CRIP No. 907, an EMD SW900 at Seneca, IL on January 28, 1967.
(Roger Puta, courtesy Marty Bernard, railfan 44, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
EMD SW900 DIESEL-ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE
The EMD SW900 is a diesel switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel (GMD) between December 1953 and March 1969. Power was provided by an EMD 567C 8-cylinder engine that generated 900 horsepower (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 1,000 horsepower (750 kW).
260 examples of this locomotive model were built for American railroads and 97 were built for Canadian 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-engine switchers 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 sent 14 of their Baldwin 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 variation, the TR9, was cataloged, but none were built.
Rebuilds
SW900E
In 1974, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company had decided to rebuild all ten of their EMD SW900 diesel locomotives at their own Houston Shops.
The rebuilds included the installation of a 12-cylinder EMD 645E engine, which increased the horsepower from 900 hp (670 kW) to 1,200 hp (890 kW).
The rebuilds had also included the installation of a new electrical system, which included a newer generator, newer traction motors, 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
| Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electro-Motive Division demonstrator | 1 | 6534 | to River Terminal 99 |
| Electro-Motive Division demonstrator | 1 | 6535 | to Waterloo Railway 4 |
| Alabama By-Products Corporation | 1 | 900 | |
| American Steel and Wire | 4 | 3–6 | |
| Armco Steel Corporation | 13 | B80, 1203–1214 | |
| Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | 4 | 650–653 | |
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | 29 | 625–653 | |
| Birmingham Southern Railroad | 5 | 91–95 | |
| General Motors-Buick Motor Division | 2 | 792, 818 | |
| Canton Railroad | 5 | 44–48 | |
| Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway | 1 | 94 | |
| Champion Papers Inc | 1 | 3 | |
| Chicago and North Western Railway | 2 | 144–145 | |
| Chicago Great Western Railway | 1 | 5 | |
| Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad | 29 | 550–563, 900–914 | 550-563 are 600 h.p. SW900M |
| Colorado and Wyoming Railway | 1 | 214 | |
| Texas Construction Material Company (Colorado River and Western Railroad) | 1 | 201 | |
| Corinth and Counce Railroad | 2 | 901–902 | |
| Cuyahoga Valley Railway | 2 | 960–961 | |
| DeQueen and Eastern Railroad | 1 | D-4 | |
| Detroit Edison Company | 1 | 214 | |
| Hammond Lumber Company (Feather River Railway) | 1 | 102 | |
| Fernwood, Columbia and Gulf Railroad | 1 | 900 | |
| Grand Trunk Railroad (of Maine) | 2 | 7225-7226 | |
| Grand Trunk Western Railroad | 13 | 7227–7232, 7262–7268 | |
| Granite City Steel Company | 2 | 900–901 | |
| Great Lakes Steel Corporation | 2 | 6-7 | |
| Hanna Furnace Company | 1 | 17 | |
| Hercules Powder Company | 1 | 61 | |
| Inland Lime and Stone Company | 1 | 10 | |
| Jacksonville Terminal Company | 3 | 37–39 | |
| Lancaster and Chester Railway | 2 | 90–91 | L&C 91 was the last EMD built SW900 in 11/65 |
| Lehigh Valley Railroad | 12 | 106-107, 110, 120–127, 130 | 107,110 are 600 h.p. SW900M, 106 is 660 h.p. SW900M |
| Liberian American-Swedish Minerals Company | 5 | 201-205 | Liberia, Africa |
| McLouth Steel Corporation | 2 | 6–7 | |
| Missouri Portland Cement Company | 1 | 1 | |
| Monessen Southwestern Railway | 3 | 28–30 | |
| New York Central Railroad | 16 | 9631–9646 | |
| New York Central System (Cleveland Union Terminal Company) | 3 | 9628–9630 | |
| Northern Pacific Railway | 1 | 100 | NW 100 was rebuilt as an SW900m |
| Orinoco Mining Company | 7 | 1090–1096 | Venezuela, South America |
| Philadelphia Bethlehem and New England Railroad | 2 | 51-52 | |
| Pickering Lumber Company | 4 | 101–104 | |
| Raritan River Railroad | 6 | 1–6 | |
| Reading Company | 21 | 10-15, 1501–1515 | 10-15 are 660 h.p. SW900M |
| Republic Steel Corporation | 12 | 345, 347–349, 354–359, 373–374 | |
| River Terminal Railway | 10 | 90–98, 100 | 99 was EMD demo |
| Sand Springs Railway | 3 | 100–102 | |
| Simpson Logging Company | 1 | 900 | Built with dynamic brakes. |
| South Peru Copper Company | 2 | 9-10 | Peru, South America |
| Southern Pacific Transportation Company | 10 | 4624–4633 | |
| Steelton and Highspire Railroad | 2 | 21, 27 | |
| U.S. Steel Corporation | 1 | 157 | |
| U.S. Sugar Corporation | 3 | 154–156 | |
| Valdosta Southern Railroad | 1 | 955 | |
| Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company | 1 | 1 | |
| Waterloo Railroad | 3 | 1–3 | Waterloo 4 was EMD demo 6535 |
| Woodward Iron Company | 1 | 62 | |
| Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company | 5 | 900–904 | |
| Total | 274 |
Built by General Motors Diesel, Canada
| Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algoma Steel | 1 | 51 | |
| Aluminum Company of Canada ("Alcan") | 1 | 1003 | |
| British Columbia Electric Railway / BC Hydro | 12 | 900–911 | to Southern Railway of British Columbia BC Hydro 911 was the last SW900 built in 3/69, all twelve built with road trucks and M.U. and sometimes referred to as SW900RS |
| Canadian National Railways | 54 | 7233–7261, 8535–8559 | CN group 8535-8542 production started 12/53 first built |
| Canadian Pacific Railway | 11 | 6710–6720 | |
| McKinnon Industries | 1 | 47074 | |
| Midland Railway Company of Manitoba | 1 | 1 | |
| Steel Company of Canada ("Stelco") | 16 | 78–93 | |
| Total | 97 |
Southern Pacific EMD SW900 4631, date, location and photographer unknown.
Scanned from an 8x10 photographic print by M D McCarter owned by Digital Rail Artist.
(Craig Garver, Public domain, https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalrailartist/50437567822/)
Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific bought ten EMD SW900's built in July, 1954. They were assigned equipped with signal lights and M.U. for use in Southern California, including the Pacific Electric and San Diego & Arizona Eastern.
The above unit is in the Halloween scheme, black and orange, which was applied to only a few units in early 1958 before gray and scarlet was adopted later that year.
SP 4631 was renumbered SP 1177 in the 1965 general renumbering, and was rebuilt on August 28, 1974, as SP SW900E 1191. It was retired on December 17, 1986, and sold for scrap to Levin Metals in Richmond, California, on October 15, 1987.
- via Craig Garver
References:
Overview
Type and origin
Power type: Diesel-electric
Builders: General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and General Motors Diesel (GMD), Canada
Model: SW900
Build date: December 1953 – March 1969
Total produced: EMD: 274; GMD: 97
Specifications
Prime mover: EMD 8-567C
Engine type: V8 Two-stroke diesel
Aspiration: Roots-type supercharger
Cylinders: 8
Performance figures
Power output: 900 hp (670 kW)
Career
Locale: North America, South America, Africa
