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EMC/EMD SW1
PC #8589, still inPRR livery, switching atPittsburgh in 1970
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Corp (later Division) (EMC/EMD) Model SW1 Build date December 1938 (1938-12) – November 1953 (1953-11) Total produced 661
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge Trucks AAR Type A or B Wheel diameter 40 in (1,016 mm) Minimum curve 57° (104.79 ft or 31.94 m) Wheelbase 30 ft (9.14 m) Length 44 ft11+1⁄4 in (13.70 m) Width 10 ft (3.05 m) Height 14 ft4+5⁄8 in (4.38 m) Loco weight 196,000 lb (89,000 kg) Prime mover EMD6-567B or6-567A or6-567AC Engine type V62-stroke diesel Aspiration Gear-driven Roots blower Displacement 3,402 cu in (55.75 L) Generator GM D-4 Traction motors (4) GM D-7A Cylinders 6 Cylinder size 8+1⁄2 in × 10 in (216 mm × 254 mm) Gear ratio 62:15
Performance figures Maximum speed 65 mph (105 km/h) Power output 600 hp (447 kW) Tractive effort 49,000 lb (22,000 kg)
Career Locale United States Mexico

TheEMD SW1 is a 600-horsepower (450 kW)diesel-electricswitcher locomotive built byGeneral Motors'Electro-Motive Corporation (later Division) between December 1938 and November 1953. Final assembly was at EMD's plant atLaGrange (McCook) Illinois. The SW1 was the second generation of 3,402 cu in (55.75 L) switcher from EMD, succeeding theSC (cast frame) andSW (welded frame). The most significant change from those earlier models was the use of an engine of EMD's own design, the then-new567 engine, here in 600 hp (450 kW)V6 form. 661 locomotives of this design were built,^[1] with a gap in production between March 1943 and September 1945 due toWorld War II.

The SW1 was the start of a long line ofSW series switchers produced by EMD. It was complemented by theSW7 in 1949 and theSW8 in 1950.^[1] SW1 production ceased in November 1953, with its replacement, the equally powerfulSW600, starting production in February 1954.^[1]

EMD arrived at the nameSW1 based on the locomotive's power (S for 600 hp) and frame design (W for welded), and the number 1 was added to distinguish the new design from the previousEMD SW.^[1] As new and more powerful SW designs emerged in the 1950s, the SW name evolved to instead stand for "switcher."^[1]

The SW1 introduced a 6-cylinder version of the 567 (later 567A) series engine to EMC/EMD switchers. Developing 600-horsepower (450 kW) at800 rpm, this engine remained in production until 1966. Designed specifically for railroad locomotives, this was a mechanically-aspirated, two-stroke, 45 degree V type, with an8+1⁄2 by 10 in (216 by 254 mm),bore bystroke, giving 567 cubic inches (9.29 L) displacement per cylinder. A direct current generator provides power to fourtraction motors, two on each truck, in a B-B arrangement. The SW1, like most EMD switchers, uses theAAR type A switcher truck. EMC/EMD had built all its components since 1939.^[2][3]

Several changes were made to the SW1 over its production life. Internally, the post-war locomotives used the 567A engine.

Externally, the two center cab windows over the hood, which were curved to follow the roofline originally, became flat-topped after mid-1950. Another external difference is the taper of the hood to the cab, which was a two-stage taper in earlier units but became a single taper in later production. Very early locomotives were delivered with a stubby exhaust stack, but this did not lift the diesel exhaust sufficiently clear of crew visibility. All later units were delivered with EMD's standard conical switcher stack, while early units were generally modified with taller stacks too. Early locomotives had a single large headlight, while later had twin sealed-beam headlights.^[4]

