EMD NW5
Encyclopedia
The EMD NW5 was a 1,000 hp (750 kW) road switcher
diesel-electric locomotive
built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois
between December 1946 and February 1947.
A total of 13 were produced, of which the majority (ten locomotives) went to the Great Northern Railway. A further two were delivered to the Union Belt of Detroit (though lettered "Fort Street Union Depot") as their #1 and #2, one of which is still in existence today at the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum
. The final locomotive was sold to the Southern Railway
where it became #2100.
that preceded it, was basically an EMD NW2
switcher
hood, prime mover
(a V12
EMD 567
diesel engine
) and main generator on a stretched frame and riding on road trucks
(the standard EMD Blomberg B
design).
Large, road-sized fuel and water tanks were fitted between the trucks under the frame. The NW5 design was also fitted with a steam generator
to heat passenger cars. The NW3 had this fitted in an extended cab and extended hood section, and the NW5 had a standard EMD switcher cab about three-quarters of the way down the frame, above the inboard axle of the rear truck, and a fairly high short hood on the other side to house the steam generator.
design—fitting a switcher long hood and cab on a stretched frame and road trucks, with a short hood on the other side for the steam generator
—and the NW5 can be seen as EMD's answer to the RS-1.
However, EMD were seemingly not very keen on producing road switchers at the time; Hayden speculates that the small profit and small numbers were not appealing, and that only when the prospects of high sales became more obvious did they place much interest in the concept.
All ten Great Northern units survived to the Burlington Northern Railroad
merger. In BN service, the initial '1' of their numbers was replaced by a '9', and they were repainted into the railroad's green and black scheme. #989 burned in 1978 and was retired, but all other locomotives survived till withdrawal from BN service in 1982; this was a service life of 35 years for their first owners. Most were scrapped at this point.
The former Southern #2100 now works for the Massachusetts Central.
Road switcher
A road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive used for delivering or picking up cars outside of a railroad yard. Since the road switcher must work some distance away from a yard, it needs to be able to operate at road speeds, it must also have high-visibility while it is switching, and it must...
diesel-electric locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois
La Grange, Illinois
La Grange, a suburb of Chicago, is a village in Cook County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 15,608 at the 2000 census.-History:...
between December 1946 and February 1947.
A total of 13 were produced, of which the majority (ten locomotives) went to the Great Northern Railway. A further two were delivered to the Union Belt of Detroit (though lettered "Fort Street Union Depot") as their #1 and #2, one of which is still in existence today at the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum
Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum
The Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located in Parrish, Florida.The museum operates a heritage railroad and offers tourist excursions along 6 miles of a former Seaboard Air Line Railway route in Manatee County....
. The final locomotive was sold to the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (US)
The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
where it became #2100.
Description
The NW5, like the NW3EMD NW3
The EMD NW3 was a 1,000 hp road switcher diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between November 1939 and March 1942...
that preceded it, was basically an EMD NW2
EMD NW2
The EMD NW2 is a 1,000 hp , B-B switcher locomotive manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. The NW2 was manufactured from February, 1939 to December, 1949, and 1145 were produced – 1121 for the U.S., and 24 were exported to Canada. Starting in late 1948...
switcher
Switcher
A switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...
hood, prime mover
Prime mover (locomotive)
In engineering, a prime mover is an engine that converts fuel to useful work. In locomotives, the prime mover is thus the source of power for its propulsion. The term is generally used when discussing any locomotive powered by an internal combustion engine...
(a V12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
EMD 567
EMD 567
The EMD 567 is a line of diesel engines built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. This engine, which succeeded Winton's 201-A, was used in EMD's locomotives from 1938 until its replacement in 1966 by the EMD 645. It has a bore of , a stroke of and a displacement of 567 in³ per cylinder...
diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
) and main generator on a stretched frame and riding on road trucks
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
(the standard EMD Blomberg B
Blomberg B
The Blomberg B was a "B" diesel locomotive truck. These trucks were the standard EMD four wheel truck from the FT up until the GP60. EMD introduced the truck in 1936. Unofficially it is named after Martin Blomberg, who joined the company the year before...
design).
Large, road-sized fuel and water tanks were fitted between the trucks under the frame. The NW5 design was also fitted with a steam generator
Steam generator (railroad)
Steam generator is the term used to describe a type of boiler used to produce steam for climate control and potable water heating in railroad passenger cars...
to heat passenger cars. The NW3 had this fitted in an extended cab and extended hood section, and the NW5 had a standard EMD switcher cab about three-quarters of the way down the frame, above the inboard axle of the rear truck, and a fairly high short hood on the other side to house the steam generator.
Similarity to Alco design
This was fundamentally identical to what ALCO had done to create the successful RS-1ALCO RS-1
The ALCO RS-1 was a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by Alco-GE between 1941 and 1953 and the American Locomotive Company from 1953 to 1960. This model has the distinction of having the longest production run of any diesel locomotive for the North American market.The carbody configuration of...
design—fitting a switcher long hood and cab on a stretched frame and road trucks, with a short hood on the other side for the steam generator
Steam generator (railroad)
Steam generator is the term used to describe a type of boiler used to produce steam for climate control and potable water heating in railroad passenger cars...
