EMD SW8 (original) (raw)
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Model of 800 hp North American diesel switcher
EMD SW8 |
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Type and originPower typeDiesel–electricBuilderGeneral Motors Electro-Motive DivisionGeneral Motors Diesel (GMD, Canada)ModelSW8, TR6Build dateSeptember 1950 – February 1954Total producedEMD SW8: 310GMD SW8: 65EMD TR6A: 12EMD TR6B: 12 |
SpecificationsConfiguration: • AARB-B • UICBo’Bo’Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gaugeLength44 ft 5 in (13.54 m)Width9 ft 11.6 in (3.038 m)Height14 ft 6.2 in (4.425 m)Loco weight230,000 lb (104,326 kg)Prime moverEMD 8-567BEngine typeV8 Two-stroke dieselAspirationRoots-type superchargerCylinders8 |
Performance figuresMaximum speed65 mph (105 km/h)Power output800 hp (600 kW)Tractive effort: • Starting57,000 lbf (254 kN) at 25% • Continuous36,000 lbf (160 kN) at 11 mph (18 km/h) |
CareerLocaleNorth AmericaSouth Korea |
The EMD SW8 is a diesel switcher locomotive manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between September 1950 and February 1954. Power is supplied by an EMD 567B 8-cylinder engine, for a total of 800 hp (600 kW). A total of 310 of this model were built for United States railroads and 65 for Canadian railroads. Starting in October 1953 a number of SW8s were built with either the 567BC or 567C engine.
The SW8 was succeeded in EMD's product catalogue by the slightly more powerful SW900, introduced in December 1953.
The United States Army ordered 41 SW8s, numbered 2000–2040, for service in Korea during the Korean War. These were shipped in the spring of 1951.
After the Korean War, many US Army-owned SW8s were turned over to the South Korean government while others were retained by the Army and assigned to various Army posts, depots and ammunition plants. Most were retired around 1990 and replaced in service by rebuilt geeps, such as GP10s from VMV in Paducah, KY, and other rebuilders.[_citation needed_]
Sacramento Southern (Ex-USAX) 2008 in Sacramento in 2021
Of all of the locomotives turned over to the Korean National Railroad, only one, KNR #2001, believed to be ex-USAX #2011, still exists. As of May 2011 it was stored in the back of a locomotive shed in the Korea Railroad Busan Rolling Stock Workshop, 125 Sincheon-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan, Korea 614–765. Diesel Locomotive Team Leader Kim Hyun-Sik stated KORAIL is in talks with the city of Pusan to put the locomotive on display in the city as a part of Korea's heritage, as it is the oldest diesel locomotive in the country.[_citation needed_]
Two examples of these locomotives, ex-USAX #2019 and #2022, are preserved at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Alabama. After serving in Korea, #2019 was sent back to the manufacturer for reconditioning in 1953. #2022 was rebuilt in 1955. Both served in military bases in the United States until the early 1990s, finishing their careers at Fort Campbell, Ky. The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum acquired them in 1995.[1]
In addition, 24 TR6 cow–calf paired sets were produced.
In May 1953, a single example of the SW8 was built with a hydraulic transmission as model DH2. This locomotive was displayed at a trade show in 1955, but no sales of the DH2 followed. The locomotive was rebuilt with a standard electrical transmission, and served EMD as plant switcher #105 until 1968.
The first TR6A, Southern Pacific 4600, later numbered 1100, is preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California.
EMD SW8 used at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for Titan missile
Locomotives built by Electro-Motive Division, USA
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Locomotives built by General Motors Diesel, Canada
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Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
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Algoma Central Railway | 2 | 140–141 | |
Algoma Steel | 1 | 50 | |
Canada and Gulf Terminal Railway | 1 | 356 | |
Canadian National Railways | 34 | 8500–8533 | |
Canadian Pacific Railway | 10 | 6700–6709 | |
Dominion Foundries and Steel Company ("Dofasco") | 2 | 11–12 | |
Dominion Iron and Steel | 2 | 11–12 | |
Essex Terminal Railway | 2 | 102, 104 | Essex Terminal 104 last SW8 built 2/54 |
Steel Company of Canada | 7 | 71–77 | |
Wabash Railroad | 4 | 122–124, 127 | Bought for use in Canada |
Total | 65 |
Railroad | Quantity A units | Quantity B units | Road numbers A units | Road numbers B units | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrator) | 1 | 1 | 1600 | 1600B | to Southern Pacific 4600 (A), 4700 (B) |
Oliver Iron Mining Company | 8 | 8 | 1207A–1213A, 1216A | 1207B–1213B, 1216B | |
Southern Pacific Company | 3 | 3 | 4601–4603 | 4701–4703 | |
Total | 12 | 12 |
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States government
- ^ a b "From Korea to Alabama: Train engines still pulling duty". US Army 314th Public Affairs Operations Center. June 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
- ^ "EMD SW-8 (1953) Pfizer 1 (Danbury Railway Museum)". Archived from the original on 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ^ "Railway Equipment". The National Museum of Transportation. National Transport Museum Association. 2017. Archived from the original on June 9, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
- EMD Product Reference Data Card dated January 1, 1959 has the 567BC and 567C engine data used in the as-built roster.