EMD SW-1

This is just a fishing line dipped in the water....

...until a few weeks ago, I knew almost nothing about SW-1's. Now that I've been on an SW-1, I gotta know more about them and if they are readily available and supported with parts. I am appreciating the idea of having them for power more and more, and would like to purchase a pair if they are out there. From a conductors standpoint, I can't imagine anything nicer to switch with, and from an engineers' standpoint, they are sweet.

I assume they were made from 1939 into the 50's...but how rare are they?

The Yard Limit has a page on them. http://yardlimit.railfan.net/emd/sw1/index.html but you probably saw that already.
Tealinc has one for sale, the only one I can think of offhand. This one belongs to ILSX (ex-Cargill 13, pic: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~rrclubum/ilsx13.jpg ) and should still be in Jerome, Idaho. http://www.tealinc.com/carposting.htm
( scroll to the bottom ). They are a sweet little unit and I'd say pretty rare by now with most of the remaining ones museum bound.
I'd guess that the block and crank would be the hardest parts to find just by being a V-6, most other parts having some similarity to other EMD switchers of that era.
There you go, two already.

I know of one that will be for sale at some point. I will look into it for you.

I remember an announcement some years ago-- 1990s or maybe even 1980s-- that EMD was not going to provide replacement parts for the six-cylinder engine any more, prompting editorial speculation (I think I saw the news in "Trains") that this would lead to early retirement of Class-1 SW-1.
--
The same engine (and also a V-6 version of the 645 engine, rated at 750hp) was used in some export units. Victorian Railways (Australia) had a bunch of end-cab switchers (their Y-class) with this engine, some of which survive (at least mostly under new ownership since the break-up and partial privatization of VR): sort of a lightweight SW-1, riding on second-hand trucks from retired commuter M.U. cars!

If you think the SW-1 was fun, imagine being able to run the 13 truck "EMC" SW1/3 switcher.......



Chapter 8 - Lucky 13
Still without a design, the brothers recalled their initial design experience at Berlinerwerke
and reasoned that a diesel-electric replacement for the 13 truck Shay would be required.
So was born the "13 truck cow/calf/calf/calf/calf/calf/calf/calf/calf/calf/calf/cow" unit.


More on this ingenious loco, and other offerings, from "EMC" can be found here: http://yardlimit.railfan.net/ersatz/index.html#eight

GOLDEN-ARM wrote:If you think the SW-1 was fun, imagine being able to run the 13 truck "EMC" SW1/3 switcher.......

More on this ingenious loco, and other offerings, from "EMC" can be found here: http://yardlimit.railfan.net/ersatz/index.html#eight

Alas, the word 'ersatz' in the url gives a foreshadowing of what's on that site, and when I went there I was not too surprized.
The photoshop of the 'extant' SW1/3 was pretty decent, though.

Yeah, those Ersatz brothers were way ahead of their times. Regular Einsteins................

George and Ira? Same as the Gershwin brothers, in fact their picture was used. Did anyone else catch that?

Those guys were TOO much. You should see my Ersatz computer!

Kinda getting back on the subject of SW-1s...


My hometown was on the Iowa & Southern Minnesota Division of the Milwaukee Road, on what was a former narrow gauge line (the Caledonia, Mississippi & Western). The only locomotives light enough to operate on the line (bridges and trestles had weight restrictions) were the MILW SW-1 units.

So, I'm currious to know, how many are left, roughly? Our local historical society would like to someday acquire some MILW equipment to display in town (mostly a 40' ribbed side boxcar and/or a caboose) and a "stuffed and mounted" SW-1 would be a nice addition to our collection. Are there a decent number of them out there (relatively speaking, look how many GP/SD-7/9s are still out there), or are they a super-rare item that are hightly sought after? Just putting feelers out there to see what's available.

Metra still uses two SW1s from the Rock Island for switching work. They're two of the oldest operating diesels in Illinois.

I grew up watching SW1200s, so I like anything with an SW, NW, or MP in front of it.

Personally, the ones I would have liked to get were the NW-2s on Bangor & Aroostook. All in all, I've never been real lucky getting any of these smallish switchers. Bascially, I was born a little late to see them when they were commonplace. Thankfully I did manage to get some MP action on Amtrak and an occasional SW on Guilford before they were retired. However, the unit I like getting the most was the little yellow Northeast Utilities SW-1 #1849 down at the Mount Tom power plant in Holyoke, MA. It would rarely come out of the plant limits, but every so often the yard would have to be switched when a GRS crew couldn't get there. So, we would get a shot of it here and there out on the main. Cool sounding loco with a neat horn to match!

J Bray

Larry's Truck & Electric seems to have a lot of SWs (judging by the photos I've seen). Perhaps they've got an SW-1 tucked away in there somewhere.

I'm guessing the guy wants a Walthers model, as the "real" one would cost a minimum of $40,000.00 (last one I saw sold, went for 40K) They are light on their feet, and don't pull much weight, but the older SW and NW models are definitely fun to run. I know of one, sitting abandoned, and have been trying for over a year, to locate the last owner, and make an offer on it...........

I think I know which one you are talking about, its uh red right?