An EMD SW1200 is a four-axle diesel switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and May 1966. Power is provided by an EMD 567C 12-cylinder engine, which generates . 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 U.S. railroads, 287 were built for Canadian railroads, four were built for Brazilian railroads, 25 were built for a Chilean industrial firm, and three were built for the Panama Canal Railway.
Design and production The SW1200 was the third model of 1,200 hp SW series switchers built by EMD. It was a successor to the SW7 and SW9. Compared to its direct predecessor, the SW9, the SW1200 differed in that it used the improved and more reliable 567C engine, compared to the SW9's 567B engine. Late SW1200s built in 1966 were instead built with the 567E 12-cylinder engine. Most of the locomotive's external features were unchanged from the SW9, making distinguishing between the two models difficult. The new "1200" model number was a reflection of EMD's change to a more horsepower-based model naming system at the time.
SW1200 production began in January 1954, immediately after SW9 production came to an end the previous month. Production continued for 12 years until the last SW1200 left EMD's manufacturing facility in May 1966.
Like many EMD products, customers could customize their SW1200 orders. Several options were available, including Flexicoil trucks. A few units were built with dynamic brakes, featuring a large square box with a fan on top of the hood, right in front of the cab.
Variants A cow–calf variation, the TR12, was cataloged, but none were built.
An SW1200RS (RS for road switcher) is a variation of the standard SW1200 that features large front and rear (on some units) number board housings, EMD Flexicoil B-B trucks, and larger fuel tanks for road switcher service. The majority of the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific SW1200 fleets were purchased as SW1200RS units. SW1200RS units were produced near the end of SW1200 production in the mid-1960s.
Original buyers
Units built by Electro-Motive Division, United States
Railroad Quantity Road numbers NotesAliquippa and Southern Railroad 13 1201–1213 Amapa Railway 4 1–4 BrazilAshley, Drew and Northern Railway 2 176, 178 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 3 2439–2441 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 8 9614–9621 Bauxite and Northern Railway 1 11 Sold to Missouri Pacific in 1964 and renumbered to MP No. 1260. Sold to Precision National Corp in 1985. Sold to the Columbia Terminal Railroad in 1987 and renumbered to COLT No. 1.Bellefonte Central Railroad 1 5624 Belt Railway of Chicago 3 524–526 Birmingham Southern Railroad 2 200–201 Chicago and Illinois Midland Railroad 6 18–23 Chicago and North Western Railway 12 310–321 Acquired by EJ&E Railway then to Gary Railway (315 and 316 not part of GRW fleet)Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 22 9271–9292 to Burlington Northern 229–250Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("Milwaukee Road") 48 1637–1642, 2020–2061 Renumbered 600–619, 625–652 (not in order)Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 17 920–936 Chile Exploration Company 25 911–935 ChileColorado and Southern Railway 5 156–160 to Burlington Northern SameCommonwealth Edison 1 16 Conemaugh and Black Lick Railroad 2 120–121 Coos Bay Lumber Company 3 1201–1203 Built with dynamic brakes.Cuyahoga Valley Railway 7 1280–1286 Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad 8 561–568 to Erie Lackawanna 456–463Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad 10 130–139 133 preservedDe Queen and Eastern Railroad 1 D-5 Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway 8 300–307 300–301, 303–305 and 307 are now part of the Gary Railway Co. fleet per the 2009 CN acquisition of EJ&E Railway. 306 to LTEX 306Florida East Coast Railway 7 229–235 Fort Worth and Denver Railway 4 607–610 to Burlington Northern SameGrand Trunk Western Railroad 18 1269–1270, 1505–1508, 1511–1519, 7017–7019 Great Lakes Steel Corporation16 16, 39–53 Great Northern Railway 6 29–33, 100 100 Rebuilt from EMC NC to Burlington Northern 162–166Houston Belt and Terminal Railway 5 33–37 Illinois Terminal Railroad 12 775–786 Inland Steel Company 23 88–98, 103–114 Kansas City Terminal Railway 10 70–79 Lake Superior Terminal and Transfer 1 105 Louisville and Nashville Railroad 4 2297–2300 Midland Electric Coal Company 1 1201 Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway 6 30–35 to Soo LineMinneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, ("Soo Line") 8 321–328 321, 323 and 324 were acquired by EJ&E Ry then part of Gary Ry Co. One unit acquired by Tulsa-Sapulpa Union Railway, now in active service as its Number 108.Soo Line (Wisconsin Central Railroad) 8 2120–2127 Missouri Pacific Railroad 116 1100–1166, 1175–1201, 1255–1259, 1263–1279Withdrawn in 1985 after the UP takeover. Sold to various owners or scrapped.Missouri Pacific (Texas and Pacific Railway) 20 1280–1299 Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad 8 1–6, 43–44 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 20 640–659 to Penn Central 9180–9199 and then Conrail 9363–9382New Orleans Public Belt Railroad 2 71–72 Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad 15 101–115 Northern Pacific Railway 59 119–177 to Burlington Northern 170–228Oliver Iron Mining Company 9 940–948 Pacific Power and Light 1 10 Panama Canal Railway 3 661–663 Patapsco and Back Rivers Railroad 10 125–134 Pennsylvania Railroad 35 7900–7934 To Penn CentralPeoria and Pekin Union Railway 1 500 Philadelphia, Bethlehem and New England Railroad 5 39–43 Reading Company 5 2715–2719 Equipped with 930 Gal. Fuel tanksRepublic Steel Corporation 2 362, 895 Reserve Mining Company 1 1212 Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad 5 81–85 River Terminal Railway 2 63–64 Rockdale, Sandow and Southern Railroad 2 8–9 Sandersville Railroad 1 200 renumbered 1200, upgraded to 12–645 specSimpson Logging Company 2 1200–1201 Built with Dynamic Brakes.Southern Pacific Transportation Company 27 1597–1623 renumbered 2262–2288Southern Pacific (Texas and New Orleans Railroad) 12 113–118, 123–128 renumbered 2213–2223St. Louis Southwestern Railway ("Cotton Belt") 17 1062–1073, 2289–2293 1062–1073 renumbered to 2250–2261Steelton and Highspire Railroad 1 44 Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis 25 1219–1243 Tooele Valley Railway 1 100 U.S. Steel 2 SX1–SX2 Wabash Railroad 5 375–379 West Virginia Northern Railroad 1 52 Built with dynamic brakes.Weyerhaeuser Timber Company 1 304 Wheeling Steel 7 1250, 1254–1259 Woodward Iron Company 1 52 Total 765
Units built by General Motors Diesel, Canada
Railroad Quantity Road numbers NotesCanadian Forest Products 3 301–303 Flexicoil trucks, built with dynamic brakesCanadian National Railway 208 1227–1268, 1271–1397, 1575–1597, 7020–7035 12/13/1500s have Flexicoil trucks and numberboards at both ends. Some units rebuilt to SW1200RMsCanadian Pacific Railway 72 8100–8171 Flexicoil trucks, numberboards at front onlyDominion Foundries and Steel ("Dofasco") 1 14 Essex Terminal Railway 1 105 Quebec Iron and Titanium 1 5 Romaine River RyRoberval and Saguenay Railway 1 23 Total 287
See also EMD LWT12 List of GMD Locomotives List of GM-EMD locomotives
References