EMD "SW1000" Locomotives: Data, Specs, Roster

Last revised: December 19, 2024

The SW1000 was the first 8-cylinder model Electro-Motive offered featuring its new 645 prime mover. From a catalog standpoint, it followed the SW900, another 8-cylinder variant equipped with the earlier 567C power plant.

EMD's system for designating its switchers was not consistent, particularly in the early years, which makes deciphering each models' lettering and numbering somewhat difficult.

The SW1000 was fairly straightforward, however; the "SW" denoted it a switcher that offered 1,000 horsepower. Built during the mid-1960s, it was a second-generation variant and featured classic SW series styling.

Like the SW900, EMD found few buyers for the SW1000. Its big sister, the SW1500 saw many more sales thanks to its increased horsepower.

In any event, sales for switchers began to decline by the 1960s as lines found that their older first generation units could be reassigned to secondary and yard duty. Interestingly, despite only a little more than one hundred SW1000s, built several remain in operation on short lines and in industrial services.

Photos

Rio Grande SW1000 #140 switches a cut of tank cars at Roper Yard in Salt Lake City, Utah in October, 1966 soon after the switcher was delivered. Note the new 1967 Ford trucks in the background. American-Rails.com collection.

Overview

The SW1000 began production in the summer of 1966 offering a new prime mover and slightly updated carbody. The builder stuck with the typical overall length found in earlier SW models at just over 44-feet.

It featured EMD's new model 645 prime mover (645E), an 8-cylinder engine cable of producing 1,000 horsepower.

While the switcher's taper near the cab remained, the hood featured harder lines with less beveling and a wider, boxier cab that no longer included an arched roof. It also featured a single, conical stack, the result of its 8-cylinder power plant. This feature could also be found on the SW8, SW900, SW1001, and SW600 (6 cylinder).

Reception

Once again EMD kept the model light at 115 tons. It featured General Motors' newest model D77 traction motors that could produce a respectable 36,000 pounds of continuous tractive effort and 57,500 pounds of starting effort.

Sales for the SW1000 never came around, largely due to its lower horsepower rating compared to the SW1500. The switcher was produced over a six-year period; by the time the last unit rolled out of LaGrange, Illinois in October, 1972 114 had been built with another 5 constructed for foreign companies.

Data Sheet

Entered Production	6/1966 (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy #9310)
Years Produced	6/1966 - 10/1972
EMD Class	SW1000
Engine	645E (8 Cylinder)
Engine Builder	EMD/GM
Horsepower	1000
RPM	800
Length	44' 8"
Height (Top Of Rail To Top Of Cab)	15' 0"
Width	10' 3"
Weight	230,000 Lbs
Fuel Capacity	600 Gallons
Air Compressor	WXO (Gardner-Denver)
Air Brake Schedule	24L (Westinghouse)
Trucks	B-B
Truck Type	GRS Rigid Bolster, Drop-Side Equalizer (AAR Type-A)
Truck Wheelbase	8' 0"
Wheel Size	40"
Traction Motors	D77 (4), EMD/GM
Traction Generator	D36, EMD/GM
Auxiliary Generator	EMD/GM
MU (Multiple-Unit)	Optional
Dynamic Brakes	No
Gear Ratio	62:15
Tractive Effort/Starting	57,500 Lbs
Tractive Effort/Continuous	36,000 Lbs at 11.0 mph
Top Speed	65 mph

Production Rosters

EMD

(Total Built = 114)

