EMD SW1

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EMC/EMD SW1
PC #8589, still in PRR livery, switching at Pittsburgh in 1970
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderGeneral Motors Electro-Motive Corp (later Division) (EMC/EMD)
ModelSW1
Build dateDecember 1938 (1938-12) – November 1953 (1953-11)
Total produced661
Specifications
Configuration:
 • AARB-B
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
TrucksAAR Type A or B
Wheel diameter40 in (1,016 mm)
Minimum curve57° (104.79 ft or 31.94 m)
Wheelbase30 ft (9.14 m)
Length44 ft 11+14 in (13.70 m)
Width10 ft (3.05 m)
Height14 ft 4+58 in (4.38 m)
Loco weight196,000 lb (89,000 kg)
Prime moverEMD 6-567B or 6-567A or 6-567AC
Engine typeV6 2-stroke diesel
AspirationRoots-type supercharger
Displacement3,402 cu in (55.75 L)
GeneratorGM D-4
Traction motors(4) GM D-7A
Cylinders6
Cylinder size8+12 in × 10 in (216 mm × 254 mm)
Gear ratio62:15
Performance figures
Maximum speed65 mph (105 km/h)
Power output600 hp (447 kW)
Tractive effort49,000 lb (22,000 kg)
Career
LocaleUnited States
Mexico

The EMD SW1 is a 600-horsepower (450 kW) diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Corporation (later Division) between December 1938 and November 1953. Final assembly was at EMD's plant at LaGrange (McCook) Illinois. The SW1 was the second generation of 3,402 cu in (55.75 L) switcher from EMD, succeeding the SC (cast frame) and SW (welded frame). The most significant change from those earlier models was the use of an engine of EMD's own design, the then-new 567 engine, here in 600 hp (450 kW) V6 form. 661 locomotives of this design were built,[1] with a gap in production between March 1943 and September 1945 due to World War II.

The SW1 was the start of a long line of SW series switchers produced by EMD. It was complemented by the SW7 in 1949 and the SW8 in 1950.[1] SW1 production ceased in November 1953, with its replacement, the equally powerful SW600, starting production in February 1954.[1]

Locomotive name[edit]

EMD arrived at the name SW1 based on the locomotive's power (S for 600 hp) and frame design (W for welded), and the number 1 was added to distinguish the new design from the previous EMD SW.[1] As new and more powerful SW designs emerged in the 1950s, the SW name evolved to instead stand for "switcher."[1]

Engine and powertrain[edit]

The SW1 introduced a 6-cylinder version of the 567 (later 567A) series engine to EMC/EMD switchers. Developing 600-horsepower (450 kW) at 800 rpm, this engine remained in production until 1966. Designed specifically for railroad locomotives, this was a supercharged 2 stroke 45 degree V type, with an 8+12 by 10 in (216 by 254 mm), bore by stroke, giving 567 cubic inches (9.29 L) displacement per cylinder. A D.C. generator provides power to four motors, two on each truck, in a B-B arrangement. The SW1, like most EMD switchers, uses the AAR type A switcher truck. EMC/EMD had built all its components since 1939.[2][3]

Production changes[edit]

Several changes were made to the SW1 over its production life. Internally, the post-war locomotives used the 567A engine.

Externally, the two center cab windows over the hood, which were curved to follow the roofline originally, became flat-topped after mid-1950. Another external difference is the taper of the hood to the cab, which was a two-stage taper in earlier units but became a single taper in later production. Very early locomotives were delivered with a stubby exhaust stack, but this did not lift the diesel exhaust sufficiently clear of crew visibility. All later units were delivered with EMD's standard conical switcher stack, while early units were generally modified with taller stacks too. Early locomotives had a single large headlight, while later had twin sealed-beam headlights.[4]

Original owners[edit]

