The EMD SW1500 was constructed directly after the SW1200 and was the builder's second model to employ its upgraded model 645 prime mover. As with the SW1000 (which was the first to use the 645 engine), the SW1500 featured a bulkier carbody and was a bit heavier from earlier models although its intended use remained the same, working light branch lines or in industrial settings. With the horsepower rating, weight, and top speed the switcher was essentially a road switcher (it offered nearly the same ratings as the GP7 released a decade earlier). Once again railroads found the SW1500 to their liking and many Class Is purchased the model, very likely due to its extra horsepower allowing it to be used in numerous applications.
Today, SW1500's remain quite common doing the tasks to which they were originally intended for on large and small railroads around the country. Additionally, there are none known to yet be preserved although this will certainly change as some units are retired in the future (whenever that may be).
The EMD SW1500 began production in July, 1966, succeeding its predecessor model the SW1200. Using EMD's 12-cylinder, 645E model prime mover the SW1500 was the most powerful of the SW line producing 1,500 horsepower. It weighed slightly more than most SW models at 124 tons and using EMD's model D77 traction motors could produce 38,000 pounds of continuous tractive effort (62,000 pounds starting), a bit more than most other switchers in the line. The Electro-Motive Division had originally intended the SW1500 to feature standard AAR switcher trucks. However, many railroads requested their orders include Flexicoil trucks to allow for faster operating speeds (thus making them more useful in regular freight service).
A History Of The Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
EMD's General Motors Diesel
Early Switchers: SW, SC, NW, NC
SW9
SW900
SW1000
SW1001 Variant
SW1200
F2
F3
F7
FP7
F9n
New Haven's FL9
F40PH Series
F45 Series
GP7
GP9
GP15 Series
GP18
RS1325
GP20
GP30
GP35
GP38 Series
GP40 Series
GP50
SD35
SD38 Series
SD40/SD40-2 Series
SD45 Series
SD50
SD60 Series
SD70 Series
SD75M/I Variant
Conrail's SD80MAC
SD90MAC
SD70ACe
Once again a more powerful switcher was to railroads' liking and the EMD SW1500 sold quite well. Between June, 1966 and January, 1974 EMD produced more than 800 SW1500s, and as usual railroads large and small purchased the switcher along with many industrial operations. The SW1500 continued to carry the classic carbody style that defined the SW series with a short frame of just over 44-feet with a tapering of the hood near the cab and two conical exhaust stacks. As with the SW1000 the SW1500 featured less beveling and a wider, boxier cab that no longer included such an arched roof. From a visual standpoint the switcher just looked "beefier" than predecessor designs. It should be noted that an additional 60 SW1504s were built for Mexican railroad Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México in 1973. The only difference with the variant was that it came equipped with Blomberg trucks instead of Flexicoil trucks, which were standard on the SW1500.
Overall, it is rather fascinating that there was so much interest in the SW1500 by railroads and industries. By the late 1960s with the introduction of new second-generation road switchers that were more efficient and more powerful than the first-generation designs many railroads simply found that using the latter units in secondary services (such as branch line and yard duties) was just as practical as spending money on brand new switcher models used for the same service. Major railroads at the time like the Penn Central, Southern, SP, Frisco, Burlington Northern, and others all purchased the SW1500. However, several smaller lines did as well along with industries such as Weyerhaeuser Timber, U.S. Pipe and Foundry, Tennessee Eastman Corporation, U.S. Steel, Inland Steel, Howe Coal, W.R. Grace Chemical, and Armco Steel.
Owner | Road Number(s) | Quantity | Date Built |
---|---|---|---|
Alcoa Terminal Railroad | 9 | 1 | 1970 |
Alton & Southern Railway | 1500-1517 | 18 | 1969-1971 |
Angelina & Neches River Railroad | 1500 | 1 | 1972 |
Apalachicola Northern Railway | 712-719 | 8 | 1969-1970 |
Armco Steel Corporation | 701-705 | 5 | 1972-1973 |
Ashley, Drew & Northern Railway | 150 | 1 | 1970 |
Belt Railway Of Chicago | 530-532 | 3 | 1967-1968 |
Burlington Northern | 310-324 | 15 | 1973 |
Cambria & Indiana Railroad | 15-16 | 2 | 1968 |
Chattahoochee Valley Railway | 101 | 1 | 1966 |
Chicago Short Line Railway | 30-31 | 2 | 1968-1971 |
Electro-Motive (Demo) | 106-114 | 9 | 1966-1971 |
Essex Terminal Railway | 107 | 1 | 1971 |
Georgia Power Company | 1402, 1405 | 2 | 1971-1973 |
Houston Belt & Terminal Railway | 50-52 | 3 | 1969 |
Illinois Terminal | 1509-1515 | 7 | 1970 |