Owner	Road Number	Serial Number	Order Number	Completion Date	Quantity
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy	9310-9317	31696-31703	7879	6/1966-7/1966	8
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy	9318-9321	31704-31707	7880	7/1966	4
Armco Steel	B-81	32087	4496	9/1966	1
Mobile Chemical Corporation	2	32160	4499	6/1966	1
Denver & Rio Grande Western	140-145	32175-32180	4501	9/1966-10/1966	6
Detroit Edison	216	32181	4500	1/1967	1
Denver & Rio Grande Western	146	32313	4501	10/1966	1
Inland Steel	115-116	32395-32396	4503	11/1966	2
Duluth & North Eastern	35	32399	7931	2/1967	1
Cuyahoga Valley Railroad	1050	32494	7939	11/1966	1
Inland Steel	118	32586	7941	2/1967	1
Inland Steel	117	32587	4507	12/1966	1
Jones & Laughlin Steel Company	102	33096	4513	6/1967	1
Youngstown Sheet & Tube	905	33121	4514	5/1967	1
Hampton & Branchville Railroad	120	33184	4516	8/1967	1
Birmingham Southern	10-11	33186-33187	7070	11/1967	2
Youngstown Sheet & Tube	906-907	33212-33213	4519	7/1967	2
E. I. du Pont De Nemours & Company (DuPont)	106	33316	4522	12/1967	1
Wisconsin Electric Power Company	No Number	33490	4526	8/1968	1
Houston Belt & Terminal	40-42	33522-33524	7078	1/1968	3
E. I. du Pont De Nemours & Company (DuPont)	107	33756	4522	12/1967	1
Denver & Rio Grande Western	147-149	33915-33917	4538	4/1968	3
Public Service Company Of Indiana	1	34026	4539	9/1969	1
Youngstown Sheet & Tube	908-909	34027-34028	4534	6/1968	2
Youngstown Sheet & Tube	910	34129	4548	8/1968	1
Eastman Kodak Company	8	34349	4551	12/1968	1
Birmingham Southern	12-13	34472-34473	7143	1/1969	2
Youngstown Sheet & Tube	911	34524	4552	5/1969	1
Jones & Laughlin Steel Company	103	34525	4553	2/1969	1
Corn Products Corporation	68-69	34871-34872	4555	5/1969	2
Youngstown Sheet & Tube	912-914	35041-35043	4559	5/1969	3
Appalachian Power Company	1	35830	4569	12/1969	1
Burlington Northern	435-449	35882-35896	4589	12/1970-1/1971	15
Birmingham Southern	14	35944	7237	10/1969	1
Burlington Northern	427-434	36353-36360	7260	1/1971-2/1971	8
Birmingham Southern	15	36800	4590	1/1971	1
New Orleans Public Belt	101-106	37388-37393	7309	10/1971	6
Birmingham Southern	16-17	37892-37893	4607	10/1971	2
Burlington Northern	375-389	4610-1 thru 4610-15	4610	1/1972-2/1972	15
Great Lakes Steel	58	4615-1	4615	10/1971	1
General Motors-Central Foundry Division	No Number	4622-1	4622	4/1972	1
Burlington Northern	390-394	4624-1 thru 4624-5	4624	10/1972	5

Export

(Total Built = 5)

Owner	Road Number	Serial Number	Order Number	Completion Date	Quantity
Kaiser Bauxite (Jamaica)	5109	32252	710722	12/1966	1
Altos Hornos (Mexico)	132	34269	711119	11/1968	1
Cementos Anahuac Company (Mexico)	No Number	36854	711771	9/1971	1
Chihuahua Cellulose (Mexico)	1811	37016	711806	8/1971	1
Altos Hornos (Mexico)	137	37016	712196	9/1972	1

Sources

Foster, Gerald. A Field Guide To Trains. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.

Hayden, Bob. Diesel Locomotives: Cyclopedia, Volume 2 (Model Railroader). Milwaukee: Kalmbach Publishing Company, 1980.

Marre, Louis A. Diesel Locomotives: The First 50 Years, A Guide To Diesels Built Before 1972. Milwaukee: Kalmbach Publishing Company, 1995.

Marre, Louis A. and Pinkepank, Jerry A. Contemporary Diesel Spotter's Guide, The: A Comprehensive Reference Manual To Locomotives Since 1972. Milwaukee: Kalmbach Publishing Company, 1989.

Solomon, Brian. EMD Locomotives. Minneapolis: MBI Publishing Company, 2006.

Rio Grande SW1000 #147 and Western Pacific GP40 #3534 in Salt Lake City, Utah, circa 1975. Robert Eastwood, Jr. photo. American-Rails.com collection.

Interestingly, the company's Ontario plant, General Motors Diesel Division, did not take any orders for the SW1000 although the later SW1001 did see a few built in Canada.

The updated SW1001, which corrected a clearance issue over its predecessor, remained in production for nearly twenty years.

The final switcher model that proved truly successful for the company was the aforementioned SW1500, which sold nearly 1,000 examples domestically.

Additionally, EMD found quite a bit of interest with its MP15 series, the final switcher model it ever cataloged, which ended production in 1987.

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