The EMD SW8 is a diesel switcher locomotive manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and

General Motors Diesel General Motors Diesel was a railway diesel locomotive manufacturer located in London, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1949 as the Canadian subsidiary of the Electro-Motive Diesel division of General Motors (EMD). In 1969 it was re-organiz ...

between September 1950 and February 1954. Power is supplied by an

EMD 567 The EMD 567 is a line of large medium-speed diesel engines built by Electro-Motive Diesel, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. This engine, which succeeded Winton Motor Carriage Company, Winton's 201A, was used in EMD's locomotives from 193 ...

B 8-

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, for a total of . A total of 310 of this model were built for

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

railroads and 65 for

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

railroads. Starting in October 1953 a number of SW8s were built with either the 567BC or 567C engine.

US Army SW8s

The

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

ordered 41 SW8s, numbered 2000–2040, for service in Korea during the Korean War. These were shipped in the spring of 1951. After the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, many US Army-owned SW8s were turned over to the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n government while others were retained by the Army and assigned to various Army posts, depots and ammunition plants. Most were retired around 1990 and replaced in service by rebuilt geeps, such as GP10s from VMV in Paducah, KY, and other rebuilders. Sacremento Southern SW8 -2008

Of all of the locomotives turned over to the Korean National Railroad, only one, KNR #2001, believed to be ex-USAX #2011, still exists. As of May 2011 it was stored in the back of a locomotive shed in the Korea Railroad Busan Rolling Stock Workshop, 125 Sincheon-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan, Korea 614–765. Diesel Locomotive Team Leader Kim Hyun-Sik stated KORAIL is in talks with the city of Pusan to put the locomotive on display in the city as a part of Korea's heritage, as it is the oldest diesel locomotive in the country. Two examples of these locomotives, ex-USAX #2019 and #2022, are preserved at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Alabama. After serving in Korea
#2019
was sent back to the manufacturer for reconditioning in 1953
#2022
was rebuilt in 1955. Both served in military bases in the United States until the early 1990s, finishing their careers at Fort Campbell, Ky. The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum acquired them in 1995.

Other models

In addition, 24 TR6

cow–calf In rail transport, a cow–calf (also cow and calf, or in the master and slave) is a set of diesel switcher locomotives. The set is usually a pair, though a few three-unit sets (with two calves, also known as ''herds'') were built. A cow is ...

paired sets were produced. In May 1953, a single example of the SW8 was built with a

hydraulic Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

transmission as model DH2. This locomotive was displayed at a trade show in 1955, but no sales of the DH2 followed. The locomotive was rebuilt with a standard electrical transmission, and served EMD as plant switcher #105 until 1968. The first TR6A, Southern Pacific 4600, later numbered 1100, is preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California.

Original buyers

SW8

Locomotives built by Electro-Motive Division, USA

Locomotives built by General Motors Diesel, Canada

TR6

References

* * EMD Product Reference Data Card dated January 1, 1959 has the 567BC and 567C engine data used in the as-built roster. {{DEFAULTSORT:Emd Sw8 SW0008 SW0008 B-B locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1950 Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States Locomotives with cabless variants Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States Standard-gauge locomotives of Canada Standard-gauge locomotives of South Korea Diesel–electric locomotives of Canada Diesel–electric locomotives of South Korea Shunting locomotives Chicago and North Western Railway locomotives Delaware, Lackawanna and Western locomotives Great Northern Railway (United States) locomotives New York Central Railroad locomotives Nickel Plate Road locomotives Southern Pacific Railroad locomotives