Indiana Harbor Belt | 9200-9227 | 28 | 1966-1970 |
Indianapolis Union Railway | 22-26, 29-32 | 9 | 1966-1972 |
Inland Steel Company | 119-125 | 7 | 1968-1973 |
Georgia Power Company | 1401, 1503-1504 | 3 | 1969-1971 |
Georgetown Railroad | 1010 | 1 | 1971 |
Great Northern | 200-209 | 10 | 1967 |
Houston Belt & Terminal Railway | 53-55 | 3 | 1971 |
Howe Coal Company | 1-2 | 2 | 1970 |
Kansas City Southern | 1500-1541 | 42 | 1966-1972 |
Kentucky & Indiana Temrinal Railway | 67-68, 70-83 | 16 | 1966-1974 |
Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion Railroad | 23-24 | 2 | 1971-1972 |
Longview, Portland & Northern Railway | 130 | 1 | 1969 |
Louisville & Nashville | 5000-5029 | 30 | 1970-1972 |
Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern | 36-37 | 2 | 1966 |
Minnesota Transfer Railway | 300-306 | 7 | 1967-1970 |
Minntac Division, U.S. Steel | 949-954 | 6 | 1972 |
Mississippi Export Railroad | 64 | 1 | 1973 |
Missouri Pacific | 1518-1521 | 4 | 1972 |
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (Katy) | 50-55 | 6 | 1967-1968 |
New Orleans Public Belt Railroad | 151-153 | 3 | 1971 |
Patapsco & Back Rivers Railroad | 160-161 | 2 | 1969 |
Penn Central | 9500-9583 | 84 | 1971-1973 |
Pittsburgh & Lake Erie | 1534-1563, 9280-9289 | 40 | 1971-1973 |
Reading | 2750-2770 | 21 | 1966-1969 |
Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac | 1-8, 91 | 9 | 1966-1967 |
Rock Island | 940-949 | 10 | 1966 |
Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railway | 500, 600 | 2 | 1969-1970 |
Sandersville Railroad | 100, 300 | 2 | 1967-1970 |
Southern Pacific | 2450-2480, 2493-2510, 2523-2578, 2591-2689 | 214 | 1967-1973 |
Southern Railway | 2300-2347 | 48 | 1968-1970 |
St. Louis San Francisco Railway (Frisco) | 315-360 | 46 | 1968-1973 |
St. Louis Southwestern Railway (Cotton Belt/SP) | 2481-2492, 2511-2522, 2579-2590 | 36 | 1968- 1971 |
St. Marys Railroad | 503 | 1 | 1971 |
Tennessee Copper Company | 108 | 1 | 1970 |
Tennesse Eastman Company | 1 | 1 | 1973 |
Terminal Railroad Association Of St. Louis (TRRA) | 1501-1517 | 17 | 1967-1972 |
Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks | 681-682 | 2 | 1968 |
Toledo, Peoria & Western | 303-306 | 4 | 1968-1970 |
U.S. Pipe & Foundry Company | 51-54 | 4 | 1972 |
Union Railroad | 1-9 | 9 | 1972-1973 |
Vermont Railway | 501 | 1 | 1966 |
W.R. Grace & Company | 101-102 | 2 | 1968-1969 |
Western Pacific | 1501-1503 | 3 | 1973 |
Weyerhaeuser Timber Company | 306-307 | 2 | 1968-1972 |
Winifrede Railroad | 13 | 1 | 1967 |
Today, places you can still find SW1500s in operation include the North Shore Railroad, Tazewell & Peoria, Kansas City Terminal, Marion Intermodal, Norfolk Southern, Sandersville Railroad (still operates their two purchased new), Union Railroad (also still owns their original fleet of nine), Union Pacific, Laurinburg & Southern Railroad, Knoxville & Holston River, Mission Mountain, Gulf & Ohio, Alton & Southern, Canton Railroad, Indiana Harbor Belt, Chicago Short Line, BNSF Railway, Pittsburgh & Ohio Central, Progressive Rail, Kansas City Southern, AK Steel, Modesto Empire and Traction, New York New Jersey Rail, Camp Chase Industrial Railroad, Flats Industrial Railroad, Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway (Crandic), and the Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad.
Header Photo: Drew Jacksich
A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way. Today, there are tens of thousands of miles scattered throughout the country. Many were pulled up in the 1970's and 1980's although others were removed long before that. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Historical Topographic Map Explorer. It is an excellent resource with thousands of historic maps on file throughout the country. Just type in a town or city and click on the timeline of maps at the bottom of the page!
You will be hard pressed at finding a better online resource regarding diesel locomotives than Craig Rutherford's TheDieselShop.us. The website contains everything from historic (fallen flags) to contemporary (Class I's, regionals, short lines, and even some museums/tourist lines) rosters, locomotive production information, technical data, all notable models cataloged by the five major builders (American Locomotive, Electro-Motive, General Electric, Fairbanks-Morse, and Baldwin), and much more. A highly recommended database!
In 1998 a gentleman by the name of Andre Kristopans put together a web page highlighting virtually every unit every out-shopped by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. Alas, in 2013 the site closed by thankfully Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it over to his UtahRails.net site (another fine resource). If you are researching anything EMD related please visit this page first. The information includes original numbers, serials, and order numbers.