EMD SD-9's?

Question

What were the years that Electro-Motive Division built the SD-9 Locomotives, how long did they stay in service, and for which railroads did they operate aside from the Santa Fe railroad?

Answer 1

SP had a lot of SD-9s. On this property they were referred to as Cadillacs or Shellvilles.

They got the name Cadillac because they were a very smooth riding and running engine. They were considerably heavier than the Jeeps and with six axle trucks had lots of tractive effort. They were the only engines GM produced, that I am aware of, that had no "short time" rating on them. The short time rating is applied to engines operating at very low speed, which results in high amperage. After reaching a predetermined time, the engine had to stop to allow the traction motors to cool. Not so with the SD-9s. Their six big traction motors could handle all the electricity the 1800hp prime mover could generate without over heating.

They got the moniker "Shellvilles" as they were the only heavy road engines that could serve on the old NWP mainline to Shellville and beyond, up through what today is the Napa Valley Railway.

I have some operating manuals for these particular critters, but alas, I have no access to one at the moment. I believe they entered into service in the very early 50s, replacing the SD-7s. Many were equipped with steam generators as they saw much passenger service as well.

They SD-7s served out the last of their time as yard engines, while the SD-9s were still powering local freight right up through the mid-late 1980s. They were a stellar performer as local power since many were never modified to the 26L brake schedule, and the 24RL and 24M that they offered were much better suited to local freight.

Very good question.

Answer 2

not sure what years they were built, but I think that GM still builds locomotives with the newer DASH-9 model.. I just saw a EMD on a train yesterday in the yard that I work at, it was lead qualified as well... I think that they are those loaner engines like FURX, MRL, or LLP

Sorry, If I would have thought about it I would have gotten up there and checked what year it was built in... It may not have been the "sd-9" I think it was more like a "sd-40"