| EMD SW1 |
 |
| Diesel-electric locomotive EMD SW1 (S.N. 402, former WP 502, built 1939) at Sacramento Railroad Museum |
| Power type |
Diesel-electric |
| Builder |
Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) later General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) |
| Model |
SW1 |
| Build date |
December 1938 (1938-12) – November 1953 (1953-11) |
| Total produced |
661 |
| Gauge |
4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Prime mover |
EMD 567 or 567A |
| Engine type |
Two-stroke diesel |
| Aspiration |
Roots-type supercharger |
| Cylinders |
V6 |
| Power output |
600 hp (450 kW) |
The EMD SW1 was a 600-horsepower (450 kW) diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between December 1938 and November 1953. Final assembly was at EMD's plant at La Grange, Illinois. The SW1 was the second generation of 600 hp switcher from EMD, succeeding the SW and SC. The most significant change from those earlier models was the use of an engine of EMD's own design, the EMD 567 engine, here in 600 hp (450 kW) V6 form. 661 locomotives of this design were built, even though diesel switcher production was suspended between 1942 and 1945 by the War Production Board.
[edit] Production changes
Like most long-running locomotive models, a number of changes were made to the SW1 over its production life. Internally, the post-1945 locomotives were somewhat improved, and used an updated 567A engine.
One easily spotted change is the shape of the two center cab windows over the hood, which were curved to follow the roofline originally, but became flat-topped after mid-1950. Another easily seen 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.
[edit] Identification
The SW1 appears very similar to its SW and SC predecessors, but has only a single stack instead of two, a significantly shorter hood and a larger rear platform, no small louvres on the front top hood sides, and a large grille instead of lifting vents on top of the hood front. The sandbox in front of the radiator is somewhat smaller on the SW1.
Compared to later EMD switchers, the SW1 has a much shorter hood, large platforms at each end, a single exhaust stack, and a large 'satchel' type sandbox.
[edit] Original owners
| 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 |
22
|
200–221
|
|
| Boston and Maine Railroad |
24
|
1109–1132
|
|
| 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 of New Jersey |
4
|
1109–1112
|
|
| Chattanooga Traction Company |
1
|
4
|
|
| Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad |
5
|
95–99
|
|
| Chicago and North Western Railway |
20
|
1207–1212, 1214, 1215,
1268–1270, 1272–1278,
1271, 1279
|
|
| Chicago District Electric Generating |
2
|
3, 4
|
|
| Chicago Short Line Railway |
2
|
200–201
|
|
| Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad |
20
|
9136–9153
|
|
| Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad |
3
|
50, 5, 6
|
|
| Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway |
1
|
55
|
|
| Chihuahua Forests |
1
|
500
|
only unit exported |
| Cleveland Quarries |
1
|
2
|
|
| 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
|
|
| 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 |
| Great Western Railway of Colorado |
2
|
61, 62
|
|
| 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
|
112–119
|
|
| 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
|
|
| Milwaukee Road |
25
|
1610–1634
|
renumbered |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad |
10
|
9004–9006, 9011, 9200–9205
|
|
| Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway |
1
|
15
|
|
| New York Central Railroad |
81
|
600–621 (first), 622–654,
580–599, 600–621 (second)
|
|
| Nickel Plate Road |
2
|
105–106
|
|
| Pennsylvania Railroad |
81
|
5910, 5944–5953, 5987–5999,
9104, 9137–9154, 9200–9203, 9205,
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
|
|
| Reading Railroad |
9
|
16–23
|
|
| 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
|
|
| Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway |
1
|
100
|
|
| Sahara Coal Company |
2
|
(no numbers)
|
|
| Seaboard Air Line Railroad |
1
|
1200
|
|
| Soo Line Railroad |
1
|
320
|
|
| Southern Railway |
9
|
2002–2004, 2007–2011, 8565
|
|
| Southern Pacific Railroad |
14
|
1004–1016
|
| St. Joseph Belt Railroad |
1
|
11
|
|
| St. Joseph Terminal Railroad |
2
|
1–2
|
|
| St. Louis – San Francisco Railway |
1
|
10
|
|
| 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
|
|
| Wabash Railroad |
11
|
101–111
|
|
| Warner Sand and Gravel Company |
1
|
15
|
|
| Western Pacific Railroad |
2
|
502–503
|
|
| Wheeling Steel Company |
4
|
1001–1004
|
|
| North Western Railway of Mexico |
1
|
500
|
|
[edit] Preservation
- The Wilmington and Western Railroad owns and operates two SW1s in tourist passenger service. One is from the Baltimore and Ohio, and the other is from the Lehigh Valley.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Milwaukee, WI. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.
- (July 2005), "Preservation Briefs", Trains Magazine, p. 71.
- TrainWeb.com. The Unofficial EMD homepage. Retrieved on January 7, 2005. Contains fairly complete builders' records for early EMD production.
[edit] External links
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| Railcars |
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| Diesel locomotives |
|
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| Dual-mode locomotive |
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| Electric locomotives |
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| Switchers |
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| Former locomotives |
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External images