Railroad Quantity Road numbers Notes
Allegheny and South Side Railway 1 101
Allis-Chalmers 1 8
Angelina and Neches River Railroad 1 10
Atlantic and East Carolina Railway 1 9
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad 1 1901 Rejected, to Richmond Terminal Railroad #1
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 16 200–215 #208, B&O renumbered to #8408, is currently owned by Wilmington & Western Railroad. 2nd oldest SW1 in routine scheduled service.
Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad 6 216-221
Boston and Maine Railroad 24 1109–1132 1109 owned by RMNE. Thomaston, CT 1113 owned and operated by BSRM, Adams/Lenox, MA. 1127 preserved by the Danbury Railway Museum in Danbury, CT.
Broward County Port Authority 1 400
Buffalo Creek Railroad 1 42
Canton Railroad 5 21–25
Central Indiana Railroad 1 1
Central of Georgia Railroad 3 2, 3, 7
Central Railroad of New Jersey 4 1109–1112
Chattanooga Traction Company 1 4
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad 5 95–99 99 to MP 6001, now Dardanelle & Russellville 16
Chicago and North Western Railway 20 1207–1212, 1214, 1215,
1268–1279
Chicago District Electric Generating 2 3, 4
Chicago Short Line Railway 2 200–201
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 18 9136–9153
Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad 3 DS-50, 5, 6 DS-50 renumbered to 1
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad 25 1610–1634 renumbered
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway 1 55
Chihuahua Forests 1 500 only SW1 exported
Cleveland Quarries 1 2 built with a 567AC engine. Last SW1 built.
Commonwealth Edison 6 10–15
Conemaugh and Black Lick Railroad 6 60–65
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad 11 427–437
Detroit Edison 3 210–212
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad 2 900–901 re-engined with 8-567B 800 hp engines, new hoods 1952. Reclassified SW8.
Donner-Hanna Coke 1 1
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad 27 220–246
EMD (demonstrator units)* 7 755, 804, 905, 906,
911, 700, 152
EMC 755 was the first SW1
Erie Railroad 1 360
Fort Worth and Denver Railway 2 602, 604
Fort Worth Belt 1 1
Galveston Wharves 5 201–205 201 to Dardanelle & Russellville 15
Garden City Western Railway 1 201
Georgia and Florida Railroad 3 70–72
Georgia Marble Company 1 1
Granite City Steel 2 600–601
Great Lakes Steel 14 12, 14–18, 22,
30, 31, 33–36, 38
Great Northern Railway 9 5101–5105, 80–83 5101–5105 renumbered to 75-79. Then to Burlington Northern 75-83. 77 was sold to Walla Walla Valley in 1975.
Great Western Railway of Colorado 1 61
Hanna Furnace Company 3 14–16
Houston Belt and Terminal Railway 1 10
Illinois Central Railroad 19 9014–9032
Inland Steel Company 12 54, 57, 70–73, 76–81
Lehigh Portland Cement Company 1 5
Lehigh Valley Railroad 6 112–115, 118-119 #114 is currently owned by Wilmington & Western Railroad. Oldest SW1 in routine scheduled service.
Louisiana Midland Railway 1 11
Louisville and Nashville Railroad 5 11–15
Manufacturers' Junction Railway 1 6
Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad 1 70
Mathieson Chemical 2 1–2
McLouth Steel 3 3–5
Memphis Union Station 1 10
Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago 3 1–3
Missouri Pacific Railroad 10 9004–9006, 9011, 9200–9205
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway 1 15
New York Central Railroad 103 600–621 (first), 622–654,
574–599, 600–621 (second)
9 (2nd) is now WRIX 1001, located on RVT - White City, OR0
Nickel Plate Road 2 105–106 #106 is now Independent Locomotive Services #920
Pennsylvania Railroad 85 5910, 5944–5953, 5987–5999,
9104, 9137–9154, 9200–9203,
9205-9209, 9396–9428
Pere Marquette Railroad 2 10–11
Phelps Dodge Corporation 1 A
Philadelphia, Bethlehem and New England Railroad 9 212–218, 220, 221
Public Service Company of Northern Illinois 3 9–11
Portland Traction Company (Oregon) 2 100, 200 100 is currently owned, restored to as delivered and operated by Oregon Pacific Railroad on its original home rails.
Reading Railroad 9 16–24
Republic Steel 22 50–54, 300–306, 340–341,
352, 370–372, 890–891, 893–894
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 18 529–546 536 operational as AOK 536. Serial number 1685 build 4/42
Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway 1 100
Sahara Coal Company 1 (no numbers)
Seaboard Air Line Railroad 1 1200
Soo Line Railroad 1 320
Southern Railway 9 2002–2004, 2007–2011, 8565
Southern Pacific Railroad 15 11, 1000, 1004–1016 11 is Texas & New Orleans
St. Joseph Belt Railroad 1 12
St. Joseph Terminal Railroad 2 1–2
Tennessee Coal and Iron Railroad 4 1000–1003
Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis 8 501–508
Union Railroad 22 455–476
US Department of Defense (US Army) 4 7001–7004 to Alaska 1203, 1201-1202, 1204
Wabash Railroad 11 101–111 Two units acquired by Tulsa-Sapulpa Union Railway, now in service as Numbers 101 & 102.[5]
Warner Sand and Gravel Company 1 15
Western Pacific Railroad 2 502–503 WP 501 was ex-EMC 906
Wheeling Steel Company 4 1001–1004
Total 661
  • There were 7 units built as EMD demonstrators: #152 (to Scullin Steel #6), 700 (to Manufacturers' Junction Railway #7), 755 (to Inland Steel #51), 804 (to Southern Pacific Railroad #1000, pictured above), 905 (to Central of Georgia #1), 906 (to Western Pacific Railroad #501), 911 (to Great Lakes Steel #11)
  • Owego and Harford Railway was still operating one SW1 for switching duties in their yard as of 2010, sitting derelict in a railyard in Owego, NY, as of 2019
  • As of 2013, Amtrak still has one SW1 on their roster. #737 is used for switching chores at the Wilmington Delaware shops.
  • As of 2021, Metra commuter rail rosters one SW1. It is used for Yard Service and power on work trains on the Metra Electric and Rock Island lines. It was originally built in 1945 for the Rock Island. Metra used to operate a second SW1, built in 1939, but sold it in June 2021 via online auction for $45,000 due to an internal engine failure.[6] The unit built in 1939 was rumored to be one of the oldest operating diesels in Illinois and the oldest operating locomotive in the U.S. that was not preserved.