—and the NW5 can be seen as EMD's answer to the RS-1.
However, EMD were seemingly not very keen on producing road switchers at the time; Hayden speculates that the small profit and small numbers were not appealing, and that only when the prospects of high sales became more obvious did they place much interest in the concept.
Original buyers
| Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Northern Railway | |
|
to Burlington Northern 986–995 |
| Southern Railway | |
|
to Mass Central Massachusetts Central Railroad The Massachusetts Central Railroad is a short line railroad in western Massachusetts, USA. It was established in 1979 to provide railroad transportation services between Palmer and South Barre on the old Right of Way of the Ware River Railroad.... 2100 |
| Union Belt of Detroit (“Fort Street Union Depot”) | |
|
|
| Total | 13 | ||
Subsequent history
Historically, railroads had not realized much profit on local and branchline service, and therefore were unwilling to spend much on equipment for them; most were handed down from more prestigious service.All ten Great Northern units survived to the Burlington Northern Railroad
Burlington Northern Railroad
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....
merger. In BN service, the initial '1' of their numbers was replaced by a '9', and they were repainted into the railroad's green and black scheme. #989 burned in 1978 and was retired, but all other locomotives survived till withdrawal from BN service in 1982; this was a service life of 35 years for their first owners. Most were scrapped at this point.
- Locomotive #186 was sold to the Colorado and Eastern Railroad and subsequently to the Denver Terminal Railway, both times keeping its BN number of 986. This unit was subsequently owned by the Denver Rock Island RailroadDenver Rock Island RailroadThe Denver Rock Island Railroad , formerly known as the Denver Terminal Railroad, is a Class III terminal railroad in Commerce City, Colorado. The DRIR works around Denver's stock yards and many industries in that area. The DRIR has two SW1500 locomotives, two NW2 locomotives, one SW1 locomotive...
. The president of the DRIR has confirmed that the locomotive left DRIR possession and was scrapped around 1996.
- Unit #187 was sold to Pacific Transportation Services as #1001; it was subsequently sold to Repco as their #187, then to the Molalla Western Railway under the same number, then to related East Portland Traction; the two latter systems merged into the Oregon Pacific RailroadOregon Pacific RailroadOregon Pacific Railroad or Oregon Pacific Railway may refer to:* Oregon Pacific Railroad , railroad from Yaquina Bay to Santiam Pass* Oregon Pacific Railroad , shortline railroad on the east side of Portland...
in 1997. Currently the locomotive is stored out of service at Milwaukie, OregonMilwaukie, OregonMilwaukie is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County. The population was 20,291 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1848 on the banks of the Willamette River, the city, known as the Dogwood City of the West, was incorporated in...
.
- Burned #189 was rebuilt by the Diesel Electric Service Corporation and entered service with Phoenix Steel under its BN number of 989. It was retained when Phoenix Steel became CitiSteel, and was scrapped in October 1993.
- Locomotive #190 was sold to the Colorado & Eastern and then subsequently to the Kyle RailroadKyle RailroadThe Kyle Railroad is a regional railroad line that runs from North Central Kansas into Eastern Colorado. It is based in Phillipsburg, Kansas and runs on track, mostly the former Rock Island Railroad Chicago to Denver main line. The Kyle has been owned by Rail America since 2002.-History:The...
, keeping its BN number of #990.
- Unit #192 was sold to the Colorado & Eastern and passed from there to the Kyle RailroadKyle RailroadThe Kyle Railroad is a regional railroad line that runs from North Central Kansas into Eastern Colorado. It is based in Phillipsburg, Kansas and runs on track, mostly the former Rock Island Railroad Chicago to Denver main line. The Kyle has been owned by Rail America since 2002.-History:The...
, then to the Iowa Southern RailroadIowa Southern RailroadThe Iowa Southern Railroad was a shortline railroad in southern Iowa, operating a former Wabash Railroad line between Council Bluffs and Blanchard. It was abandoned except at Council Bluffs on August 22, 1988, and in August 1990 the remaining trackage was sold to the Council Bluffs and Ottumwa...
. Today it is in service in Duluth, MinnesotaDuluth, MinnesotaDuluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
for the North Shore Scenic RailroadNorth Shore Scenic RailroadThe North Shore Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates between Duluth, Minnesota and Two Harbors, Minnesota, USA.The railroad is owned by the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and offers several different types of passenger excursion trains between May 28 and October 15 each year...
and resides at the Lake Superior Railroad MuseumLake Superior Railroad MuseumThe Lake Superior Railroad Museum is a railroad museum in Duluth, Minnesota.The museum has seven steam, fourteen diesel and two electric locomotives, and over 40 other pieces of rolling stock...
.
The former Southern #2100 now works for the Massachusetts Central.