[Joxster]

The WDG-6G Diesel Locomotive is based on GE’s evolution series and is fitted with a V16 evolution series engine, a four-stroke fully turbocharged and intercooled machine pushing out 6000 HP, which will make it the most powerful locomotive in the Indian Railways' line-up

The 6G is here. The massive, yet lightest 6,000 horse power diesel loco, WDG-6G Diesel Locomotive built by General Electric (GE), Pennsylvania, United States, is all set to roll on the tracks of Indian Railways, and that too, with the trials to be held in Telangana.

The locomotive, which will be the most powerful amongst those in use on Indian Railways, is ready to undergo the Confirmatory Oscilograph Car Run trials and join the fleet of locomotives of the Indian Railways. The WDG-6G Diesel Locomotive will be put on trials on the Vikarabad – Parli section of South Central Railway in Telangana very soon, a statement from SCR said here on Tuesday.

Key Features:

• The most important one - A V16 four-stroke fully turbocharged and intercooled evolution series engine putting out 6000 HP.
• The WDG-6G Diesel Locomotive also marks a new high in features related to the driver’s cab. The enhanced operator and cab amenities include provision of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning, hot plate, heated wind shields and display screens for the use of the loco drivers.
• Safety standards of the loco also get to the next level with the cab frontal collision system designed to withstand tough crash worthiness norms. Packaging of electrical hardware and equipment has been optimally done to enable easy maintenance. The lightweight bogie frame also needs minimal maintenance, the press release said.

Source

I'm also quoting some very interesting information from the WDG5 (Indian Railway’s new WDG5 Locomotive, supported by Electro-Motive Diesel) thread, which clarifies about the naming convention. Due credit to members SirAlec & binaiks for this information.

First Alphabet denotes track gauges.
W - Broad Gauge, most common .
Y - Meter gauge, a dying breed, but some lines are still active.
Z and N narrow gauge.

Second Alphabet denotes fuel/power that engine use.
D-Diesel.
C-DC electric (can run under DC current only).
A-AC electric (can run under AC current only).
CA-Both DC and AC (Dual traction, can use AC and DC current).

Third Alphabet denotes assigned job for the engine
G-Goods (maal gadi)
P-Passenger (other than maal gadi, In Shashi Taroor's own word hauls 'cattle class')
M-Mixed load both goods and passenger (Maal and Cattle Class)
S-Used for shunting (used at big station/junction to bind and break, align a bogie to a designated train)
U-Electric multiple units (DMU/EMU, mumbai local etc)

Numbers and Alphabets after the above three letters denote power.

So, if we take the WDG-6G into perspective:

W - Wide/Broad gauge
D - Diesel powered
G - Made for hauling goods
6 - 6000 HP
G - Experts please comment.

Cheers

[sridhu]

Originally Posted by Joxster

So, if we take the WDG-6G into perspective:

W - Wide/Broad gauge
D - Diesel powered
G - Made for hauling goods
6 - 6000 HP
G - Experts please comment.

I would guess 6G = 6x1000 = 6000 HP

[tharian]

Originally Posted by Joxster

The WDG-6G Diesel Locomotive is based on GE’s evolution series and is fitted with a V16 evolution series engine, a four-stroke fully turbocharged and intercooled machine pushing out 6000 HP, which will make it the most powerful locomotive in the Indian Railways' line-up


G - Experts please comment.

Cheers

The only downside of this loco is the single cab which is a step back in design when EMD's and the WDG4G are dual cab. The reason for single cab is because of the bigger engine which needs a bigger radiator at the long hood end.
Chances of this loco running mu'ed is less too because of its power output. That is going to put operating this loco LHF a task.

I guess the 'G' is since it is was meant for the Dedicated Freight Corridor, WDG4G too.

There is a WDM2G as well in which the G stands for multiple generators as it has generators which runs as per load requirement instead of one engine block.

