EMD SD9

EMD SD9
Algers, Winslow and Western Railway #203
Power type	Diesel-electric
Builder	General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
Model	SD9
Build date	January 1954 – June 1959
Total produced	515
AAR wheel arr.	C-C
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Fuel capacity	1,200 or 2,400 US gal (4,500 or 9,100 l; 1,000 or 2,000 imp gal)
Prime mover	EMD 567C
Cylinders	V16
Power output	1,750 hp (1.30 MW)
Disposition	Many have been rebuilt, and are still in service.

An SD9 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and June 1959. An EMD 567C 16-cylinder engine generated 1,750 horsepower (1.30 MW). This model is, externally, similar to its predecessor, the SD7. The principal spotting feature are the classification lights on the ends of the locomotive, above the number board. The SD9's classification lights are on a small pod, canted outward. The last phase of construction had a carbody similar to the SD18 and SD24, and used two 48-inch cooling fans instead of four 36-inch cooling fans.

Four hundred and seventy-one SD9s were built for American railroads and 44 for export.

Original buyers

Railroad	Quantity	Road numbers	Notes
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrator)	1	5591	to Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range 110
Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railroad	3	503–505
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad	10	765–774
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad	80	325–374, 430–459	300s had two fuel tanks, 400s had one.
Colorado and Southern Railway	23	820–842
Central of Georgia Railway	6	202–207
Chicago and Illinois Midland Railroad	5	50–54
Chicago and North Western Railway	14	1701–1710, 1721–1724	Fitted for Chicago commuter service
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad	14	2224–2237	Renumbered
Chile Exploration	5	901–905
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railroad	73	101–109, 111–174	129–130 had steam generators
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad	10	5305–5314
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway	3	600–602
Great Northern Railway	27	573–599
Korail (Korea)	29	101–129	Later renumbered 5001-5029
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (“Nickel Plate Road”)	20	340–359
Orinoco Mining (Venezuela)	10	1011–1020
Pennsylvania Railroad	25	7600–7624
Reserve Mining	6	1220–1225	To Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad
Soo Line (Wisconsin Central Railroad)	1	2381
Southern Pacific Company	150	5340–5444, 5449–5493	5340–5391 had steam generators
Total	515

Preservation

Some SD9 locomotives can be found in museums and on tourist lines, and at least two are in service on a working railroad:

• Dakota Southern Railway uses SD9 506 and SD9E 4427 in revenue freight service.

• Colorado & Southern 839, later Burlington Northern 6234, was donated by successor Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. to the Minnesota Transportation Museum. It now operates on the museum's Osceola and St Croix Valley Railway. 6234 is an example of the last variation of SD9 locomotives produced, which used the SD18 carbody.

• The Nevada Northern Railway uses an ex-SP SD9 occasionally to pull their passenger trains.

• Southern Pacific 4404 and 4450 are preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California Both are now up for sale. 4404 operational and 4450 not operational.

• Milwaukee Road 532, rebuilt by the Milwaukee into an 'SD10', lives at the Whitewater Valley Railroad. It was originally their 2235.

• The Portland and Western Railroad uses three SD9s for switching and industry service. PNWR 1852 operates out of their Albany, OR yard.

• The Western Rail Inc. owns 3 SD9m (SD9 rebuild) units. 13, 50, & 1886. 13 & 50 are Ex-Norfolk Southern, Exx-Norfolk & Western, née Nickel Plate Road. 1886 is Ex-Norfolk Southern, Exx-Southern, née Central of Georgia.

• BNSF still rosters several SD9's

• An ex-Central of Georgia SD9 is currently on lease to Kinder-Morgan Newport News for yard duty.

References

• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter’s Guide. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89024-026-4. 
• Sarberenyi, Robert. EMD SD9 Original Owners. Retrieved on August 27, 2006
• Komanesky, John. Preserved EMD Locomotives. Retrieved on May 18, 2009

External links

• Media related to EMD SD9 locomotives at Wikimedia Commons