CIRY 1206, an SW9 built in 1951 on October 31, 2008.
(FranklinC55, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
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
