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_at_Seneca%2c_IL_on_January_28%2c_1967_(21798162974).jpg) Rock Island 907 at Seneca, Illinois on January 28, 1967 | |||||||||||||
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TheEMD SW900 is a dieselswitcher locomotive built byGeneral Motors Electro-Motive Division andGeneral Motors Diesel (GMD) between December 1953 and March 1969.[1] Power was provided by anEMD 567C 8-cylinder engine that generated 900horsepower (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).[citation needed]
260 examples of this locomotive model were built forAmerican railroads and 97 were built forCanadian 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 theLiberian American-Swedish Minerals Company. Total production is 371 units.[citation needed]
Some SW900s were built with the generators from traded inEMC Winton-engined 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.[citation needed]
In the early 1960s, theReading Company sent 14 of theirBaldwinVO 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.[citation needed]
Acow–calf variation, the TR9, was cataloged, but none were built.[citation needed]
In 1974, theSouthern Pacific Transportation Company had decided to rebuild all ten of their EMD SW900diesel locomotives at their own Houston Shops.[2]
The rebuilds included the installation of a 12-cylinder EMD 645E engine, which increased thehorsepower from 900 hp (670 kW) to 1,200 hp (890 kW).[2]
The rebuilds had also included the installation of a newelectrical system, which included a newergenerator, newertraction 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.[2]
| 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 | toSouthern 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 |
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