| Southern Pacific 1518 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Southern Pacific #1518 in operation at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) number 1518 is an EMD SD7, and was the first ever SD series diesel locomotive, originally built in May 1951 as General Motors Electro-Motive Division's (EMD) prototype Demonstrator #990. [1] [2]
Southern Pacific 1518 was constructed in May 1951 as EMD Demonstrator unit #990. [1] [2] Its road number 990 was in reference to EMD Engineering Department's project number 15990. It successfully completed numerous demonstration tours for EMD on several railroads before being completely overhauled and subsequently sold to Southern Pacific. [1] [2]
During this overhaul at EMD's LaGrange, IL shops, the prime mover and electrical cabinet were refurbished and new wheelsets were installed.
When 5308 was delivered to SP shortly thereafter, it was slightly different from all other SD7s in that it was their only SD7 to have dual control stands, a winterization hatch over its forward fan (a rare, early feature for SP at that time, but not entirely unbeknownst to them: several of their F7s and the odd GP20 also had them), and two single-bell Leslie A-200 horns mounted directly behind the cab atop the roof of the long hood.
Upon delivery, SP added a steam generator inside the short hood, a new radio, and a large "ashcan" signal light on the front of the short hood. As a result of its uniqueness, SP classified 5308 into its own single-unit class, DF-116. SP 5308 entered service at Ogden, UT, and was immediately sent to work on SP subsidiary Northwestern Pacific Railroad alongside SP's other SD7s on 10/23/52, less than two full weeks after ownership had transferred from EMD to SP.
In the mid-1950s, SP repainted it in a modification of their famous "Black Widow" paint scheme, adding wings at both ends, signifying dual control stands. It is the SP's only SD7 to ever have feathers painted as such. Around 1959, SP's ubiquitous scarlet and grey "Bloody Nose" scheme was applied, which remains to the current day.
In 1965, 1518 was renumbered, becoming 2715. In the late 60s, the "ashcan" signal light was replaced with a Pyle National sealed-beam Gyralight package.
In 1970, 2715 was repainted without its rear wings but still retained its dual control stands. Sometime between 1970 and 1974, its steam generator and water tank were removed, and in 1974, it was renumbered to 1415. The May 1, 1975, SP roster designates 1415 as a Class ES615-2. By that date, the two Leslie A-200s were replaced with a Nathan P3 (right side) and an M5 (left side).
By the 1980s, SP, like many roads, had to decide whether to scrap its first-generation power or rebuild it. Based on the success of the IC's and Santa Fe's rebuild programs, the SP sent its SD7s through the GRIP (General Rehabilitation and Improvement Program) process in its Sacramento shops. The locomotives were stripped to the frame and came out virtually as new units. Whatever hadn't been changed on 1415 during previous maintenance work was lost during the upgrade to an EMD SD7R.
The unit received a reconditioned 16-567C block (modified to receive 645E liners, making it a 16-645CE), all-new electrical components and controls upgraded to Dash-2 standards, new traction motors, a full light package on both ends, and a modernized carbody with a slight hump behind the cab for the new electrical equipment. Gone were the dual controls, the winterization hatch, the Nathan horns, and dual fuel tanks. The dynamic brake blister remained, but the grids were internally disconnected. It emerged from the shops as SD7R 1518.
SP got its money's worth, for 1518 served another 17 years before finally being sidelined in Los Angeles with mechanical issues. [3] Fortunately, when the UP and SP merged, UP recognized the historical significance of the locomotive and moved to the UP's heritage program roundhouse in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to be preserved. After spending time in storage, Southern Pacific 1518 was donated in April 2003 to the Illinois Railway Museum where it currently resides.
1518 had not been started since its sidelining in 1997, but a few days after it arrived at IRM, the diesel team got it running. 1518 has been in operation since then and was running in the 2016 Diesel Days Parade of Power. 1518 again participated in 2017 and 2018 and has since been occasionally seen on the museum's Showcase Weekend special event. [4]
The GE U25B is General Electric's first independent entry into the United States domestic road switcher diesel-electric locomotive railroad market for heavy production road locomotives since 1936. From 1940 through 1953, GE participated in a design, production, and marketing consortium (Alco-GE) for diesel-electric locomotives with the American Locomotive Company. In 1956 the GE Universal Series of diesel locomotives was founded for the export market. The U25B was the first attempt at the domestic market since its termination of the consortium agreement with Alco.
