CIRY 1206, an SW9 built in 1951 on October 31, 2008.

(FranklinC55, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

 

GM-EMD logo

EMD SW9 DIESEL-ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE

The EMD SW9 is a model of diesel switcher locomotives built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between November 1950 and December 1953. Additional SW9s were built by General Motors Diesel in Ontario Canada from December 1950 to March 1953. Power was provided by an EMD 567B 12-cylinder engine, producing 1,200 horsepower (895 kW).

786 examples of this model were built for American railroads and 29 were built for Canadian railroads.

 

Illinois Central SW14 No. 1496 is at the fueling racks in Memphis, Tennessee. 1496 was built by

EMD in May 1952 as IC SW9 No. 9469 then renumbered 469. Then it was later converted into an EMD SW14.

(Clinchfield654 at the English-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons)

 

Design and production

The SW9 was EMD's successor to the SW7. Like the SW7, the SW9 retained a power output of 1,200 hp and the same general design. It differed in lacking the upper hood vents found on the SW7, and with the installation of a 567B engine to replace the 567A found in the SW7.

Starting in October 1953 a number of SW9s were built with the 567BC engine. In December 1953, one locomotive, Weyerhaeuser 305, was built with a 567C engine. The 567C was subsequently installed on the SW9's successor, the SW1200.

In addition to the single units produced, ten TR5 cow-calf paired sets were produced (eight for the Union Pacific Railroad, and two for the Union Railroad of Pittsburgh). The Union Railroad also bought an additional two TR5B "calves".

 

Original buyers

SW9 locomotives built by Electro-Motive Division, USA

Railroad Quantity Road Numbers Notes
Aliquippa and Southern Railroad 1 1200 Built with a 567BC engine
Apalachicola Northern Railroad 7 705–711 710-711 built with 567BC engines
Arkansas and Louisiana Missouri Railway 1 12
Ashley, Drew and Northern Railway 1 174
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 19 2420–2438 2434-2438 built with 567BC engines
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad 65 652–716
Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad 8 590–597
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 6 598–603
Bauxite and Northern Railway 1 10
Bellefonte Central Railroad 1 5323
Belt Railway of Chicago 4 520–523
Boston and Maine Railroad 12 1220–1231
Cambria and Indiana Railroad 8 30–37
Campbell's Creek Railroad 1 13
Central of Georgia Railway 10 301–310
Central Railroad of New Jersey 11 1084–1094
Charleston and Western Carolina Railway 2 802–803
Chattanooga Traction Company 1 5 First SW9 built
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 35 5080–5093, 5245–5265 5092-5093 built with 567BC engines
Chicago and Illinois Western Railroad 1 104
Chicago and North Western Railway 9 1101–1105, 1122–1125
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 2 9269–9270 to Burlington Northern 160-161
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 5 775–779 Built with 567BC engines
Chicago, West Pullman and Southern Railroad 2 47–48
Conemaugh and Black Lick Railroad 2 118–119
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad 10 551–560
Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad 3 119–121
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway 15 11–25
Erie Railroad 7 434–440
Florida East Coast Railway 8 221–228
Georgia Railroad 2 906–907
Grand Trunk Western Railroad 7 7010–7016
Great Lakes Steel Corporation 3 27–29
Great Northern Railway 7 17–23 to Burlington Northern 149-155
Great Western Railway of Colorado 2 121–122
Houston Belt and Terminal Railway 10 22–31
Illinois Central Railroad 70 9320–9334, 9430–9484
Indiana Harbor Belt 7 9002-9008 9004-9008 built with 567BC engines
Anaconda Copper (Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company) 2 22–23
Kirby Lumber Company 1 1000
Kosmos Timber Company (US Plywood Corp - Champion Intl ) 1 100 Built with 567BC engine
Lehigh Valley Railroad 13 280–292
Louisville and Nashville Railroad 30 2267–2296
Maine Central Railroad 2 334–335 335 built with 567BC engine
Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad 1 82
Milwaukee Road 3 1643–1645 Renumbered 620-622
Mississippi Central Railroad 10 201–210 to Illinois Central
Missouri Pacific Railroad 22 9170–9191 renumbered 1232-1253
Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad 10 1226–1235 Renumbered 12-21
Monessen Southwestern 4 23–25, 27
Montour Railroad 12 73–84
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway 5 34–38
New York Central Railroad 60 8922-8930, 8941–8951, 8962–9001
New York Central (Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad) 7 9002–9008
New York Central (Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad) 20 8931–8940, 8952–8961
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad ("Nickel Plate Road") 12 233–244
Northern Pacific Railway 4 115–118 to Burlington Northern 156-159
Oliver Iron Mining Company 6 934–939
Pennsylvania Railroad 36 8513–8544, 8859–8860, 8869–8870
Peoria and Pekin Union Railway 2 411–412
Philadelphia, Bethlehem and New England Railroad 4 35–38
Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad 9 231–239 Built with 567BC engines
Pittsburgh, Chartiers and Youghiogheny Railway 4 2–5
Republic Steel Corporation 1 344
Reserve Mining Company 1 1211
Soo Line (Wisconsin Central Railway) 8 2111–2115, 2117–2119
Southern Pacific (Texas and New Orleans Railroad) 5 108–112 renumbered to 2208-2212 in 1965
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway 3 43–45 to Burlington Northern 167-169
St. Louis Southwestern Railway ("Cotton Belt") 4 1058–1061 renumbered to 2204-2207 in 1965
St. Louis–San Francisco Railway ("Frisco") 10 305–314
Steelton and Highspire Railroad 4 40–43
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis 13 1206–1218
Texas and Pacific Railway 13 1024–1036
Union Pacific Railroad 42 1825–1866 1847-1866 built with 567BC engines
Union Railroad 14 575–588
Wabash Railroad 12 363–374
Western Pacific Railroad 6 601–606
Weyerhaeuser Timber Company 3 302–303, 305 305 built with 567C engine
Wheeling Steel 2 1252–1253 1253 built with 567BC engine
Total 786

