Metra 4, an EMD SW1500 prepares to perform switching duties near Chicago Union Station, January 7, 2009.
(FranklinC55, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
EMD SW1500 DIESEL-ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE
The EMD SW1500 is a 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division from 1966 to 1974. The SW1500 replaced the SW1200 in the EMD product line. Many railroads regularly used SW1500s for road freight service.
It is similar in appearance to the EMD MP15 model which uses different trucks.
Missouri-Kansas-Texas, EMD SW1500 Diesel-Electric Switcher No. 50 at Dallas, Texas, April 1968.
(Everett L. DeGolyer Collection, SMU Central University Libraries, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped)
Original owners
Domestic (US/Export) orders
| Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Alton and Southern Railway | 18 | 1500–1517 |
| Alcoa Terminal Railroad | 1 | 9 |
| Apalachicola Northern Railroad | 8 | 712–719 |
| Armco Steel | 5 | 701–705 |
| Ashley, Drew and Northern Railroad | 1 | 150 |
| Angelina and Neches River Railroad | 1 | 1500 |
| Belt Railway of Chicago | 3 | 530–532 |
| Burlington Northern Railroad | 15 | 310–324 |
| Cambria and Indiana Railroad | 2 | 15, 16 |
| Chattahoochee Valley Railway | 1 | 101 |
| Chicago Short Line Railroad | 2 | 30, 31 |
| General Motors Electro-Motive Division | 9 | 106–114 |
| Georgia Power | 5 | 1401–1402, 1405, 1503–1504 |
| W.R. Grace Chemical | 2 | 101, 102 |
| Great Northern Railway | 10 | 200–209 |
| Houston Belt and Terminal Railway | 6 | 50–55 |
| Howe Coal | 2 | 1, 2 |
| Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad | 27 | 9200–9221, 9223–9227 |
| Illinois Terminal Railroad | 7 | 1509–1515 |
| Indianapolis Union Railway | 5 | 24, 26, 30–32 |
| Inland Steel | 7 | 119–125 |
| Kansas City Southern Railway | 42 | 1500–1541 |
| Kentucky and Indiana Terminal Railroad | 16 | 67–83 |
| Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion Railroad | 2 | 23, 24 |
| Longview, Portland and Northern Railway | 1 | 130 |
| Louisville and Nashville Railroad | 30 | 5000–5029 |
| Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway | 2 | 36–37 |
| Minnesota Taconite US Steel | 6 | 949–954 |
| Minnesota Transfer Railway | 7 | 300–306 |
| Mississippi Export Railroad | 1 | 64 |
| Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad | 6 | 50–55 |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad | 4 | 1518–1521 |
| New Orleans Public Belt Railroad | 3 | 151–153 |
| Patapsco and Back Rivers Railroad | 2 | 160, 161 |
| Penn Central | 84 | 9500–9583 |
| Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad | 40 | 1534–1563, 9280–9289 |
| Reading Railroad | 21 | 2750–2770 |
| Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad | 9 | 1–8, 91 |
| Rock Island | 10 | 940–949 |
| Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway | 2 | 500, 600 |
| St. Mary's Railroad | 1 | 503 |
| Sandersville Railroad | 2 | 100,300 |
| St. Louis–San Francisco Railway | 46 | 315–360 |
| Southern Railway | 48 | 2300–2347 |
| Southern Pacific Railroad | 204 | 2450–2480, 2493–2510, 2523–2578, 2591–2689 |
| St. Louis Southwestern Railway | 36 | 2481–2492, 2511–2522, 2579–2590 |
| Tennessee Copper | 1 | 108 |
| Tennessee Eastman Corporation (Eastman Kodak) | 1 | 1 |
| Terminal Railroad Alabama State Docks | 2 | 681, 682 |
| Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis | 17 | 1501–1517 |
| Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad | 4 | 303–306 |
| Union Railroad | 9 | 1–9 |
| U S Pipe and Foundry | 4 | 51–54 |
| Vermont Railway | 1 | 501 |
| Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. | 2 | 306, 307 |
| Winifrede Railroad | 1 | 13 |
| Western Pacific Railroad | 3 | 1501–1503 |
Export orders
| Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Amapá Railway, Brazil | 1 | 5 |
| Total | 808 |
Reading SW1500 No. 2765 at Rutherford Yard, Harrisburg, PA on May 10, 1970.
(Roger Puta, courtesy Marty Bernard, railfan 44, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Overview
Type and origin
Power type: Diesel
Builder: General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
Model: SW1500
Build date: June 1966 to January 1974
Total produced: 808
Specifications
Configuration:
• AAR B-B
Gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length: 44 ft 8 in (13.61 m)
Locomotive weight: 248,000 lb (112,491 kg)
Prime mover: EMD 645E
Engine type: 2-stroke diesel
Aspiration: Roots blower
Displacement: 9,072 in3 (149 L)
Generator Main: D32
Traction motors: D77/78DC
Cylinders: 12
Cylinder size: 9.0625 in × 10 in (230.2 mm × 254.0 mm)
Transmission: Diesel-electric
Locomotive brake: Straight air
Train brakes: Air
Performance figures
Power output: 1,500 hp (1,119 kW)
Career
Locale: North America, South America
Kansas City Southern Railway No. 4358, an EMD SW1500, January 25, 2008.
(terry cantrell, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)