The EMD SW1 is a diesel-electric

switcher A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inte ...

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 Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaMcCook) Illinois. The SW1 was the second generation of 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 __NOTOC__ Year 567 (Roman numerals, DLXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 567 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Dom ...

engine, here in V6 form. 661 locomotives of this design were built, with a gap in production between March 1943 and September 1945 due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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. SW1 production ceased in November 1953, with its replacement, the equally powerful SW600, starting production in February 1954.

Locomotive name

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. As new and more powerful SW designs emerged in the 1950s, the SW name evolved to instead stand for "switcher."

Engine and powertrain

The SW1 introduced a 6-cylinder version of the 567 (later 567A) series engine to EMC/EMD switchers. Developing 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 ,

bore Bore or Bores often refer to: *Boredom * Drill Relating to holes * Boring (manufacturing), a machining process that enlarges a hole ** Bore (engine), the diameter of a cylinder in a piston engine or a steam locomotive ** Bore (wind instruments), ...

by stroke, giving 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.

Production changes

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.

Original owners

* There were 7 units built as EMD demonstrators: #152 (to Scullin Steel #6), 700 (to Manufacturers' Junction Railway #7), 755 (to

Inland Steel The Inland Steel Company was an American steel company active in 1893–1998. Its history as an independent firm thus spanned much of the 20th century. It was headquartered in Chicago at the landmark Inland Steel Building. Inland Steel was an i ...

#51), 804 (to

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was ...

#1000, pictured above), 905 (to Central of Georgia #1), 906 (to

Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dir ...

#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 Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...

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. The unit built in 1939 was rumored to be one of the oldest operating diesels in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

and the oldest operating locomotive in the U.S. that was not preserved.

Preservation

*Andersen Windowalls 3110 is preserved in operational condition at the

Minnesota Transportation Museum The Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM, reporting mark MNTX) is a transportation museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. MTM operates several heritage transportation sites in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin. The museum is actively invol ...

. It was previously

Norfolk and Western Railway 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 "Precisi ...

3110 and originally

Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary c ...

110, built in June 1949. *

Arkansas–Oklahoma Railroad The Arkansas–Oklahoma Railroad is a Class III carrier headquartered in Wilburton, OK that operates two segments of the former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRIP) Choctaw Route that originally ran between Memphis Tennessee and Tu ...

536 is in operational condition and in regular freight service. It was previously Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific 536 and is painted in a Rock Island inspired paint scheme. * Baltimore and Ohio 8408 is preserved at the

Wilmington and Western Railroad The Wilmington and Western Railroad is a freight and heritage railroad in northern Delaware, operating over a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) branch line between Wilmington and Hockessin. The railroad operates both steam and diesel lo ...

in operational condition. *Billings Grain Terminal 84, built as Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 9139 in 1939, was purchased by railroad operator and leasing firm St Johns River Companies in 2022 with the goal of restoring the locomotive into operating condition. After the formation of the

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 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroadin ...

in 1970, 9139 was renumbered to 84, where it served for 5 years before being sold to the Davenport, Rock Island and Northwestern. In 1984, the locomotive was sold to a grain elevator in Billings, MT where it remains today. * Black River and Western Railroad

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the n ...

112, is preserved on the BR&W in operational condition. And PRR 9206 preserved and in service. * Boston and Maine 1109 is preserved at the

Railroad Museum of New England The Railroad Museum of New England is a railroad museum based in Thomaston, Connecticut. Through its operating subsidiary known as the Naugatuck Railroad, the museum operates excursion and freight trains on the Torrington Secondary between Waterv ...

. *BRMX 1849, built as Boston and Maine 1113, is preserved at the Berkshire Scenic Railway, in

Lenox, MA Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The town is based in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and T ...

. *

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated, is a Privately held company, privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privatel ...

6751, built in 1940 with construction number 1111, was one of the first SW1s that Electro-Motive built. After buying the unit, the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

(B&O) initially numbered the locomotive as No. 213, but subsequently changed the number to 8413. Leased by the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad in 1968, B&O 8413 was one of the last locomotives to operate on the W&OD before the railroad closed during the same year. . After several transfers of ownership, the locomotive was acquired by

, becoming Cargill No. 6751. Cargill moved the locomotive to

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

in 1993 for use in the company's Globe Mill. Following Cargill's donation of the locomotive in 2010, the Utah Central Railway and the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

delivered it on May 21, 2011, to the Utah State Railroad Museum for display at

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

in Ogden. *

Commonwealth Edison Commonwealth Edison, commonly known by syllabic abbreviation as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquois County on the south to t ...

15 is preserved at the

Illinois Railway Museum The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago. Overview Histo ...

. This unit is in operating condition and is one of the most frequently used diesels on the property. *Heart of Dixie 904, built as Memphis Union Station 10, is preserved at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum. *

Holly Sugar Imperial Sugar is a major U.S. sugar producer and marketer based in Sugar Land, Texas, with sugar refinery operations in California, Georgia, and Louisiana. The company was established in 1843 and has undergone ownership changes multiple ...

