EMD SW1500
Encyclopedia
The EMD SW1500 was a 1500 hp diesel locomotive
intended for switching
service and built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between June 1966 and January 1974. 808 examples were constructed. It was closely related to the less powerful EMD SW1000
model, forming a line of switchers powered by the new EMD 645
engine. The SW1500 replaced the SW1200
in the EMD product line, and was in turn replaced by the MP15DC
.
The SW1500 was a substantially bulkier locomotive than the SW1200, with a much bulkier frame, larger cab and bigger hood. In many respects it was approaching a road switcher
in abilities. While the SW1500 came as standard with AAR
switcher trucks, the majority of them were delivered with the optional Flexicoil trucks which permitted speeds up to 60 mph (100 km/h). The SW1500 was, in fact, often operated as a road-switcher for branchline service, and continues in this role today.
The very similar SW1504
was fundamentally a SW1500 mounted on Blomberg truck
s, and was produced for the Mexican national railroad, Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México
.
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
intended for switching
Switcher
A switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...
service and built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between June 1966 and January 1974. 808 examples were constructed. It was closely related to the less powerful EMD SW1000
EMD SW1000
An EMD SW1000 is a diesel switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between June 1966 and October 1972. Power was provided by an EMD 645E 8-cylinder engine which generated...
model, forming a line of switchers powered by the new EMD 645
EMD 645
The EMD 645 family of diesel engines was designed and manufactured by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. Intended primarily for locomotive, marine and stationary engine use, one 16-cylinder version powered the 33-19 "Titan" prototype haul truck designed by GM's Terex...
engine. The SW1500 replaced the SW1200
EMD SW1200
An EMD SW1200 is a diesel switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and May 1966. Power was provided by an EMD 567C 12-cylinder engine which generated 1200 horsepower...
in the EMD product line, and was in turn replaced by the MP15DC
EMD MP15DC
The EMD MP15DC was a switcher-type diesel locomotive model produced by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1974 and 1980. 351 examples were built...
.
The SW1500 was a substantially bulkier locomotive than the SW1200, with a much bulkier frame, larger cab and bigger hood. In many respects it was approaching a road switcher
Road switcher
A road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive used for delivering or picking up cars outside of a railroad yard. Since the road switcher must work some distance away from a yard, it needs to be able to operate at road speeds, it must also have high-visibility while it is switching, and it must...
in abilities. While the SW1500 came as standard with AAR
Association of American Railroads
The Association of American Railroads is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America . Amtrak and some regional commuter railroads are also members...
switcher trucks, the majority of them were delivered with the optional Flexicoil trucks which permitted speeds up to 60 mph (100 km/h). The SW1500 was, in fact, often operated as a road-switcher for branchline service, and continues in this role today.
The very similar SW1504
EMD SW1504
The EMD SW1504 was a diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. The type was sold only to Mexico's national railroad, Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México; 60 examples were built between May and August 1973...
was fundamentally a SW1500 mounted on Blomberg truck
Blomberg B
The Blomberg B was a "B" diesel locomotive truck. These trucks were the standard EMD four wheel truck from the FT up until the GP60. EMD introduced the truck in 1936. Unofficially it is named after Martin Blomberg, who joined the company the year before...
s, and was produced for the Mexican national railroad, Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México, was Mexico's state owned railroad company from 1938 to 1998, and prior to 1938 a major railroad controlled by the government that linked Mexico City to the major cities of Nuevo Laredo and Ciudad Juárez on the U.S. border...
.
