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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 309 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.
US Army SW8s
[edit]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]
![](Https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Sacremento_Southern_SW8_-2008.jpg/303px-Sacremento_Southern_SW8_-2008.jpg)
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]
Other models
[edit]In addition, 12 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.
Original buyers
[edit]![](Https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/EMD_SW8_engine.jpg/304px-EMD_SW8_engine.jpg)
SW8
[edit]Locomotives built by Electro-Motive Division, USA
[edit]Locomotives built by General Motors Diesel, Canada
[edit]Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
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 |
TR6
[edit]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 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit] 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)
- ^ "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.