1, the first SW1 built by EMC in 1939 is now preserved at the California State Railroad Museum in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. Built as Southern Pacific Lines 1000, the locomotive worked for the SP until its retirement in the 1970’s, then was sold to Holly Sugar and renumbered to 1. The museum donation was a coordinated effort between the museum, the Pacific Coast Chapter of the

Railway and Locomotive Historical Society ''Railroad History'' (initially, ''The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin'') is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society since 1921. ''Railroad History'' consists primarily ...

and Spreckels Sugar (the locomotive's last owner). * Louisville & Nashville 13 is on display at the Foley Railroad Museum in Foley, AL. *

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced ...

1626 is preserved at the Milwaukee Road Heritage Center. It was formerly

Northern States Power Northern States Power Company () was a publicly traded S&P 500 electric and natural gas utility holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that is now a subsidiary of Xcel Energy (). History The company's founder, Henry Marison Byllesby, ha ...

X-5, Ex-

79, Exx- Chicago Burlington & Quincy 9137. Built in June 1939, the locomotive is in running condition, with its original Electro-Motive Division 6-567B-1 Prime Mover. *

Monon Railroad The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville ...

50, the first diesel locomotive owned by the Monon, is leased to the

Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located at 507 Mulberry Street in North Judson, Indiana. At one time, a significant portion of the working population in North Judson was employed by one of the railroad companies in town. Th ...

. It was damaged in the move to the new home of the Indiana Transportation Museum in Logansport, Indiana. ITM also had

1613, but it was scrapped in July 2018. The locomotive was moved from Logansport, Indiana to the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson, Indiana in April 2021, where it will be repaired and will join the HVRM's fleet of vintage diesel locomotives. *

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

705, built as Louisville and Nashville 14, is preserved in operational condition at the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. *

4 is preserved in operational condition at the Gopher State Railway Museum. It was originally built as CB&Q 9146 in May 1940. *Peabody Coal Company 470 (Former

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

#436) is on static display at the Museum of the Coal Industry in Lynnville, Indiana. *

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

9206 is preserved in operational condition on the Black River and Western Railroad. *

9408 is preserved in operational condition at the Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati. *

Pere Marquette Railway The Pere Marquette Railway operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections in ...

11 is preserved at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, in Baltimore, MD, in operating condition at last report. *

Portland Traction Company The Portland Railway, Light and Power Company (PRL&P) was a railway company and electric power utility in Portland, Oregon, United States, from 1906 until 1924.Thompson, Richard M. (2006). ''Portland's Streetcars'', pp. 57 and 99. Arcadia Publish ...

100 is preserved in operational condition at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. *

Sacramento Northern The Sacramento Northern Railway (reporting mark SN) was a electric interurban railway that connected Chico in northern California with Oakland via the California capital, Sacramento. In its operation it ran directly on the streets of Oakland, ...

402, originally built as Western Pacific 502, is preserved at the California State Railroad Museum. *SMS Rail Service 9423, former

9423, is in storage in Bridgeport, NJ. * Southern Pacific Lines 1006 is preserved in operational condition, restored to its as-built appearance. It resides at the Southern California Railway Museum, (formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum) and frequently pulls passenger trains for museum visitors. *

501, originally built as EMC demonstrator 906, is preserved at the

Western Pacific Railroad Museum The Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM) in Portola, California, known as the Portola Railroad Museum until January 1, 2006, is a heritage railroad and archives that preserves and operates historic American railroad equipment and preserves d ...

at Portola, CA. This locomotive was the Western Pacific's first diesel-electric engine. *Used locomotive dealer/lessor Western Rail, Inc. owns

WRIX WRIX (1020 AM, "Electric City Bluegrass") is a daytime-only Bluegrass radio station located near Anderson, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to the nearby community of Homeland Park and b ...

1001 (built 06/1949 as NYC # 609 (2nd), later renumbered NYC 8435, PC 8435, CR 8435, GE Sayre Repair Shop # 2, IRLX 1006, IRLX 1001, WCTR 1001). *

114, built as

114, is preserved and operates tourist trains on the W&W.
The Zanesville & Western Scenic Railroad
8599, former PRR 5999, operations excursions on its scenic line in

Fultonham, Ohio Fultonham is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 115 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Zanesville micropolitan area. Fultonham was named for postmaster Robert Fulton. History Fultonham was originally call ...

.
Dura-Bond
(former owner of

Turtle Creek Industrial Railroad The Turtle Creek Industrial Railroad was a short line railroad, short line freight railroad that operated in western Pennsylvania between the boroughs of Export, Pennsylvania, Export and Trafford, Pennsylvania, Trafford, where it connected to ...

) operates 462 at its pipe mill in McKeesport, PA. It is well maintained and operates as a switcher on about 7 miles of private track.

Notes

References

* * * (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. *
Andersen Windows 3110
'. Retrieved on December 7, 2012 * EMD Product Reference Data Card dated January 1, 1959 has the 567AC engine data used in the as-built roster. * Billings Grain Terminal 84, https://www.stjohnsrail.com/restore84

External links

* {{Diesel Switchers B-B locomotives SW0001 Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1938 Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Standard gauge locomotives of Mexico Diesel-electric locomotives of Mexico Shunting locomotives