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 SP #3207 with Rose Bowl special at Cabazon, CA in January 1987 -- (John Shine photo) |
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Several U.S. railroads by the early 1960s were wrestling with issue of how to replace their
aging passenger locomotive fleets. Investing in new E9s or FP9 cab units was far from a
popular option, given declining passenger train revenues. Moreover, any capital investment
in new motive power was surely going to be evaluated in terms of overall flexibility, which
was hardly a cab unit's strong point.
The first indication that a practical solution had been achieved appeared in the Summer of
1964 with introduction by EMD of a new six-axle, 2500-horsepower locomotive, dubbed the SDP
35. Seaboard Air Line (SAL) was first to sign a purchase order; they acquired 20 of the
567-V16 powered model (#1100-1119). Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) followed-up with an order for
a single unit (#550); the decision was influenced to some degree by the on-going merger
discussions between the two long-time competing railroads. Union Pacific's purchase of ten
of the dual-purpose locomotives in 1965 brought production of the SDP35 to a close. However,
6500 miles to the west,The Korean National Railroad was interested in a comparable 2000-hp
version, and thus the 567-driven SDP28 was born.
Interestingly, KNR was the single largest buyer of any SDP model, including the 3000-hp SDP40
and the 20-cylinder, 3600-hp SDP45, both of which were driven by EMD's new 645 engine that
had been introduced at the start of 1966. KNR's purchase called for forty non-turbocharged
SDP38s; the 2000-hp locomotives were delivered during 1967/1968.
After retirement from mainline service, only a few of the dual-purpose SDPs found a place
in the second-hand market, and that story will be covered next month. It is also not
surprising, given their limited production, only two were targeted by preservation groups.
SAL SDP35 #1114, part of the the original SDP order, became a permanent display outside the
train station at Hamlet, North Carolina. And a Burlington Northern SDP40 (ex-Great Northern
#325) found a long-term home at the Minnesota Transportation Museum.
Perhaps, the most notable of all SDPs is Burlington Northern SDP40 #1976, which wore a U.S
Bicentennial-inspired red, white and blue paint-scheme during a four-year-long celebration.
The six-axle passenger hauler had been built originally for GN as #323. |
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| Photo Gallery: The purpose of the following collection of photos is to portray (where possible) the dual-service nature of the SDP on the railroads that were original purchasers. By the way, there has been no reference here to Erie Lackawanna's popular SD45s with the elongated carbody, nor Louisville & Nashville's stretched SD35s. It is because they were not dual-purpose SDPs; most notably both lacked a steam generator. EL ordered several modified SD45s with a 5000-gallon fuel tank rather than the standard 4000-gallon tank. A longer frame and carbody were necessary to support an "olympic-size" fuel tank. The L&N units housed new "LocoTrol" equipment (master/slave technolgy) in the rear-end rather than a boiler. | |
| SDP45 | |
GN #330 with eastbound "Empire Builder" leaves Seattle, fall of 1967. (Jim Lancaster photo) |
BN 9857 (ex-GN 323) leads freight through Marion, OH on 27 July 1974 (Mike Woodruff photo) |
SP 3207 with train at Dirigo, California (near Dunsmuir) on 23 August 1987 (Greg Brown photo) |
Southern Pacific 3203 with freight at Wilmington, California in October 1987 (Joe Blackwell photo) |
| SDP40 | |
 Great Northern 325 shows signs of new life at St.Paul, Minnesota (Ralph Back photo on 9 August 2023) | 
Great Northern 320 (ex-GN 323) at Denver, Colorado on 15 June 1966 (Craig Garver collection) |
National de Mexico #8524 with freight at xxxxxxxx on 31 July 1971 (James C. Herold photo) | 
TFM/FNM 1320 on the KCS at East St. Louis, Illinois on 21 August 2009 (Mark Mautner photo) |
| SDP38 | |
KNR #6351 with express train at Taegu, Korea on 17 September 1969 (R. Craig photo) | 
KNR freighter #6217 (S/G-equipped) on passenger train, 3 November 1969. (R. Craig photo) |
| SDP35 | |
 SAL 1102 with pasenger train #10 at Raleigh, NC on 25 July 1965 (Warren Calloway photo) | 
ACL 1099 at Richmond, Virginia on 16 June 1966 (Keith Ardinger photo) |
UP #1409 helps a six-hour late w/b Zephyr in Utah during Janaury 1979 (Lee Hower photo) | 
UP 1404 leads unit coal train at Ontario, CA on 15 June 1980. (Bob Hanggie photo) |
| SDP28 | |
KNR #6105 at Taegu freight yard, Korea on 12 July 1969 (R. Craig photo) |
KNR #6103 with caboose hop at Taegu, Korea in 1994 (Sheldon Perry photo) |
| Notable SDPs | |
BN #1976 (ex-GN #323) at Clyde, Yard (Chicago) 21 May 1975 (Gib Allbach photo, Chuck Zeiler) collection |
Seaboard Air Line SDP35 #1114 at Hamlet, SC on 29 March 2016 (Justin Smathers photo) |
| Railroad | Road Nmbr | Serial Nmbr | Bldr date | Subsequent Ownership & Notes |
| SDP45 (quantity built: 18) | ||||
| Great Northern | 326-333 | 33041-33048 | 6-8/67 |
|
| Southern Pacific | 3200-3209 | 32849-32858 | 5-7/67 |
|
SDP40 (quantity built: 20) | ||||
| Great Northern | 320-325 | (31592-31597) | 5/66 |
|
| National de Mexico | 8522-8531 & 8532-8535 | (33371-33378) (36156-36159) | 5/68, 5/70 |
|
SDP38 (quantity built: 40) | ||||
| Korea National | 6351-6390 | 32914-32953 | 6-8/67 |
Note: Some of this data was collected first-hand while in Korea 1968/1969; additional data was collected during an interview in 1969 with KNR chief mechanical officer. (It all needs to be confirmed.) |
SDP35 (quantity built: 31) | ||||
| Atlantic Coast Line | 550 | 30531 | 9/65 |
|
| Seaboard Air Line | 1100-1119 | 29339-29358 | 8-11/64 |
|
| Union Pacific | 1400-1409 | 30671-30680 | 9/65 | Retired and assumed scrapped |
SDP28 (quantity built: 6) | ||||
| Korean National | 6301-6306 | 31408-31413 | 5/66 |
|
| * * * Notes & credits * * * | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources:
Original upload: 1 June 2020 Additional Contributions: Michael Richmond | ||||