42DC was virtually identical to the P40DC.

As intended, Amtrak’s GE Genesis diesels became the face, and the reliable motive power, for Amtrak’s national diesel fleet. The Genesis diesels’ tenure as Amtrak’s primary diesel power extended to a quarter century, and it has only been since the 2016 debut of the new-generation Siemens Charger diesels that Genesis diesels have begun to be displaced at the forefront of Amtrak services. While a number of Amtrak’s pioneering P40DCs have now been retired, 15 of the units were rebuilt in 2010 and worked throughout the system on various trains. Other Amtrak P40DCs have been leased or sold and are in service for the likes of Connecticut’s Department of Transportation (which have used the veteran diesels to power Shore Line East and CT Rail Hartford Line services). Conn DOT is actively rebuilding its P40DC fleet. The newer P42DC remains a bulwark of Amtrak’s expansive diesel roster.

As created for Train Simulator Classic by developer DTM, the upcoming P40DC is a superb visual recreation of the landmark locomotive and it features authentic controls and performance, including advance air braking operations. The P42DC will be included in both its original Phase III livery and Amtrak’s much-admired Phase IV scheme of the mid 1990s.

As an extraordinary bonus, the Amtrak P40DC DLC for Train Simulator Classic will also deliver a set of Amtrak’s extraordinary bi-level Superliner passenger equipment. Introduced in 1978 and still serving today as the backbone of Amtrak’s long-haul equipment fleet, the Superliner cars in this upcoming DLC wear Phase IV liveries, and include Sleeper, Deluxe Sleeper, Transition Sleeper, Coach, Dining car, and Lounge. Also included will be an Amtrak Heritage Baggage car and MHC (Material Handling Car). Four career scenarios, re-creating a journey of the legendary Amtrak Empire Builder along the popular Stevens Pass route through the Cascade Mountains (route available separately), will give you the opportunity to take the throttle of the P40DC.

Stay tuned here at Dovetail Live – as the General Electric P40DC Genesis diesel and accompanying Superliner equipment – are coming soon to Train Simulator Classic!

In the history of railroading, there have been a handful of locomotives that come to symbolize an era of railroading – and General Electric’s extraordinary “Genesis Diesel” is just such a locomotive. Coming soon to Train Simulator Classic is an all-new rendition of the original edition of the Genesis – the 4,000-horsepower Amtrak P40DC – as masterfully created by DTM.

Aboard the upcoming Amtrak GE P40DC, you’ll handle the locomotive’s authentic and realistic controls from its desk-style engineer’s console (above). Joining the landmark P40DC in this upcoming and remarkable DLC from DTM will be a new and beautiful set of Amtrak’s Superliner passenger equipment along with an Amtrak Heritage Baggage car and MHC (below).

In a brilliant and bold image of American passenger railroading, a pair of Amtrak General Electric P40DCs dressed in original Phase III livery make a dramatic exit from Cascade Tunnel (above and below) on the Train Simulator Classic Stevens Pass route. In March and April 1993, forty-four Amtrak P40DCs rolled out of GE’s Erie (Pennsylvania) plant outfitted in the striking red, blue, and silver livery and wearing Amtrak road numbers 800-843.

Amtrak’s stylish Phase IV livery made its debut shortly after construction of the GE P40DCs, and the big GE diesels soon came to wear the elegant livery. With the westbound Empire Builder in tow, P40DC 804 and a sister are making the station stop at Wenatchee, Washington.

Amtrak General Electric P40DC 841 (above and below) is Seattle-bound as it skirts Puget Sound with the Seattle section of the Empire Builder. As history records, the P40DC proved to be the sire of a landmark line of Genesis locomotives, with P32AC-DM sisters (for Amtrak and Metro-North) and the ubiquitous P42DC (for Amtrak and Via Rail) to follow.

As the original member of General Electric’s Genesis diesel line, the P40DC established the bold and distinctive face for a generation of American passenger power – and the P40DC, created in extraordinary form by developer DTM, is coming soon to Train Simulator Classic!