EMD SW8

General Motors Electro-Motive Division

Industry	Locomotive manufacturing
Founded	1922
Founder	General Motors
Headquarters	La Grange, Illinois , United States
Products	Diesel-electric locomotives
Parent	General Motors

The EMD SW8 is a diesel-powered switcher locomotive manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division alongside General Motors Diesel from September 1950 through February 1954. It is equipped with an EMD 567B 8-cylinder prime mover generating . A total of 310 units were produced for railroads in the United States, while 65 were built for Canadian operators. Beginning in October 1953, certain SW8 locomotives received upgraded 567BC or 567C engines.

In EMD's product range, the SW8 was succeeded by the more robust SW900, which debuted in December 1953.

US Army SW8s

During the Korean War, the United States Army procured 41 SW8 locomotives, numbered from 2000 to 2040, which were delivered in the spring of 1951 for deployment in Korea.

Following the conflict, many units were transferred to the South Korean government, while others remained under Army control at various installations and depots. Most of these locomotives were phased out around 1990, replaced primarily by refurbished GP10 models supplied by VMV and other rebuilders.

Among those allocated to the Korean National Railroad, only KNR #2001 (likely formerly USAX #2011) remains and was stored as of 2011 at the Busan Rolling Stock Workshop. KORAIL is currently in discussions to showcase this unit as the oldest diesel locomotive in Korea.

Two former USAX locomotives (#2019 and #2022) are preserved at Alabama’s Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum. After serving in Korea, #2019 underwent refurbishment in 1953, and #2022 was rebuilt in 1955. Both continued operations on U.S. military bases until the early 1990s before their acquisition by the museum in 1995.

Other models

In addition, there were 24 paired TR6 cow–calf sets produced.

A single SW8 featuring a hydraulic transmission—designated model DH2—was constructed in May 1953 and exhibited in 1955 but failed to attract buyers. It was subsequently converted back to a standard electrical transmission and used as EMD plant switcher #105 until its retirement in 1968.

The initial TR6A unit, Southern Pacific number 4600 (later renumbered 1100), is preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum located in Portola, California.

Locomotives built by Electro-Motive Division, USA

Southern Pacific (Texas and New Orleans Railroad)||5||12–16||

Railroad	Quantity	Road numbers	Notes
Electro-Motive Division (plant)	1	105	Constructed as model DH-2
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrator)	1	800	Later sold to Illinois Terminal Railroad as #725
	1	801	Transferred to Georgia Northern Railway as #801
	1	500	Delivered to Cuyahoga Valley Railway as #855
Aliquippa and Southern Railroad	3	800–802	Equipped with 567BC engines
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad	10	50–59
Bamberger Railroad	2	601–602
Boston and Maine Railroad	8	800–807
Canton Railroad	4	40–43	Units #42-43 fitted with 567C engines
Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway ("Crandic")	3	91–93	Supplied with 567BC engines
Chicago and North Western Railway	1	801
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway ("Omaha Road")	4	126–129
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad	28	811–838	Units #836-838 had 567BC engines; unit #838 was acquired by Pfizer Incorporated in 1989 and donated to Danbury Railway Museum in 2002.
Chicago, West Pullman and Southern Railroad	5	42–46
Cincinnati Union Terminal	8	30–37
Colorado and Wyoming Railway	12	201–212
Columbia Iron and Steel	1	1
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad	11	501–511
De Queen and Eastern Railroad	1	D-3
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad	2	900–901
Donora Southern Raileoad	10	802–811
Great Northern Railway	3	98–99,101	Units #98–99 later incorporated into Burlington Northern. Unit #101 rebuilt from NW1 model.
L.G. Everist Incorporated	1	61
Lake Terminal Railroad	4	821–824
Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad	2	13–14
Lehigh Valley Railroad	29	128–129,250–276	Units #256-273 equipped with dynamic brakes.
Louisiana and North West Railroad	2	40–41
Ludington and Northern Railroad	1	16	Currently operational as Kendallville Terminal #16.
Merchants Despatch Transportation	1	15
Monessen Southwestern Railway	2	22,26
New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal	3	1–3	Built with 567BC engines.
New York Central Railroad	26	9602–9627	Passed on to Penn Central Transportation, then Conrail, renumbered as 8602–8627; unit #8618 preserved on the Strasburg Railroad
New York Central Railroad (Chicago River and Indiana Railroad)	2	9600–9601	Subsequently transferred to Penn Central then Conrail as units 8600-8601
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad ("Nickel Plate Road")	8	107–114
North Louisiana and Gulf Railroad	2	37–38	Delivered with 567BC engines.
Pittsburgh Coke and Chemical Company	1	4
Poplar Ridge Coal	1	801
Reserve Mining Company	2	1200–1201
Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway	1	200
South Shore Railway	1	12	Later assigned to Illinois Central Railroad as unit #802
Southern Pacific Company	20	4604–4623	All units fitted with dynamic brakes; units #4622-4623 equipped with 567BC engines
Steelton and Highspire Railroad	1	26
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company	6	750–754,770
Texas and Pacific Railway	8	811–818
Tremont and Gulf Railway	2	75,77	Later became Illinois Central units #800 & #801
Unity Railways	1	53
United States Army	41	2000–2040	All served during Korean War; units #2019 & #2022 preserved at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum. Unit #2002 displayed at National Museum of Transportation, Kirkwood, Missouri.
(continued...) Locomotives Manufactured by General Motors Diesel, Canada Railroad Number of Units Assigned Road Numbers Remarks Algoma Central Railway 2 140–141 Algoma Steel 1 50 Canada and Gulf Terminal Railway 1 356 Canadian National Railways 34 8500–8533 Canadian Pacific Railway 10 6700–6709 Dominion Foundries and Steel Company ("Dofasco") 2 11–12 Dominion Iron and Steel 2 11–12 Essex Terminal Railway 2 102, 104 Essex Terminal 104 was the final SW8 produced, built 2/54 Steel Company of Canada 7 71–77 Wabash Railroad 4 122–124, 127 Acquired for use in Canadian operations Total 65 TR6 Railroad Number of A units Number of B units Road Numbers A units Road Numbers B units Remarks Electro-Motive Division (demonstrator) 1 1 1600 1600B later assigned to Southern Pacific as 4600 (A), 4700 (B) Oliver Iron Mining Company 8 8 1207A–1213A, 1216A 1207B–1213B, 1216B Southern Pacific Company 3 3 4601–4603 4701–4703 Total 12 12 See also List of EMD locomotives List of GMD Locomotives References EMD Product Reference Data Card dated January 1, 1959 containing engine specifications for original rosters.