[mr_hardcore]

Originally Posted by Joxster

The WDG-6G Diesel Locomotive is based on GE’s evolution series and is fitted with a V16 evolution series engine, a four-stroke fully turbocharged and intercooled machine pushing out 6000 HP, which will make it the most powerful locomotive in the Indian Railways' line-up

This is a regular visitor to our siding and indeed a great hauler (I work with a logistics Co and a Container Train Operator, the first one to haul double stack container rakes ex NCR to our Mundra Port). The problem is with the loco pilots as most of them are yet to be trained to operate this. As a result, these are stabilized quite often at the stations or the yards till the trained crew is available.

[D33-PAC]

Why does India have to buy this from GE ? It's incredible that INDIA will be overtaking the UK in GDP size but even a train has to be imported. Doesn't India have any domestic makers ? Apart from gold and oil the amount of special equipment India imports is untenable. Indians are manic about the engineering discipline for scholastic reasons only I guess.

It irks me everytime I see VOLVO trucks in coal mines, Scania trucks for heavy lifting, imported German cranes, so on.

[deovrat]

Originally Posted by Joxster

So, if we take the WDG-6G into perspective:

W - Wide/Broad gauge
D - Diesel powered
G - Made for hauling goods
6 - 6000 HP
G - Experts please comment.

Cheers

First of all, great write up and good information

The old diesel naming convention dictated that the letter after the number was for incremental increase of 100 HP.

So a WDM3 engine would be - Broad Gauge Diesel Mixed loco with ~3000 HP, while a WDM3A would produce close to 3100HP, WDM3C would produce ~3300 HP, and so on.
(WDM3 engines are the workhorse of IR and you'd find them most commonly where electric traction is not present.)

No idea whether they have replaced the convention with something else at this point.

[arin_12]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

Why does India have to buy this from GE ? It's incredible that INDIA will be overtaking the UK in GDP size but even a train has to be imported.

You might get some idea from the below link.


https://www.financialexpress.com/pho...ndia-engine/5/

[kovilkalai]

Originally Posted by Joxster

The WDG-6G Diesel Locomotive is based on GE’s evolution series and is fitted with a V16 evolution series engine, a four-stroke fully turbocharged and intercooled machine pushing out 6000 HP, which will make it the most powerful locomotive in the Indian Railways' line-up

Cheers

Isn't the WAG9H locomotive slightly more powerful at 6,350HP? Also the upcoming WAG12 outpowers both these by a huge margin (12,000 HP)

[SR-71]

Originally Posted by Joxster

G - Experts please comment.

Cheers

I am not expert ! As far as I know this suffix has no fixed formatting unlike the previous characters. This simply denotes a relatively subtle variation in the same class of engine. For example

WDG-4: General Motors 4,000–4,500 hp (3,000–3,400 kW) GT46MAC models, first imported in 1999 and numbered from #12000 to #12999 and upward from #70000. Local production began in 2002.
WDG-4D: A WDG-4 with dual air-conditioned cabs and a maximum speed of 100 km/h (62 mph), India's first dual-cab diesel freight engine
WDG-4G: Evolution Series GE ES43ACmi 4500HP (3,350kW) diesel locomotives which GE Transportation is building for Indian Railways

Sometimes you will find A,B,C suffix which will be class variation with power bump up. There is a H suffix denoting Hitachi engine. There might be more but I do not know them all. Am not even sure if these suffixes are unique to a class or have general purpose meaning. The well known notations are the first 3 (sometimes 4) characters followed by a number AFAIK. Quoting wiki..

First letter (gauge):
W – Indian gauge (wide) – 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)
Y – Metre gauge (yard) – 3 ft 3 3⁄8 in (1,000 mm)
Z – 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge
N – 2 ft (610 mm) narrow (toy) gauge

Second letter (motive power):
D – Diesel
C – DC electric (DC overhead line)
A – AC electric (AC overhead line)
CA – DC and AC (AC or DC overhead line); CA is considered one letter
B – Battery (rare)

Third letter (job type):
G – Goods
P – Passenger
M – Mixed (goods and passenger)
S – Shunting (switching)
U – Multiple unit (electric or diesel)
R – Railcar

[tharian]

Originally Posted by kovilkalai

Isn't the WAG9H locomotive slightly more powerful at 6,350HP? Also the upcoming WAG12 outpowers both these by a huge margin (12,000 HP)

True.

