GE B23-7
The GE B23-7 is a diesel locomotive model that was first offered by GE in late 1977. Featuring a smaller 12 cylinder version of the FDL engine, it is the successor to GE's U23B produced from early 1968 to mid 1977, but at long is exactly. longer. It competed with the very successful EMD GP38-2. General Electric also produced a variant, the BQ23-7, No. 5130-5139, for the Seaboard Coast Line. A total of 536 B23-7's were built for 9 U.S. customers and 2 Mexican customers.
A B23-7A is a 12-cylinder B23-7 with horsepower boosted to 250 per cylinder or 3,000 horsepower. In 1980 the Missouri Pacific ordered three B23-7A's and tested them system-wide. The result was the GE model B30-7A, B30-7 with a 12-cylinder FDL prime mover. They were not renumbered into the B30-7A series on the MP because they lacked Sentry Wheel Slip and had different engine governors.
13 B23-7's were built by GE of Brazil in Dec.1979 for United South Eastern Railways no.522-524 and National Railways of Mexico no.9130-9139. 17 B23-7s were built from GE kits in Mexico as Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México no.10047-10052 and no.12001-12011.
Southern Railway's 54 units had Southern's "standard" high-short-hoods.