EMD SW8

EMD SW8
EMD SW8 retired from the USAF Titan missile program
Type and origin Power type Diesel–electric Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division General Motors Diesel (GMD, Canada) Model SW8, TR6 Build date September 1950 – February 1954 Total produced EMD SW8: 310 GMD SW8: 65 EMD TR6A: 12 EMD TR6B: 12
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B  • UIC Bo’Bo’ Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Length 44 ft 5 in (13.54 m) Width 9 ft 11.6 in (3.038 m) Height 14 ft 6.2 in (4.425 m) Loco weight 230,000 lb (104,326 kg) Prime mover EMD 8-567B Engine type V8 Two-stroke diesel Aspiration Roots-type supercharger Cylinders 8
Performance figures Maximum speed 65 mph (105 km/h) Power output 800 hp (600 kW) Tractive effort: ​  • Starting 57,000 lbf (254 kN) at 25%  • Continuous 36,000 lbf (160 kN) at 11 mph (18 km/h)
Career Locale North America South Korea

The EMD SW8 is a diesel switcher locomotive manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between September 1950 and February 1954. Power is supplied by an EMD 567B 8-cylinder engine, for a total of 800 hp (600 kW). A total of 310 of this model were built for United States railroads and 65 for Canadian railroads. Starting in October 1953 a number of SW8s were built with either the 567BC or 567C engine.

The SW8 was succeeded in EMD's product catalogue by the slightly more powerful SW900, introduced in December 1953.

US Army SW8s

Two examples of these locomotives, ex-USAX #2019 and #2022, are preserved at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Alabama. After serving in Korea, #2019 was sent back to the manufacturer for reconditioning in 1953. #2022 was rebuilt in 1955. Both served in military bases in the United States until the early 1990s, finishing their careers at Fort Campbell, Ky. The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum acquired them in 1995.

Original buyers

EMD SW8 used at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for Titan missile

SW8

Locomotives built by Electro-Motive Division, USA

Railroad	Quantity	Road numbers	Notes
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad	28	811–838	836-838 were built with 567BC engines. 838 was acquired by Pfizer Incorporated in 1989 and then donated to the Danbury Railway Museum in 2002.
United States Army	41	2000–2040	All 41 served in the Korean War, including the 2019 and 2022 now at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum. 2002 is on display at the National Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood, Missouri.
United States Steel	1	109
Wabash Railroad	9	120–121, 125–126, 128–132
Wheeling Steel	2	1152–1153
Wichita Falls and Southern Railroad	2	801–802	to Rock Island 839–840
Woodward Iron Company	2	60–61
Total	310

See also

• List of EMD locomotives
• List of GMD Locomotives

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States government

• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
• EMD Product Reference Data Card dated January 1, 1959, has the 567BC and 567C engine data used in the as-built roster.