The EMD SD45-2 is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD). EMD built 136 locomotives between 1972 and 1974, primarily for the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

(ATSF). The SD45-2 was an improved version of the EMD SD45; the primary visual difference is the absence of flared radiators on the SD45-2.

Design

Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the SD45-2 was an upgraded SD45. Like the SD45, the SD45-2 had an EMD 645E3 20-

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 producing . The main spotting difference between an SD45 and an SD45-2 was the long hood and the rear radiator. On the SD45 the long hood is flared whereas on the SD45-2 it is vertical and the rear cooling fans are more spread out on the top of the rear of the long hood. This unit used the same frame as the

EMD SD40-2 The EMD SD40-2 is a AAR wheel arrangement#C-C, C-C diesel–electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Diesel, EMD from 1972 to 1989. The SD40-2 was introduced in January 1972 as part of EMD's ''EMD Dash 2, Dash 2'' series, competing against t ...

and EMD SD38-2. The largest owner of the SD45-2 was the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe with 90 units, the Clinchfield had 18 units, Seaboard Coast Line had 15 units and Erie Lackawanna rostered 13 units. A few cabless SD45-2Bs were built by Santa Fe from units undergoing remanufacturing. In all but one case (5510), the dynamic brakes were moved to the opposite end of the hood from the

radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

s; they were originally near the center of the hood. With no cab, these B-units are controlled from other locomotives. In September 2015,

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 ...

revealed SD45-2 #1700, which was painted back to its Erie Lackawanna color scheme at Chattanooga, Tennessee. This is the second unit from an NS predecessor painted back into its original colors.

Preservation

On August 31, 2018,

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

donated former SD45-2 #8954 (ex: SCL #2049) to the Southeastern Railway Museum in

Duluth, Georgia Duluth ( ) is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Duluth had a population of 31,873, and the United Stat ...

, making it the first SD45-2 to be preserved. On October 6, 2021,

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 ...

donated SD45-2 #6484 (ex: ATSF #5704, one of 5 units to receive a bicentennial scheme) to the Southern California Railway Museum (SCRM) in

Perris, California Perris is an old railway city in Riverside County, California, United States, located east-southeast of Los Angeles and north of San Diego. It is known for Lake Perris, skydiving, the Southern California Railway Museum, and its sunny dry cli ...

. It was restored to its bicentennial scheme as ATSF #5704, and was moved to SCRM in May 2025.

Original owners

Notes

References

* * * Sarberenyi, Robert.
EMD SD45-2 Original Owners
'. * Marta, H.A., Mels, K.D. and Itami, G.S. (1972), Design features and performance characteristics of the high traction three axle truck, ASME paper no. 72-RT-3.

External links

SD45-2 C-C locomotives Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1972 Freight locomotives Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States Locomotives with cabless variants Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway locomotives {{diesel-loco-stub