The EMD DDA40X is a 6,600 hp (4,943 kW) D-D locomotive, built by EMD from 1969 to 1971 exclusively for the Union Pacific Railroad. It is the most powerful diesel-electric locomotive model ever built on a single frame, having two 16-645E3A diesel prime movers. Union Pacific has marked DD40X on the cab exteriors, while EMD literature inconsistently refers to this model as either DD-40X or DDA40X.
The EMD F3 is a 1,500-horsepower (1,100 kW) B-B freight- and passenger-hauling carbody diesel locomotive produced between July 1945 and February 1949 by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant. A total of 1,111 cab-equipped lead A units and 696 cabless booster B units were built.
The EMD F7 is a model of 1,500-horsepower (1,100 kW) diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1949 and December 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) and General Motors Diesel (GMD).
The EMD SD40-2 is a 3,000-horsepower (2,200 kW) C-C diesel-electric locomotive built by EMD from 1972 to 1989.
The EMD SD24 was a 2,400 hp (1,800 kW) six-axle (C-C) diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between July 1958 and March 1963. A total of 224 units were built for customers in the United States, comprising 179 regular, cab-equipped locomotives and 45 cabless B units. The latter were built solely for the Union Pacific Railroad.
The EMD SD60 is a 3,800 horsepower (2,800 kW), six-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division, intended for heavy-duty drag freight or medium-speed freight service. It was introduced in 1984, and production ran until 1995.
The EMD GP7 is a four-axle (B-B) diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between October 1949 and May 1954.
The EMD GP38-2 is an American four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors, Electro-Motive Division. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP38-2 was an upgraded version of the earlier GP38. Power is provided by an EMD 645E 16-cylinder engine, which generates 2,000 horsepower.
The EMD GP40 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between November 1965 and December 1971. It has an EMD 645E3 16-cylinder engine generating 3,000 hp (2,240 kW).
The SD7 is a model of 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between May 1951 and November 1953. It had an EMD 567B 16-cylinder engine producing 1,500 horsepower (1.12 MW) for its six traction motors. United States railroads bought 188 units.
The EMD SD9 is a model of diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and June 1959. An EMD 567C 16-cylinder engine generated 1,750 horsepower (1.30 MW). Externally similar to its predecessor, the SD7, the SD9 was built with the improved and much more maintainable 567C engine.
The EMD SD40 is an American 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and August 1972. 1,268 locomotives were built between 1966 and 1972. In 1972, an improved version with new electronics was developed and marketed as a new locomotive, the SD40-2.
The EMD GP60 is a model of 4-axle (B-B) diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1985 and 1994. The GP60 was EMD's first engine that was classified as a "third-generation" locomotive. Hidden behind the electrical cabinet doors on the rear wall of the cab, the GP60 concealed a trio of microprocessors that monitored and managed a host of engine, cooling system and control functions. The engine's on-board microprocessors replaced hundreds of wiring circuits, dozens of relays and all but one module card, making it an improvement among EMD's engines.
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The Krauss-Maffei ML 4000 is a road switcher diesel-hydraulic locomotive, built between 1961 and 1969 by German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei in Munich, Germany. It generated 3,540 horsepower (2,640 kW) from two Maybach V16 engines. 37 examples were built for two North American railroads and one South American railroad.
The EMD SD7R was a rebuild from EMD SD7 diesel locomotives that were built by General-Motors Electro-Motive Division for the Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
The EMD SD40R is a rebuild from EMD SD40 diesel locomotives that were originally built in 1966 and 1968, when they were first built, the first 79 were built between January and May 1966, and the last ten were April and June 1968.
Locomotives of the Southern Pacific in preservation | ||
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| Preserved steam engines |
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| Preserved diesel engines | ||
| Formerly preserved, scrapped | ||