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The "SW900": An 8-Cyilnder Switcher

Last revised: December 20, 2024

By: Adam Burns

The SW900 was a variant of the SW8, essentially a de-rated version (8 cylinder) of the company's more powerful SW7, SW9, SW1200, and SW1500.

By the 1950s, Electro-Motive was such a dominant figure in the diesel locomotive market that the builder was cataloging a variety of switchers and road-switchers in various horsepower settings and wheel arrangements.

Generally, the company saw success with nearly every model it released, although there were exceptions.  In the switcher arena EMD (and all manufacturers) soon realized railroads (and industries) gravitated more towards variants offering at least 1,000 horsepower.

Such models provided more versatility and could even handle light freight duty assignments when needed.  As such, the less powerful SW8, SW900, and SW600 witnessed fewer sales.

Photos

Santa Fe SW900 #650 is seen here, circa 1966. The AT&SF rostered only a very small fleet of these units, #650-653, acquired in 1957. Photographer unknown. American-Rails.com collection.

History and Background

The SW900 entered production in the United States in January, 1954 while the first examples rolled out of London, Ontario at General Motors Diesel a month earlier (December, 1953).

The model again carried the builder's traditional carbody styling with a tapered hood near the cab and standard length of just over 44 feet.  It came equipped with an 8-cylinder, model 567C prime mover.

Outwardly, the SW900's one visual difference was a single, conical exhaust stack.  This design was featured on all of EMD's 8-cylinder switchers and could also be found on the SW900, SW1000/SW1001, and SW600 (6 cylinder).

The model was equipped with General Motors' latest traction motor, the D37B, which could produce 36,000 pounds of continuous tractive effort and 57,500 pounds of starting effort. 

Sales for the SW900 were respectable but lagged behind the SW9, largely due to its lower power rating. It seems that EMD's 1,000-1,200 horsepower models were the perfect fit for what customers were after, as previously noted.

Nevertheless, the SW900 still found a variety of buyers with several Class Is, short lines, and industries purchasing it. By the time the switcher hit the market in late 1953, EMD's reputation for building high quality switchers, and diesel locomotives in general, was already well established.

Once again Electro-Motive did not disappoint as the SW900 remained a reliable and versatile locomotive that was easy to maintain while its light weight (115 tons) allowed it to handle a variety of track conditions.

Interestingly, EMD had intended to also build a cow-calf variant of the SW900, as it had done with the TR through TR6 series.

However, lukewarm sales that saw only 85 of these sets built (and two additional calves), ultimately convinced the builder to abandon the concept by the mid-1950s.

Data Sheet and Specifications

Production Rosters

(Total Built = 241)

*   Became River Terminal #99.

**  These were de-rated to 600 horsepower, essentially SW600's.

*** Became Waterloo Railroad #4.

Rebuilds

(Total Built = 19)

SW900's completed from trade-in units, reusing the same serials as their predecessors.

General Motors Diesel (GMD)

 (Total Built = 97)

Export

(Total Built = 14)

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.

• Pinkepank, Jerry A. Diesel Spotter's Guide.  Milwaukee: Kalmbach Publishing Company, 1967.

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

In addition to the 260 units completed at Electro Motive those manufactured in Canada and for other countries included:

• General Motors Diesel in London, Ontario outshopped another 97 examples.  


• There were also 14 other export examples produced for industrial operations in Venezuela, Peru, and Liberia.


• Finally, EMD completed 19 rebuilds as SW900's from earlier switcher variants.

The SW900 had a very long production run and when the final model rolled out of LaGrange, Illinois bound for short line Lancaster & Chester in early 1965, some 390 had been built altogether.