EMD SD9

EMD SD9
Algers, Winslow and Western Railway #203
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) Model SD9 Build date January 1954 – June 1959 Total produced 515
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR C-C Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge 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 Engine type V16 diesel Cylinders 16
Performance figures Power output 1,750 hp (1.30 MW)
Career Disposition Many have been rebuilt, and are still in service.

An SD9 is a 6-axle road switcher 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, but this model, internally, features the improved and much more maintainable 567C engine. 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 (1,219 mm) cooling fans instead of four 36-inch (914 mm) cooling fans. Because of their refinements over the SD7 model, SD9's, especially on the Southern Pacific and Northwestern Pacific, were frequently referred to as "Cadillac's."

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

Many SD9s both high and short-hood can still be found in service today on shortline railroads and industrial operators. And while most Class 1 roads stopped using these locomotives by the 1970s and 1980s, some remain in rebuilt form on some major Class I railroads, as switcher locomotives.

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 steam generators. To Burlington Northern 6127-6206
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (C&S)	23	820–842	To Burlington Northern 6215-6237 6234 preserved
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 530-543
Chile Exploration	5	901–905	Track gauge?
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	To Burlington Northern 6100-6126
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.
• BNSF 6125 was donated to the Inland Northwest Rail Museum in 2020. This unit was originally built for the Great Northern Railway as GN 598 and was incorporated in the formation of the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970. It became part of BNSF after the merger of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroads in 1995.
• The Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad uses #1223, formerly of Reserve Mining, in regular service around Escanaba, Michigan; other SD9s owned by the railroad are as of 2016 in a "deadline" in Wells, Michigan.
• 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 #204, ex-SP SD9E #4426 to occasionally to pull their passenger trains.
• Southern Pacific 4404 is preserved at WRIX/Western Rail INC.
• Milwaukee Road 532, rebuilt by the Milwaukee into an 'SD10', lives at the Whitewater Valley Railroad. It was originally their 2235.
• Nickel Plate Road 349 is preserved at the Mad River & Nickel Plate Railroad Museum. It was retired as Norfolk Southern #52, and was donated to the museum in December 2010. It has been restored to its Norfolk & Western appearance.
• The Portland and Western Railroad uses two SD9s for switching and industry service. PNWR 1852 operates out of their Albany, OR Burlington Northern yard and PNWR 1854 is assigned to the rock train, both Ex-SP Heritage.
• 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. 4 are known to have been rebuilt into SD9-3's, numbers 1550-1553, and have modern EMD cabs.
• An ex-Central of Georgia SD9, Black River & Western Railroad 9581, is currently on lease to Kinder-Morgan Newport News for yard duty.
• The Albany & Eastern Railroad Company (AERC) has 1 SD9E in Black Widow paint, AERC/LLW 5399, It is used for both Passenger and Freight service in Lebanon, OR.
• SP 4451, along with a few other SD9's are stored on a old spur outside of Shellville, CA

References

• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
• 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