I think it was after the order with GE was placed that the target for electrification was enforced as a result of which we can see old diesel loco's being converted to electrics, EMD diesel production being stopped, DLW being used to assemble electric loco's and rapid progress in electrification. The scenic Konkan rail is one of them.

These GE loco's most probably will be the last diesel's we seen on tracks after a while and once the order / agreements are fulfilled, I don't think they will be produced anymore.
It is a wrong decision by the Rail ministry IMO, as they could have continued manufacturing EMD's for use on non-electrified lines (Dedicated Freight Corridor) as and when required till electrification is complete.

WAG12 has oscillation issues and from what I know has still not certified to be used for duty.

[superbad]

I thought diesel is on its way out & electric locomotives are replacing it everywhere.

[sunishsamuel]

Is there any reason why the cab design at the front is flat compared to the nosed ones that are available in the USA (comparing with similar/evolution series loco). I personally like the nosed ones though.

[a4anurag]

First Look: The new WDG-6G Locomotive

The loco will be ready for trials in two weeks from now, according to officials.

Key features of the newest locomotive:

1. The WDG-6G is based on GE’s Evolution series.
   
   
2. WDG-6G is fitted with a 16 cylinder V-16 Evolution series engine. The engine is a 4 stroke, fully turbocharged and intercooled. Power transmission to the axle is AC-AC electric.
   
   
3. The loco has Co-Co type axle arrangement with 6 AC traction motors.
   
   
4. The WDG-6G sports an Electronic Fuel Injection for improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions.
   
   
5. The locomotive is UIC 1 emission compliant. First of its kind in India.
   
   
6. Alternator start engine is mounted on isolators for reduced vibrations.
   
   
7. The locomotive has IGBT based traction system with individual axle control for enhanced reliability.
   
   
8. Multi speed, motor driven auxiliaries for optimized load control.
   
   
9. The driver’s cab has been provided with amenities like HVAC, Hot plate, heated windshields, urinal.
   
   
10. Auto engine starts/stop integrated with APU.
    
    
11. Consolidated Control Architecture Control System has been provided, and features such as Trip optimizer, loco vision and cab signalling are also part of the feature-set.
    
    
12. Remote monitoring and diagnostics have been enabled for continuous fleet health monitoring.
    
    
13. Cab frontal collision designed as per EN12663 and AAR S580 anti-climber.

Here's a walk around video of the WDG-6G

WDG-6G Locomotive

SOURCE

********

Provisional speed certificate of WDG6G up to 65 kmph over Indian Railway - 29.11.2018 (Date of Issue)

A PDF file (item no. 3) issued by Research Design & Standards Organisation (RDSO), Indian Railways has some more details on the WDG-6G

LINK

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

Why does India have to buy this from GE ? It's incredible that INDIA...........

Well said. We fabricate satellites, nuclear reactors & now, even nuclear subs (albeit with Russian tech), but when it comes to making engineering fundamentals - large diesels among them - we seem to run out of breath. Is it cheaper to import? Apparently the WDG-6G will be manufactured by General Electric at its Marhowra plant in Bihar (http://www.railnews.in/much-awaited-...uction-trials/)

[tharian]

Originally Posted by shashanka

Well said. We fabricate satellites, nuclear reactors & now, even nuclear subs (albeit with Russian tech), but when it comes to making engineering fundamentals - large diesels among them - we seem to run out of breath. Is it cheaper to import? Apparently the WDG-6G will be manufactured by General Electric at its Marhowra plant in Bihar (http://www.railnews.in/much-awaited-...uction-trials/)

Most of our diesel loco's were built on transfer of technology agreements and derivatives of the same base model were built over the years as more power and speed were required.
The only mainline diesel loco that was indigenously built as far as I know was the WDG5, which was a failure.
It is no surprise that we import loco's from the Americans who are good at making diesel loco's. ALCO is the best example.