SW9 locomotives built by General Motors Diesel, Canada

Railroad Quantity Road numbers Notes
Canadian National Railways 10 7000–7009
Canadian Pacific Railway 6 7400–7405
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 5 5240–5244
Great Northern Railway 3 14–16 to Burlington Northern 146-148
Steel Company of Canada 1 70
Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway 4 55–58
Total 29

TR5 locomotives built by Electro-Motive Division, USA

Railroad Quantity A units Quantity B units Road numbers A units Road numbers B units Notes
Union Pacific Railroad 8 8 1870A–1877A 1870B–1877B Dynamic brakes were added to TR5As by UP shortly after delivery
Union Railroad 2 4 701–702 701C–704C
Total 10 12

Amtrak No. 796, which started life in 1952 as P&LE No. 8959, idles in Washington, D.C. in 2008.

(Cliff from Arlington, Virginia, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

 

SW1000R

In 1994 Amtrak acquired nine SW9s from various railroads and had them rebuilt by the National Railway Equipment Company. These switchers were reclassified as EMD SW1000R.

 

Overview

Type and origin
Power type: Diesel-electric
Builders: General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and General Motors Diesel (GMD, Canada)
Models: SW9, TR5
Build date: November 1950 – December 1953
Total produced SW9: 786 (EMD) plus 29 (GMD)
Total produced TR5A: 10
Total produced TR5B: 12
Specifications
Configuration:​
• AAR B-B
• UIC Bo′Bo′
Gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Prime mover: EMD 12-567B
Engine type: V12 Two-stroke diesel
Aspiration: Roots-type supercharger
Cylinders: 12
Performance figures
Power output: 1,200 hp (890 kW)
Career
Locale: North America