• There were 7 units built as EMD demonstrators: #152 (toScullin Steel #6), 700 (toManufacturers' Junction Railway #7), 755 (toInland Steel #51), 804 (toSouthern Pacific Railroad #1000, pictured above), 905 (to Central of Georgia #1), 906 (toWestern Pacific Railroad #501), 911 (toGreat Lakes Steel #11)
• Owego and Harford Railway was still operating one SW1 for switching duties in their yard as of 2010, sitting derelict in a railyard in Owego, NY, as of 2019
• As of 2013, Amtrak still has one SW1 on their roster. #737 is used for switching chores at the Wilmington Delaware shops.
• As of 2021,Metra commuter rail rosters one SW1. It is used for Yard Service and power on work trains on theMetra Electric andRock Island lines. It was originally built in 1945 for theRock Island. Metra used to operate a second SW1, built in 1939, but sold it in June 2021 via online auction for $45,000 due to an internal engine failure.^[6] The unit built in 1939 was rumored to be one of the oldest operating diesels inIllinois and the oldest operating locomotive in the U.S. that was not preserved.

This list isincomplete; you can help byadding missing items.(July 2017)

• Andersen Windowalls 3110 is preserved in operational condition at theMinnesota Transportation Museum. It was previouslyNorfolk and Western Railway 3110 and originallyWabash Railroad 110, built in June 1949.
• Arkansas–Oklahoma Railroad 536 is in operational condition and in regular freight service. It was previouslyChicago, Rock Island and Pacific 536 and is painted in a Rock Island inspired paint scheme.
• Ballard Terminal Railroad 98 is one of the few SW1's operating in revenue freight service. It was originallyMilwaukee Road 1619, and was for a time on theSeattle and North Coast Railroad as number 52.^[7]
• Baltimore and Ohio 8408 &Lehigh Valley 114 are preserved at theWilmington and Western Railroad in operational condition.
• Billings Grain Terminal 84, built asChicago, Burlington and Quincy 9139 in 1939, was purchased by railroad operator and leasing firm St Johns River Companies in 2022 with the goal of restoring the locomotive into operating condition. After the formation of theBurlington Northern in 1970, 9139 was renumbered to 84, where it served for 5 years before being sold to the Davenport, Rock Island and Northwestern. In 1984, the locomotive was sold to a grain elevator inBillings, MT where it remains today.
• Black River and Western RailroadLehigh Valley 112, is preserved on the BR&W in operational condition. And PRR 9206 preserved and in service.
• Boston and Maine 1109 is preserved at theRailroad Museum of New England.
• Boston and Maine 1127 has been acquired by theDanbury Railway Museum.^[8]
• BRMX 1849, built asBoston and Maine 1113, is preserved at the Berkshire Scenic Railway, inLenox, MA.

