The EMD SW900 is a diesel

switcher locomotive A switcher locomotive (American English), shunter locomotive (British English), station pilot (British English), or shifter locomotive (Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distanc ...

built 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 ...

(GMD) between December 1953 and March 1969. Power was provided by an

EMD 567C The EMD 567 is a line of large medium-speed diesel engines built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. This engine, which succeeded Winton's 201A, was used in EMD's locomotives from 1938 until its replacement in 1966 by the EMD 645. It h ...

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 that generated 900

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

(670 kW). Built concurrently with the SW1200, the eight-cylinder units had a single exhaust stack. The last two SW900s built by GMD for British Columbia Hydro were built with 8 cylinder 645E engines rated at . 260 examples of this locomotive model were built for

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

railroads and 97 were built 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. Canadian production of the SW900 lasted three and a half years past EMD production. Seven units were exported to Orinoco Mining Co (Venezuela); two units were exported to Southern Peru Copper Co; and five units were exported to the Liberian American-Swedish Minerals Company. Total production is 371 units. Some SW900s were built with the generators from traded in

EMC Winton-engined switchers Early Electro-Motive Corporation switcher locomotives were built with Winton 201-A engines. A total of 175 were built between February 1935 and January 1939. Two main series of locomotives were built, distinguished by engine size and output: the ...

and were classified as SW900M by EMD. Units rebuilt from SW or SC model locomotives developed 600 or 660 horsepower with the older generators instead of the full 900 horsepower of the SW900. In the early 1960s, the

Reading Company The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railro ...

sent 14 of their

Baldwin Baldwin may refer to: People * Baldwin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

VO 1000 model switchers to EMD to have them rebuilt to SW900 specifications. The Reading units retained the Baldwin switcher carbody and were rated at 1000 horsepower by EMD. A

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 ...

variation, the TR9, was cataloged, but none were built.

Rebuilds

SW900E

In 1974, 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 decided to rebuild all ten of their EMD SW900

diesel locomotives 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 ...

at their own Houston Shops. The rebuilds included the installation of a 12-cylinder EMD 645E engine, which increased the

from to . The rebuilds had also included the installation of a new

electrical system Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

, which included a newer generator, newer

traction motors A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, or electric multiple unit trains. Traction motors are used in electrically powered railway vehicles (electric multiple u ...

, and a newer control system. The rebuilds were done specifically to extend the life of the locomotives and to increase their power and reliability.

Original buyers

Built by Electro-Motive Division, USA

Built by General Motors Diesel, Canada

References

* * * Extra 2200 South Volume 7 No.3 August September 1968 page 3

External links

*
EMD Serials

EMD Trade In Serials

EMD Export Serials

GMD Serials
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