General Electric Co. is the world’s largest builder of diesel-electric locomotives. Its products are used by numerous railroads to haul freight and passengers. Thousands of GE machines are in operation every day throughout the world. The locomotives tackle everything from mile-long ore trains in the Australian outback to overcrowded passenger trains in India.
But, it wasn’t always that way. In fact, up until just a few decades ago, GE was considered to be a niche player in the railway industry. Although the company built a diverse array of locomotives in small batches, it was primarily a supplier of traction motors, generators, controls and electrical components.