Original owners SW1500s
| Domestic (US/Export) orders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
| Alton and Southern Railway | 18 | 1500-1517 | #1503 now belongs to the Acadiana Railway |
| Alcoa Terminal Railroad | 1 | 9 | |
| Apalachicola Northern Railroad | 8 | 712-719 | #717 & 718 now on the Central Midland Ry in St Louis |
| Armco Steel | 5 | 701-705 | |
| Ashley, Drew and Northern Railroad | 1 | 150 | Now on the Fordyce and Princeton Railroad Fordyce and Princeton Railroad The Fordyce and Princeton Railroad Company is a short-line railroad headquartered in Crossett, Arkansas.F&P operates of line from Fordyce, Arkansas , to an interchange with Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi Railroad at Crossett.F&P traffic generally consists of lumber and paper products.F&P... |
| Angelina and Neches River Railroad Angelina and Neches River Railroad The Angelina and Neches River Railroad is a short-line railroad headquartered in Lufkin, Texas.ANR operates an line from Dunagan, Texas, to an interchange with Union Pacific Railroad at Lufkin... |
1 | 1500 | |
| Armco Steel | 5 | 701-705 | |
| Belt Railway of Chicago Belt Railway of Chicago The Belt Railway of Chicago , headquartered in Chicago, is the largest switching terminal railroad in the United States. It is co-owned by six Class I railroads — BNSF Railway, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union... |
3 | 530-532 | |
| Burlington Northern Railroad Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996.... |
15 | 310-324 | In service as BNSF 3456-3470 |
| Cambria and Indiana Railroad Cambria and Indiana Railroad The Cambria and Indiana Railroad is a railway company that is located in the southeastern part of Indiana County, Pennsylvania in the United States... |
2 | 15, 16 | |
| Chattahoochee Valley Railway Chattahoochee Valley Railway The Chattahoochee Valley Railway was a shortline railroad linking a number of textile mills between West Point, Georgia and McGinty, Alabama for a total distance of... |
1 | 101 | |
| Chicago Short Line Railroad | 2 | 30, 31 | |
| General Motors Electro-Motive Division | 9 | 106-114 | 106-108 to IU 22-23, 25, 109 to IHB 9222, 110-112 to IU 27-29, 107 is first SW1500 built in 6/66, 113 to ?, 114 to ? |
| Georgia Power Georgia Power Georgia Power is an electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the largest of the four electric utilities that are owned and operated by Southern Company.... |
5 | 1401-1402, 1405, 1503-1504 | |
| W.R. Grace Chemical | 2 | 101, 102 | |
| Great Northern Railway Great Northern Railway (US) The Great Northern Railway , running from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington—more than 1,700 miles —was the creation of the 19th century railroad tycoon James J. Hill and was developed from the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad... |
10 | 200-209 | To Burlington Northern 300-309, Most now in service with BNSF |
| Houston Belt and Terminal Railway | 6 | 50-55 | |
| Howe Coal | 2 | 1, 2 | To Kansas City Southern |
| Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is a Class III railroad in the United States. The line comprises of track—30 miles of single mainline track, of double-main track and of additional yard and side track—starting northwest of Chicago in Franklin Park, Illinois, traveling southeast... |
27 | 9200-9221, 9223-9227 | Penn Central Subsidiary company |
| Illinois Terminal Railroad Illinois Terminal Railroad The Illinois Terminal Railroad, known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from 1896 to 1982... |
7 | 1509-1515 | |
| 5 | 24, 26, 30-32 | IU 22-23, 25, 27-29 are former EMD Plant Switchers 106-108, 110-112 | |
| Inland Steel | 7 | 119-125 | |
| Kansas City Southern Railway Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states... |
42 | 1500-1541 | In service with KCS |
| Kentucky and Indiana Terminal Railroad | 16 | 67-83 | K&IT 67 is the first production SW1500 7/66, K&IT 83 is the last production SW1500 1/74 |
| Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion Railroad Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion Railroad The Lake Erie, Franklin, and Clarion Railroad was a fifteen mile long short line that ran from a Conrail connection at Summerville, Pennsylvania, to Clarion, Pennsylvania, the county seat of Clarion County, and included a short branch from Sutton to Hedrick... |
2 | 23, 24 | |
| Longview, Portland and Northern Railway | 1 | 130 | |
| Louisville and Nashville Railroad Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business... |
30 | 5000-5029 | |
| Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway The Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway was an long American short line railroad connecting Minneapolis and Northfield, Minnesota. It was incorporated in 1918 to take over the trackage of the former Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Company, also known as... |
2 | 36-37 | |
| Minnesota Taconite US Steel | 6 | 949-954 | |
| Minnesota Transfer Railway Minnesota Transfer Railway The Minnesota Transfer Railway was a short line railroad in the United States.It was owned by nine major railroads serving the Twin Cities: the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, the Chicago Great Western Railway, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, the Chicago, Rock... |
7 | 300-306 | MT 300 to C&NW 1301 |
| Mississippi Export Railroad | 1 | 64 | |
| Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was incorporated May 23, 1870. In its earliest days the MKT was commonly referred to as "the K-T", which was its stock exchange symbol; this common designation soon evolved into "the Katy".... |
6 | 50-55 | |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific... |
