The EMD SD9 is a model of

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and June 1959. An EMD 567C 16-

cylinder A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...

engine generated . Externally similar to its predecessor, the SD7, the SD9 was built with the improved and much more maintainable 567C engine. 471 SD9s were built for American railroads, while a further 44 were produced for export. Many SD9s both high and short hood can still be found in service today on shortline railroads and industrial operators. Although most Class 1 roads stopped using these locomotives by the 1970s and 1980s, some remain in rebuilt form on some major

Class I railroad Railroad classes are the system by which Rail freight transport, freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportatio ...

s, as switcher locomotives.

History

The SD9 was the second model of EMD's SD (special duty) line of locomotives, following the SD7. Just as the SD7 was a lengthened GP7 with two additional axles, the SD9 was a corresponding modification of the GP9. The additional axles in SD series locomotives provide more tractive effort and more even distribution of locomotive weight compared to the four axle GP series locomotives. SD9s can be distinguished from the similar looking SD7s by observing the position of 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, while the SD7's classification lights are closer to the centerline and flush with the hood. The last phase of construction had a carbody similar to the SD18 and SD24, and used two cooling fans instead of four cooling fans. EMD ended SD9 production in June 1959. It was succeeded by the SD18 which began production in 1960.

Variants

SD9s

EMD produced a lightweight variant of the SD9, named the SD9s. This locomotive had its weight reduced for service on lighter tracks with modifications such as a smaller fuel tank.

SD9E

Between August 1970 and March 1980, the

Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

had rebuilt 144 of their units into EMD SD9E locomotives under their own rebuild program known as the General Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (G.R.I.P). 142 of their rebuilt units were renumbered as 4300-4441 and two additional rebuilt units being renumbered as 4450 and 4451. These 142 units were also reclassified as EF618E-1, with their two units #4450 and #4451 as EF618E-2, which had left six other SD9 locomotives un-rebuilt.

SD9m

The SD9m was a rebuild from SD7s and SD9s mostly by

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

. NS rebuilt a total of ten units and used them in service between 1989 and 2010.

Original buyers

Preservation

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

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

#1550 is preserved at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, having been donated by BNSF in 2022. It is classified as an SD9-3. *BNSF #6125 (ex-GN #598) is preserved at the Inland Northwest Rail Museum at Reardan, Washington, having been donated in 2020. It is being restored into its original Great Northern appearance. *

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

#6139 is preserved and operational on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. *Burlington Northern #6234 (ex- Colorado & Southern #839) is preserved and operational at 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. *Great Northern #599 is preserved by the Inland Northwest Rail Museum in Reardan, Washington. It will undergo a cosmetic restoration, with mechanical parts used for the restoration of #598. *

Korail The Korea Railroad Corporation () is the national railway operator in South Korea. It is branded as KORAIL () and changed its official Korean name () in November 2019. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, managed by Ministry of Land, ...

5025 is only preserved SD9 in Korea, plinthed in front of , along single G12 4102. Both engines worked for construction of Korea Train Express Gyeongbu section as departmental vehicles after their retirement on Korail. *

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

#532 is preserved and operational at the Whitewater Valley Railroad. *

Nevada Northern Railway The Nevada Northern Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Nevada, built primarily to reach a major copper producing area in White Pine County, Nevada. The railway, constructed in 1905–06, extended northward about from Ely, Nevada, Ely to ...

#204 (ex-SP #4426) is preserved and operational at the

Nevada Northern Railway Museum The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in Ely, Nevada, owned by the State of Nevada and operated by a historic foundation dedicated to the preservation of the Nevada Northern Railway. Museum ac ...

in Ely, Nevada, and will soon be repainted and renumbered to #250 to celebrate the

United States Semiquincentennial The United States Semiquincentennial, also called the Bisesquicentennial, the Sestercentennial, America250 or the Quarter Millennium, will be the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence. Festivities will mark various e ...

in 2026. * Nickel Plate Road #358 is preserved and operational at the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. It has been restored into its original appearance. *

Norfolk and Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

#2349 (ex-NKP #349) is preserved at the Mad River & Nickel Plate Railroad Museum. It was donated to the museum in December 2010 by

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

. * Portland and Western Railroad #1854 is stored in Albany, Oregon. It was retired in February 2024. * Southern Pacific #4404 is preserved on the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad in Usk, Washington. *Southern Pacific #5399 is preserved on the Albany & Eastern Railroad (AERC). Restored to SP's "Black Widow" paint scheme, it is used for both freight and passenger service. *Southern Pacific #5472 is preserved and operational on the Niles Canyon Railway * Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad #1221 is operational on their shortline railroad serving Michigan's Upper Peninsula and NE Wisconsin

References

External links

* {{Korail rolling stock SD09 C-C locomotives Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States Diesel–electric locomotives of South Korea Railway locomotives introduced in 1954 Freight locomotives Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States Standard-gauge locomotives of South Korea Baltimore and Ohio locomotives Chicago and North Western Railway locomotives Chicago, Burlington and Quincy locomotives Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad locomotives Great Northern Railway (United States) locomotives Milwaukee Road locomotives Nickel Plate Road locomotives Pennsylvania Railroad locomotives Southern Pacific Railroad locomotives