• Cargill 6751, built in 1940 with construction number 1111, was one of the first SW1s that Electro-Motive built.^[9] After buying the unit, theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) initially numbered the locomotive as No. 213, but subsequently changed the number to 8413.^[9] Leased by theWashington and Old Dominion Railroad in 1968, B&O 8413 was one of the last locomotives to operate on the W&OD before the railroad closed during the same year.^[10] After several transfers of ownership, the locomotive was acquired byCargill, becoming Cargill No. 6751.^[9] Cargill moved the locomotive toOgden, Utah in 1993 for use in the company's Globe Mill.^[9] Following Cargill's donation of the locomotive in 2010, theUtah Central Railway and theUnion Pacific Railroad delivered it on May 21, 2011, to the Utah State Railroad Museum for display atUnion Station in Ogden.^[9]
• Commonwealth Edison 15 is preserved at theIllinois Railway Museum. This unit is in operating condition and is one of the most frequently used diesels on the property.
• Dardanelle & Russellville 16, built asChicago & Eastern Illinois 99 and laterMissouri Pacific 6001, is still in operation on the D&R.
• Eureka Springs & North Arkansas 4742, built asChicago & Eastern Illinois 98 in 1942, still in operation on this excursion line.
• Heart of Dixie 904, built asMemphis Union Station 10, is preserved at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
• Holly Sugar 1, the first SW1 built by EMC in 1939 is now preserved at theCalifornia State Railroad Museum inSacramento, California. Built asSouthern Pacific Lines 1000, the locomotive worked for the SP until its retirement in the 1970’s, then was sold to Holly Sugar and renumbered to 1. The museum donation was a coordinated effort between the museum, the Pacific Coast Chapter of theRailway and Locomotive Historical Society andSpreckels Sugar (the locomotive's last owner).
• Louisville & Nashville 13 is on display at the Foley Railroad Museum inFoley, AL.
• Milwaukee Road 1626 is preserved at the Milwaukee Road Heritage Center. It was formerlyNorthern States Power X-5, Ex-Burlington Northern 79, Exx-Chicago Burlington & Quincy 9137. Built in June 1939, the locomotive is in running condition, with its originalElectro-Motive Division 6-567B-1 Prime Mover.^[11]
• Monon Railroad 50, the first diesel locomotive owned by the Monon, is leased to theHoosier Valley Railroad Museum. It was damaged in the move to the new home of the Indiana Transportation Museum in Logansport, Indiana. ITM also hadMilwaukee Road 1613, but it was scrapped in July 2018. The locomotive was moved from Logansport, Indiana to the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson, Indiana in April 2021, where it will be repaired and will join the HVRM's fleet of vintage diesel locomotives.
• New York Central 705, built asLouisville and Nashville 14, is preserved in operational condition at the Adirondack Scenic Railroad.
• Northern States Power 4 is preserved in operational condition at the Gopher State Railway Museum. It was originally built asCB&Q 9146 in May 1940.^[12]
• Peabody Coal Company 470 (FormerDelaware, Lackawanna and Western #436) is on static display at the Museum of the Coal Industry in Lynnville, Indiana.^[13]
• Pennsylvania Railroad 9206 is preserved in operational condition on theBlack River and Western Railroad.
• Pennsylvania Railroad 9408 is preserved in operational condition at theRailway Museum of Greater Cincinnati.
• Pere Marquette Railway 11 is preserved at theBaltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, inBaltimore, MD, in operating condition at last report.
• Portland Traction Company 100 is preserved in operational condition at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, and is the only preserved former interurban diesel locomotive to retain the trolley poles.

  

• Sacramento Northern 402, originally built asWestern Pacific 502, is preserved at theCalifornia State Railroad Museum.
• SMS Rail Service 9423, formerPennsylvania Railroad 9423, is in storage inBridgeport, NJ.
• Southern Pacific Lines 1006 is preserved in operational condition, restored to its as-built appearance. It resides at theSouthern California Railway Museum, (formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum) and frequently pulls passenger trains for museum visitors.^[14]
• Western Pacific Railroad 501, originally built asEMC demonstrator 906, is preserved at theWestern Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, CA. This locomotive was the Western Pacific's first diesel-electric engine.
• Used locomotive dealer/lessorWestern Rail, Inc. ownsWRIX 1001 (built 06/1949 asNYC # 609 (2nd), later renumberedNYC 8435,PC 8435,CR 8435,GE Sayre Repair Shop # 2, IRLX 1006, IRLX 1001,WCTR 1001).
• The Zanesville & Western Scenic Railroad 8599, formerPRR 5999, operations excursions on its scenic line inFultonham, Ohio.
• Dura-Bond (former owner ofTurtle Creek Industrial Railroad) operates 462 at its pipe mill in McKeesport, PA. It is well maintained and operates as a switcher on about 7 miles of private track.

• List of GM-EMD locomotives

• Dorin, Patrick C. (1972).Chicago and North Western Power. Burbank, California: Superior Publishing. p. 96.ISBN 0-87564-715-4.
• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973).The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin:Kalmbach Publishing.ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
• (July 2005), "Preservation Briefs",Trains Magazine, p. 71.
• TrainWeb.com.The Unofficial EMD homepage. Retrieved on January 7, 2005. Contains fairly complete builders' records for early EMD production.
• Andersen Windows 3110. Retrieved on December 7, 2012
• EMD Product Reference Data Card dated January 1, 1959 has the 567AC engine data used in the as-built roster.
• Billings Grain Terminal 84,https://www.stjohnsrail.com/restore84

• Media related toEMD SW1 locomotives at Wikimedia Commons

• B-B locomotives
• Electro-Motive Division locomotives
• Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States
• Railway locomotives introduced in 1938
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• Diesel–electric locomotives of Mexico
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