Preservation[edit]

An SW1 at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera, Alabama.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Schafer, Mike (1998). Vintage diesel locomotives. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International. pp. 22–25. ISBN 0-7603-0507-2. OCLC 38738930.
  2. ^ Pinkepank, Jerry A (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Kalmbach Books. pp. 10, 26, 35. LCCN 66-22894.
  3. ^ Ross, David, ed. (2003). The Encyclopedia of Trains and Locomotives. Barnes & Noble. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-7607-9679-5.
  4. ^ Pinkepank, Jerry A (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Kalmbach Books. p. 35. LCCN 66-22894.
  5. ^ "Tulsa-Sapulpa Union Railway". American-Rails.com. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "SWITCH LOCOMOTIVE - govdeals.com". www.govdeals.com. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  7. ^ "Pictures of BDTL 98". RR Picture Archives. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Rolling Stock of the Utah State Railroad Museum: Cargill 6751: SW1". Utah State Railroad Museum: Spencer S. Eccles Rail Center. Ogden, Utah: Union Station. 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  9. ^ Harwood, Herbert Hawley Jr. (2000). Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847–1968 (3rd ed.). Fairfax Station, Virginia: Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. p. 137. ISBN 0615114539. OCLC 44685168 – via Google Books. .
  10. ^ "Home". montevideomrhc.org.
  11. ^ "Museum Projects". www.lynnvillecoalmuseum.org. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  12. ^ "Home". oerm.org.

References[edit]

External links[edit]