EMD SW1200
| EMD SW1200 | |
|---|---|
 BN 251, an EMD SW1200, works the yard in Eola, Illinois (just east of Aurora). | |
| Specifications | |
| Power type | Diesel-electric |
| Builder |
General Motors Electro-Motive Division, General Motors Diesel, Canada |
| Model | SW1200 |
| Build date | January 1954 – May 1966 |
| Total produced | 1,056 |
| Gauge |
4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (?) Chile 5 ft (1,524 mm)(?), Panama |
| Engine type | EMD 567C |
| Cylinders | V12 |
| Power output | 1,200 hp (895 kW) |
| Career | |
| Locale | North America, South America |
| Disposition | many scrapped, many still in use |
An EMD SW1200 is a diesel switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and May 1966. Power was provided by an EMD 567C 12-cylinder engine which generated 1,200 hp (895 kW). Late SW1200s built in 1966 were built with the 567E 12-cylinder engine. Additional SW1200 production was completed by General Motors Diesel in Ontario Canada between September 1955 and June 1964.
737 examples of this locomotive model were built for American railroads, 287 were built for Canadian railroads 4 were built for Brazilian Railroads, 25 were built for a Chilean Industrial firm, and 3 were built for the Panama Canal Railway.
A cow-calf variation, the TR12, was cataloged, but none were built.
A few units were built with dynamic brakes, featuring large square box with a fan on top of the hood, right in front of the cab.
An SW1200RS is a variation of the standard SW1200 that featured large front and rear (on some units) numberboard housings, EMD Flexicoil B-B trucks, and larger fuel tanks for roadswitcher service. The majority of the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific SW1200 fleets were purchased as SW1200RS units.
Original buyers
Units built by Electro-Motive Division, USA
| Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aliquippa and Southern Railroad | | | |
| Amapa Railway | | | Brazil |
| Ashley, Drew and Northern Railway | | | |
| Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | | | |
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | | | |
| Bauxite and Northern Railway | | | |
| Bellefonte Central Railroad | | | |
| Belt Railway of Chicago | | | |
| Birmingham Southern Railroad | | | |
| Chicago and Illinois Midland Railroad | | | |
| Chicago and North Western Railway | | | Acquired by EJ&E Railway then to Gary Railway Co. (315 and 316 not part of GRW fleet) |
| Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad | | | |
| Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (“Milwaukee Road”) | | | Renumbered 600–619, 625–652 (not in order) |
| Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad | | | |
| Chile Exploration | | | Chile |
| Colorado and Southern Railway | | | |
| Commonwealth Edison | | | |
| Conemaugh and Black Lick Railroad | | | |
| Coos Bay Lumber Company | | | Built with dynamic brakes |
| Cuyahoga Valley Railway | | | |
| Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad | | | to Erie Lackawanna 456–463 |
| Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad | | | |
| De Queen and Eastern Railroad | | | |
| Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway | | | 300,301,303,304,305 and 307 are now part of the Gary Railway Co. fleet per the 2009 CN acquisition of EJ&E Railway. |
| Florida East Coast Railway | | | |
| Fort Worth and Denver Railway | | | |
| Grand Trunk Western Railroad | | | |
| Great Lakes Steel | | | |
| Great Northern Railway | | | |
| Houston Belt and Terminal Railway | | | |
| Illinois Terminal Railroad | | | |
| Inland Steel Company | | | |
| Kansas City Terminal Railway | | | |
| Lake Superior Terminal and Transfer | | | |
| Louisville and Nashville Railroad | | | |
| Midland Electric Coal Company | | | |
| Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway | | | to Soo Line |
| Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, (“Soo Line”) | | | 321, 323 and 324 were acquired by EJ&E Railway then part of Gary Railway Co. |
| Soo Line (Wisconsin Central Railroad) | | | |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad | | | |
| Missouri Pacific (Texas and Pacific Railway) | | | |
| Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad | | | |
| New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad | | | |
| New Orleans Public Belt Railroad | | | |
| Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad | | | |
| Northern Pacific Railway | | | |
| Oliver Iron Mining Company | | | |
| Pacific Power and Light | | | |
| Panama Canal Railway | | | |
| Patapsco and Back Rivers Railroad | | | |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | | | |
| Peoria and Pekin Union Railway | | | |
| Philadelphia, Bethlehem and New England Railroad | | | |
| Point Comfort and Northern Railway | | | |
| Reading Company | | | |
| Republic Steel Corporation | | | |
| Reserve Mining Company | | | |
| Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad | | | |
| River Terminal Railway | | | |
| Rockdale, Sandow and Southern Railroad | | | |
| Sandersville Railroad | | | |
| Simpson Logging Company | | | |
| Southern Pacific Transportation Company | | | |
| Southern Pacific (Texas and New Orleans Railroad) | | | |
| St. Louis Southwestern Railway (“Cotton Belt”) | | | |
| Steelton and Highspire Railroad | | | |
| Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis | | | |
| Tooele Valley Railway | | | |
| U.S. Steel | | | |
| Wabash Railroad | | | |
| West Virginia Northern Railroad | | | |
| Weyerhaeuser Timber Company | | | |
| Wheeling Steel | | | |
| Woodward Iron Company | | | |
| Total | 769 | ||
Units built by General Motors Diesel, Canada
| Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Forest Products | | | Flexicoil trucks, built with dynamic brakes |
| Canadian National Railway | | | 12/13/1500's have Flexicoil trucks and numberboards at both ends. |
| Canadian Pacific Railway | | | Flexicoil trucks, numberboards at front only |
| Dominion Foundries and Steel (“Dofasco”) | | | |
| Essex Terminal Railway | | | |
| Quebec Iron and Titanium | | | Romaine River Ry |
| Roberval and Saguenay Railway | | | |
| Total | 287 | ||
Surviving and preserved units
Grand Trunk Western 1512 is now owned by COE and is currently sitting on a siding in Detroit, Michigan.
Lake Superior Terminal and Transfer Railway 105 is operated by the Minnesota Transportation Museum as Northern Pacific Railway 105.
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis 1219 built for Canadian National Railway is operated by Fremont Dinner Train as the "Glen Bales" 1219 and currently pulls diner cars as a for-profit corporate venture.
HudBay Minerals 1274 built for Canadian National Railway and HudBay Minerals 8153 built for Canadian Pacific Railway are operating as industrial yard locomotives at HudBay Minerals Flin Flon.
Coos Bay Lumber Company 1203 is now being operated by Coos Bay Rail Link as a road switcher and can be seen anywhere from Eugene, OR, to Coos Bay, OR, wearing road number 1203.
Crab Orchard & Egyptian 1136 and 1161 are both still in operation as short line freight haulers on the CO&E lines based in Herrin, Illinois and Marion, Illinois respectively.
Resolute Forest Products uses 1305 at its mill in Iroquois Falls, Ontario, Canada. It was just rebuilt by Diesel Electric Services in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, in August and September 2012.
Former B&O 9614 was acquired many years ago by the Potomac Electric Power Company for use at its power generating station in Alexandria, Virginia, which later became the property of Mirant, then GenOn Energy. Over the years the surrounding area changed from industrial use to residential and, after much community action, the plant closed on October 1, 2012. As of August 2013 the locomotive is still on site at the dormant plant.
See also
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to EMD SW1200 locomotives. |
- Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter’s Guide. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.
- Kristopans, Andre J. website http://community-1.webtv.net/ajkristopans/SWITCHERS201Aand567/
- Kristopans, Andre J. website http://community-2.webtv.net/ajkristopans/GENERALMOTORSDIESEL/
- Kristopans, Andre J. website EMD Exports http://community- 2.webtv.net/ajkristopans/ANDRESGMLOCOMOTIVE/page2.html
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