The EMD SW1 is a diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Corporation (later Division) between December 1938 and November 1953. Final assembly was at EMD's plant at LaGrange (McCook) Illinois. The SW1 was the second generation of switcher from EMD, succeeding the SC (cast frame) and SW (welded frame). The most significant change from those earlier models was the use of an engine of EMD's own design, the then-new 567 engine, here in V6 form. 661 locomotives of this design were built, with a gap in production between March 1943 and September 1945 due to World War II.
The SW1 was the start of a long line of SW series switchers produced by EMD. It was complemented by the SW7 in 1949 and the SW8 in 1950. SW1 production ceased in November 1953, with its replacement, the equally powerful SW600, starting production in February 1954.
Locomotive name EMD arrived at the name SW1 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 previous EMD SW. As new and more powerful SW designs emerged in the 1950s, the SW name evolved to instead stand for "switcher."
Engine and powertrain The SW1 introduced a 6-cylinder version of the 567 (later 567A) series engine to EMC/EMD switchers. Developing at 800 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 an , bore by stroke, giving displacement per cylinder. A direct current generator provides power to four traction motors, two on each truck, in a B-B arrangement. The SW1, like most EMD switchers, uses the AAR type A switcher truck. EMC/EMD had built all its components since 1939.
Production changes 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.
Original owners Railroad Quantity Road numbers Notes Allegheny and South Side Railway 1 101 Allis-Chalmers 1 8 Angelina and Neches River Railroad 1 10 Atlantic and East Carolina Railway 1 9 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad 1 1901 Rejected, to Richmond Terminal Railroad #1 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 16 200–215 #208, B&O renumbered to #8408, is currently owned by Wilmington & Western Railroad. 2nd youngest SW1 in routine scheduled service. Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad 6 216-221 Boston and Maine Railroad 24 1109–1132 1109 owned by RMNE. Thomaston, CT 1113 owned and operated by BSRM, Adams/Lenox, MA. 1127 preserved by the Danbury Railway Museum in Danbury, CT. Broward County Port Authority 1 400 Buffalo Creek Railroad 1 42 Canton Railroad 5 21–25 Central Indiana Railroad 1 1 Central of Georgia Railroad 3 2, 3, 7 Central Railroad of New Jersey 4 1009–1012 Chattanooga Traction Company 1 4 Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad 5 95–99 99 to MP 6001, now Dardanelle & Russellville 16 Chicago and North Western Railway 20 1207–1212, 1214, 1215,1268–1279 Chicago District Electric Generating 2 3, 4 Chicago Short Line Railway 2 200–201 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 18 9136–9153 Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad 3 DS-50, 5, 6 DS-50 renumbered to 1 Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad 25 1610–1634 renumbered Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway 1 55 Chihuahua Forests 1 500 only SW1 exported Cleveland Quarries 1 2 built with a 567AC engine. Last SW1 built. Commonwealth Edison 6 10–15 Conemaugh and Black Lick Railroad 6 60–65 Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad 11 427–437 Detroit Edison 3 210–212 Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad 2 900–901 re-engined with 8-567B 800 hp engines, new hoods 1952. Reclassified SW8. Donner-Hanna Coke 1 1 Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad 27 220–246 EMD (demonstrator units) 7 755, 804, 905, 906,911, 700, 152 EMC 755 was the first SW1 Erie Railroad 1 360 Fort Worth and Denver Railway 2 602, 604 Fort Worth Belt 1 1 Galveston Wharves 5 201–205 201 to Dardanelle & Russellville 15 Garden City Western Railway 1 201 Georgia and Florida Railroad 3 70–72 Georgia Marble Company 1 1 Granite City Steel 2 600–601 Great Lakes Steel 14 12, 14–18, 22,30, 31, 33–36, 38 Great Northern Railway 9 5101–5105, 80–83 5101–5105 renumbered to 75-79. Then to Burlington Northern 75-83. 77 was sold to Walla Walla Valley in 1975. Great Western Railway of Colorado 1 61 Hanna Furnace Company 3 14–16 Houston Belt and Terminal Railway 1 10 Illinois Central Railroad 19 9014–9032 Inland Steel Company 12 54, 57, 70–73, 76–81 Lehigh Portland Cement Company 1 5 Lehigh Valley Railroad 6 112–115, 118-119 #114 is currently owned by Wilmington & Western Railroad. Oldest SW1 in routine scheduled service. Louisiana Midland Railway 1 11 Louisville and Nashville Railroad 5 11–15 Manufacturers' Junction Railway 1 6 Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad 1 70 To Republic Steel 326, 1959; to Nimishillen & Tuscarawas 326, 1995. Mathieson Chemical 2 1–2 McLouth Steel 3 3–5 Memphis Union Station 1 10 Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago 3 1–3 Missouri Pacific