THE 1930s

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General Motors purchased EMD on December 31, 1930, beginning a three-quarters of a century stretch of ownership by the company.

1932

Santa Fe No. M190 was delivered in June 1932. This railcar was 90 feet long and consisted of two articulated sections riding on three trucks. The front section contained the Winton distillate engine and the operating cab. The second section was for baggage.

1935

Ground was broken for the building in La Grange, Illinois on March 27, 1935.

Electro-Motive No. 511 was a company demonstrator 1800 HP Diesel locomotive. There was a second Electro-Motive demonstrator No. 512. They were similar to the Santa Fe Super Chief locomotives and Baltimore & Ohio No. 50.

Two experimental 1800 HP Diesel locomotives were produced for Santa Fe in 1935. They were painted in the livery of the Super Chief train.

1936

New York Central SC No. 572 was delivered in July 1936. It used a 600 HP Winton 8-201A engine

Construction of the La Grange facility

A view looking north in the Main Erecting Bay at Electro-Motive in LaGrange. Visible are seven switcher locomotives under construction, six with engines applied. The switchers are powered by straight 8-201A 600 HP Winton Diesel engines. In the midst of the switcher locomotives are two passenger units being built for Union Pacific. This locomotive was made up of two units and numbered M-10002. The cab unit was powered by a 1,200 HP 201A V-16 Winton Diesel engine while the booster unit is powered by a 900 HP V-12 Winton Diesel engine. These locomotives were assigned to power Union Pacific's "City of Los Angeles" passenger train. At the rear is Baltimore & Ohio No. 50. This locomotive was rated at 1,800 HP powered by twin Winton Diesel engines.

A view looking northwest in the Main Erecting Bay at Electro-Motive in LaGrange. Visible are at least nine switcher locomotives powered by straight 8-201A 600 HP Winton Diesel engines. In the center of the picture are passenger locomotives being built for Union Pacific. This locomotive is No. M-10004 and is made up of a cab and booster unit. These units were built with 1,200 HP 201A V-16 Winton Diesel engines. This locomotive powered Union Pacific's "City of San Francisco" train. At the right rear of the picture are units of locomotives M-10005 and M-10006. These units were built with 1,200 HP 201A V-16 Winton Diesel engines. These locomotives powered Union Pacific's "City of Denver" trains.

Electro-Motive Corporation E4 locomotive No. 1939 was prominently displayed at the main entrance to the General Motors "Highways and Horizons" pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens. The B Unit had clear sides so that visitors could see the inner components of the locomotive. The E4 utilized two 12-567A Diesel engines producing a total of 2,000 HP. The engines drove two D4 generators which in turn powered four D7 traction motors. Inside the display building, an Electro-Motive 12-567A engine was on display in the Diesel Engine display area.

While on display, the E4 was sold to the Seaboard Airline. The locomotive had to be removed from the exhibit to be delivered. This is an article describing the effort to remove the locomotive. The fair was open from April to October 1939 and again from April to October 1940 and closed permanently on October 27, 1940. The E4 locomotive was replaced by an Electro-Motive E6 locomotive for the 1940 season.

Temporary railroad tracks were used to move the E4 locomotive to its display location at the entrance to General Motors "Highways and Horizons" pavilion.

The E4 locomotive before being moved from the General Motors "Highways and Horizons" pavilion.

This is the same picture that was used in the news article showing removal of the E4 locomotive from the display. A significant effort was required to move the locomotives as each unit weighed over 300,000 pounds.

Inside the General Motors "Highways and Horizons" pavilion, a 12-567A engine was on display in the Diesel Engine area. This is the same model engine that powered the E4 locomotive.

Electro-Motive Diesel engines provided power for ships and stationary locations. Here, a group of sailors have their picture taken in front of a display showing ships powered by Diesel engines in the Diesel Engine area.

At the 1933 "A Century of Progress Exposition" held in Chicago, IL, One of the displays at the General Motors building was a Chevrolet automobile assembly line where actual cars were assembled and driven off the assembly line when completed. This assembly line was powered by two Winton 8-201 Diesel engines that were also on display in a gleaming power house shown in this picture.

Examples of passenger Diesel locomotives produced by Electro-Motive Corporation: 6,000 HP Seaboard "Orange Blossom Special", 1,200 HP Rock Island "Rocket", and 5,400 HP C&NW - UP - SP "City of San Francisco."

Examples of passenger Diesel locomotives produced by Electro-Motive Corporation: 3,600 HP Santa Fe "Super Chief", 3,600 HP Baltimore & Ohio "Capital Limited", and 3,000 HP "Denver Zephyr."

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