4 | 1518-1521 | |
| New Orleans Public Belt Railroad New Orleans Public Belt Railroad The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad is a non-profit terminal switching railroad, owned by the City of New Orleans. It connects with six Class I railroads serving the city, and provides switching and haulage service.... |
3 | 151-153 | |
| Patapsco and Back Rivers Railroad | 2 | 160, 161 | |
| Penn Central | 84 | 9500-9583 | |
| Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio at nearby Haselton, Ohio in the west and Connellsville, ... |
40 | 1534-1563, 9280-9289 | Penn Central Subsidiary |
| Reading Railroad | 21 | 2750-2770 | |
| Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. It is now a portion of the CSX Transportation system.... |
9 | 1-8,91 | |
| Rock Island Line | 10 | 940-949 | |
| Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway The Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway is a very small railroad based in Roscoe, Texas, just west of Sweetwater, where it connects with the Union Pacific. When first constructed, the railroad ran from a connection with the Texas and Pacific Railway at Roscoe north through Snyder and then westward... |
2 | 500,600 | |
| St. Mary’s Railroad | 1 | 503 | |
| 2 | 100,300 | ||
| St. Louis-San Francisco Railway St. Louis-San Francisco Railway The St. Louis – San Francisco Railway , also known as the Frisco, was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central U.S. from 1876 to 1980.-History:... |
46 | 315-360 | |
| Southern Railway Southern Railway (US) The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894... |
48 | 2300-2347 | 2300-2329 Southern, 2330-2331 Interstate, 2332-2335 New Orleans Terminal, 2336-2337 CNO&TP, 2338-2339 Carolina & Northwestern, 2340-2347 Central of Georgia |
| Southern Pacific Railroad Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad.... |
204 | 2450-2480, 2493-2510, 2523-2578, 2591-2689 | |
| St. Louis Southwestern Railway St. Louis Southwestern Railway The St. Louis Southwestern Railway , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply Cotton Belt, was organized on January 15, 1891, although it had its origins in a series of short lines founded in Tyler, Texas, in 1870 that connected northeastern Texas to Arkansas and southeastern... |
36 | 2481-2492, 2511-2522, 2579-2590 | 2511-2522 leased from SP |
| Tennessee Copper | 1 | 108 | |
| Tennessee Eastman Corporation (Eastman Kodak Eastman Kodak Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892.... ) |
1 | 1 | |
| Terminal Railroad Alabama State Docks | 2 | 681,682 | |
| Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is a terminal railroad owned by railroads in St. Louis, Missouri which handles traffic through its metropolitan area.-Components:It was founded in 1889 in a deal orchestrated by Jay Gould by:... |
17 | 1501-1517 | |
| Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad | 4 | 303-306 | NASA Railroad NASA Railroad The NASA Railroad is a Class III industrial short-line railroad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The railroad consists of of track connecting the mainline of the Florida East Coast Railway and trackage at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.-Overview:NASA uses the... , Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program... , Florida |
| Union Railroad Union Railroad The following railroads have been named Union Railroad or Union Railway, usually because they connected or merged several other railroads. See joint railway for the concept of a railroad owned by more than one company.Freight carriers... |
9 | 1-9 | |
| U S Pipe and Foundry | 4 | 51-54 | |
| Vermont Railway Vermont Railway The Vermont Railway is a shortline railroad in Vermont and eastern New York, operating much of the former Rutland Railway. It is the main part of the Vermont Rail System, which also owns the Green Mountain Railroad, the Rutland's branch to Bellows Falls... |
1 | 501 | Was sold to the Lancaster and Chester Railway Lancaster and Chester Railway The Lancaster and Chester Railway is a railway headquartered in Lancaster, South Carolina, in the United States. The original route connects Lancaster, in Lancaster County, with Chester in Chester County... |
| Weyerhaeuser Weyerhaeuser Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world. It is the world's largest private sector owner of softwood timberland; and the second largest owner of United States timberland, behind Plum Creek Timber... Timber Co. |
2 | 306, 307 | |
| Winifrede Railroad | 1 | 13 | Currently owned and operated by Big Eagle Railroad as BER 01 |
| Western Pacific Railroad Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California... |
3 | 1501-1503 | to Union Pacific |
| Export orders | |||
| Amapá Railway, Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... |
1 | 5 | |
Specifications
| Overall length: | 44 ft 8 in | 13.61 m |
| Between bolster centers: | 22 ft 0 in | 6.71 m |
| Truck wheelbase: | 8 ft 0 in | 2.44 m |
| Width over grabirons: | 10 ft 0.125 in | 3.05 m |
| Height above rails: | 15 ft 0 in | 4.57 m |
| Wheel diameter: | 40 in | 1.02 m |
| Fuel capacity: | 600-1,100 US gal | 2,300-4,200 L |
| Engine: | 12-645E, V12 V12 engine A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft.... Roots-blown Roots type supercharger The Roots type supercharger or Roots blower is a positive displacement lobe pump which operates by pumping fluids with a pair of meshing lobes not unlike a set of stretched gears. Fluid is trapped in pockets surrounding the lobes and carried from the intake side to the exhaust... diesel |
|
| Power: | 1,500 hp | 1,100 kW |
| Main generator: | D32 generator | |
| Traction motors: | 4 × D77/78 DC | |
| Standard gearing: | 62:15 | |
| Weight: | 248,000 lb | 112,000 kg |