EMD SW1500
Model of 1500 hp American diesel switching locomotive
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The EMD SW1500 is a 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division from 1966 to 1974.[2] The SW1500 replaced the SW1200 in the EMD product line. Many railroads regularly used SW1500s for road freight service.[2]
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NIRC 4 performs switching duties near Chicago Union Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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It is similar in appearance to the EMD SW1000 model which had a different engine and had one exhaust stack while the SW1500 had two.[2][3]
Original owners
Preservation
Many SW1500s remain in active service, used mostly by shortlines, switching and terminal railroads, and railroad equipment leasing companies such as GATX. However, several examples of this popular model have been preserved:
- CSX #1100 (built 1970 as L&N #5000) is preserved and operational at the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation in Irvine, Kentucky.[4]
- CSX #1103 (built 1970 as L&N #5003) is preserved and operational at the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, Kentucky[4]
- Western Pacific #1503 (built 1973) is preserved and operational at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California.[5] It was donated to the museum by Union Pacific in 2011, and restored to its original paint scheme in 2019.
- Wisconsin Central #1563 (built 1971) is preserved and operational at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was donated to the museum by Canadian National in 2019.[6]
