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E7, a 2,000-horsepower passenger train locomotive, was manufactured
by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division in La Grange, Illinois.
From February 1945 to April 1949, a total of 428 cab versions, known
as E7As, were produced, along with 82 booster E7Bs from March 1945
to July 1948. Its 2,000 hp was generated by two 12-cylinder model
567A engines, each powering its own electrical generator to drive
the two traction motors on one truck. The E7 marked the eighth model
in a series of passenger diesel locomotives with a similar design,
known as EMD E-units, and it quickly became the best-selling E model
upon its release.
The E7A featured
a less slanted front nose compared to earlier EMD passenger locomotives,
earning it and its successors, the E8 and E9, the nickname 'bulldog
nose' units. Some of the earlier units were referred to as 'shovel
nose' or 'slant nose' units. More than 20 different railroads
acquired E7s for their passenger trains. Currently, only one E7
example survives, with ex-Pennsylvania Railroad E7A #5901 being
preserved, cosmetically restored, and on display at the Railroad
Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
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