The EMD SW1001 was essentially a variant of the SW1000 model. The switcher was constructed two years following its counterpart in the late 1960s and came about because industries disliked the restyling of the SW1000 because the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) situated the walkways and cab eaves higher than on previous models, which didn't allow the locomotive to work efficiently (or even fit) in the tight, confined spaces common within plants and similar properties. By the time the SW1001 was released in 1968 EMD knew that its industrial sales were very important and knew that it had to correct the flaw. Ironically, by having the SW1001 mostly revert back to the earlier carbody styling it saw more than double the sales of its counterpart.
As of today, there are no SW1001's known to be officially preserved at a museum or tourist railroad due to so many units remaining in active service in industrial applications, short lines, even major Class I's (including Canadian National, Norfolk Southern, and CSX Transportation). In the coming years as these locomotives are retired a few are sure to be preserved.
Realizing that one of the primary buyers of their SW line, private industries, did not like the new SW1000, EMD sought to remedy the issue by cataloging a variant of the model to correct the problem. For instance, in the case of the SW9 model, industries made up nearly 5% of total of sales. That number may not seem like much until one considers that industries purchased roughly that percentage of every switcher model EMD had cataloged up to that point. Obviously, that adds up to a lot of lost money of the manufacturer's part. In the case of the SW1000 several industries actually purchased the model but were unsatisfied with it. In any event, what became known as the EMD SW1001 began production in the late summer of 1968 and it was essentially an SW1000 with a retro carbody, or a version of the one EMD used on its SW1200 line.
A History Of The Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
EMD's General Motors Diesel
Early Switchers: SW, SC, NW, NC
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
Internally, the model was also an SW1000. It used the same brand new 654E prime mover that was featured in the earlier design, which could produce 1,000 horsepower. Also using General Motors' latest model D77 traction motors the tractive effort rating of the SW1001 was the same as the SW1000. Weight for both models was also the same at 115-tons. The differences came solely with the carbody. Many industries were used to EMD's standard switcher design it had been producing since the late 1930s and as such had tailored their private trackage to fit the model. For example, the new SW1000 had cab eaves too wide and walkway heights too high to operate on many industries' property.
To alleviate this problem EMD used the cab and underframe design of the SW1200, and named the model the SW1001 (however, it kept the hood used on the SW1000). By doing so it again allowed industries, which regularly used EMD switchers, to use the SW1001 without the need of purchasing another model or change their property layouts. Interestingly, this variant model of the SW1000 sold better than its counterpart. The switcher remained in production until the early summer of 1986 and ultimately sold some 151 units in the U.S. However, in total the model sold 230 units with six other countries and Canada purchasing another 79.
Owner | Road Number(s) | Quantity | Date Built |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama By-Products Corporation | 1000 | 1 | 1971 |
Aliquippa & Southern Railroad | 1000-1002 | 3 | 1973-1975 |
American Steel Foundries | 9G9-9G10 | 2 | 1979 |
Amoco Oil Company | SE3 | 1 | 1978 |
Armco Steel Corporation | 1-18-38, 1-18-39, 1-18-40, E151-E169, 225, 1215 | 24 | 1974-1981 |
Birmingham Southern Railroad | 18-19, 220-224 | 7 | 1973-1974 |
Central Foundry Division, General Motors | 1971 | 1 | 1971 |
Champion International Paper | 06056 | 1 | 1979 |
Chevrolet Motor Division, General Motors | 96 | 1 | 1972 |
Chicago Short Line Railway | 28-29 | 2 | 1974 |
Coors Brewing Company | C998 | 1 | 1980 |
Corinth & Counce Railroad | 1003-1005 | 3 | 1974-1981 |
Cuyahoga Valley Railway | 1051 | 1 | 1973 |
Detroit Edison Company | 217 | 1 | 1968 |
Dow Chemical Company | 1001-1003, 1008-1009 | 5 | 1980 |
East Cooper & Berkeley Railroad | 2001-2002 | 2 | 1977 |
Electro Motive (Demo) | 117 | 1 | 1979 |
Elgin, Joliet & Eastern | 444-445 | 2 | 1971 |
Ford Motor Company | 10014-10023 | 10 | 1968-1975 |
Galveston Wharves | 301-305 | 5 | 1975-1980 |
Gary Works (U.S. Steel) | 88-90 | 3 | 1970-1971 |
Indianapolis Power & Light Company | No Number | 1 | 1981 |
Inland Steel Company | 126-127 | 2 | 1976 |
Interlake Steel Corporation | 17-18 | 2 | 1974 |
Intermountain Power Corporation | 1 | 1 | 1985 |
Lake Terminal Railroad | 1021 | 1 | 1968 |
Long Island Rail Road | 100-107 | 8 | 1977 |
Monongahela Connecting Railroad | 420-425 | 6 | 1970-1976 |
New Haven Trap Rock Company | 7357 | 1 | 1976 |
Newburgh & South Shore Railroad | 1018-1022 | 5 | 1969-1975 |
Northwestern Steel & Wire Company | 2-4 | 3 | 1981 |
Olin Chemical Company | 1 | 1 | 1981 |
Public Service Company Of Colorado | 15-1 | 1 | 1973 |
Reading | 2601-2615 | 15 | 1973 |
River Terminal Railway | 101-108 | 8 | 1968-1978 |
Savannah State Docks | 1001-1002 | 2 | 1978 |
South Carolina Public Railways | 1001 | 1 | 1975 |
St. Joseph Minerals Company | 1004 | 1 | 1974 |
Texas Company (Texaco) | 24 | 1 | 1976 |
Union Railroad | 101-103 | 3 | 1976 |
Today, just as with the SW1000 model, EMD SW1001s can continue to be found in shortline and industrial service despite a rather low number of them built. Currently, the locomotive remains in operation with the Branford Steam Railroad, Canadian National (through its inheritance of Elgin, Joliet & Eastern units), Chicago Short Line, Cleveland Works Railroad, Birmingham Southern, New York & Atlantic Railway, Intermountain Power Railcar, ABC Coke, Long Island Railroad, GATX Locomotive Group, Rail Link, CSX, and Amtrak (until 2009 Norfolk Southern also had a small fleet of SW1001s).
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.