Railroad 10 9004–9006, 9011, 9200–9205 Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway 1 15 New York Central Railroad 103 600–621 (first), 622–654,574–599, 600–621 (second) 609 (2nd) is now WRIX 1001, located on RVT - White City, OR0 Nickel Plate Road 2 105–106 #106 is now Independent Locomotive Services #920 Pennsylvania Railroad 85 5910, 5944–5953, 5987–5999,9104, 9137–9154, 9200–9203,9205-9209, 9396–9428 Pere Marquette Railroad 2 10–11 Phelps Dodge Corporation 1 A Philadelphia, Bethlehem and New England Railroad 9 212–218, 220, 221 Public Service Company of Northern Illinois 3 9–11 Portland Traction Company (Oregon) 2 100, 200 100 is currently owned, restored to as delivered and operated by Oregon Pacific Railroad on its original home rails. Reading Railroad 9 16–24 Republic Steel 22 50–54, 300–306, 340–341, 352, 370–372, 890–891, 893–894 Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 18 529–546 536 operational as AOK 536. Serial number 1685 build 4/42 Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway 1 100 Sahara Coal Company 1 (no numbers) Seaboard Air Line Railroad 1 1200 Soo Line Railroad 1 320 Southern Railway 9 2002–2004, 2007–2011, 8565 Southern Pacific Railroad 15 11, 1000, 1004–1016 11 is Texas & New Orleans St. Joseph Belt Railroad 1 12 St. Joseph Terminal Railroad 2 1–2 Tennessee Coal and Iron Railroad 4 1000–1003 Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis 8 501–508 Union Railroad 22 455–476 US Department of Defense (US Army) 4 7001–7004 to Alaska 1203, 1201-1202, 1204 Wabash Railroad 11 101–111 Two units acquired by Tulsa-Sapulpa Union Railway, now in service as Numbers 101 & 102. Warner Sand and Gravel Company 1 15 Western Pacific Railroad 2 502–503 WP 501 was ex-EMC 906 Wheeling Steel Company 4 1001–1004 Total 661
There were 7 units built as EMD demonstrators: #152 (to Scullin Steel #6), 700 (to Manufacturers' Junction Railway #7), 755 (to Inland Steel #51), 804 (to Southern Pacific Railroad #1000, pictured above), 905 (to Central of Georgia #1), 906 (to Western Pacific Railroad #501), 911 (to Great 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 the Metra Electric and Rock Island lines. It was originally built in 1945 for the Rock 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. The unit built in 1939 was rumored to be one of the oldest operating diesels in Illinois and the oldest operating locomotive in the U.S. that was not preserved.
Preservation
Andersen Windowalls 3110 is preserved in operational condition at the Minnesota Transportation Museum. It was previously Norfolk and Western Railway 3110 and originally Wabash Railroad 110, built in June 1949. Arkansas–Oklahoma Railroad 536 is in operational condition and in regular freight service. It was previously Chicago, 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 originally Milwaukee Road 1619, and was for a time on the Seattle and North Coast Railroad as number 52. Baltimore and Ohio 8408 & Lehigh Valley 114 are preserved at the Wilmington and Western Railroad in operational condition. Billings Grain Terminal 84, built as Chicago, 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 the Burlington 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 in Billings, MT where it remains today. Black River and Western Railroad Lehigh Valley 112, is preserved on the BR&W in operational condition. Boston and Maine 1109 is preserved at the Railroad Museum of New England. Boston and Maine 1127 has been acquired by the Danbury Railway Museum. BRMX 1849, built as Boston and Maine 1113, is preserved at the Berkshire Scenic Railway, in Lenox, MA.
Cargill 6751, built in 1940 with construction number 1111, was one of the first SW1s that Electro-Motive built. After buying the unit, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) initially numbered the locomotive as No. 213, but subsequently changed the number to 8413. Leased by the Washington 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. . After several transfers of ownership, the locomotive was acquired by Cargill, becoming Cargill No. 6751. Cargill moved the locomotive to Ogden, Utah in 1993 for use in the company's Globe Mill. Following Cargill's donation of the locomotive in 2010, the Utah Central Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad delivered it on May 21, 2011, to the Utah State Railroad Museum for display at Union Station in Ogden. Commonwealth Edison 15 is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum. This unit is in operating condition and is one of the most frequently used diesels on the property. Dardanelle & Russellville 16, built as Chicago & Eastern Illinois 99 and later Missouri Pacific 6001, is still in operation on the D&R. Eureka Springs & North Arkansas 4742, built as Chicago & Eastern Illinois 98 in 1942, still in operation on this excursion line. Heart of Dixie 904, built as Memphis Union Station 10, is preserved at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.