EMD NW2

The EMD NW2 emerged from Electro-Motive Division's growing expertise in diesel switcher design during the late 1930s, representing a significant refinement of earlier models in the NW series. Production began in February 1939 at EMD's primary facility in La Grange, Illinois, and over the course of nearly eleven years the company turned out 1,145 units before the final examples were delivered in December 1949. Of that total, 1,121 went to domestic American railroads while 24 were delivered to Canadian operators, reflecting the broad appeal of the design across North American rail networks during a period when diesel switching power was rapidly displacing older steam switchers in yards and terminals. During the later stages of production, EMD shifted NW2 manufacturing to its Plant Number 3 in Cleveland, Ohio, beginning in late 1948. This period also saw the model's engine specification evolve from the original 12-cylinder 567 powerplant to the updated 567A variant. Alongside the standard single-unit NW2, EMD produced several cow-and-calf paired configurations under the TR, TR2, and TR3 designations. The TR sets, which consisted of three cow-calf pairs, were assembled prior to World War II, while the 72 TR2 cow-calf pairs and two TR3 cow-calf-calf sets were built after the war's conclusion. These multi-unit arrangements allowed railroads to concentrate tractive effort for demanding switching assignments without requiring a full crew in each unit. The NW2 occupies a notable place in diesel locomotive history as one of the most numerically successful switcher designs of its era. Its decade-long production run and widespread distribution across scores of American railroads cemented EMD's dominance in the switching locomotive market and helped familiarize railroad operations departments with the reliability and economy of diesel traction. A number of NW2s survived well beyond their intended working lives, with several examples entering preservation at museums and tourist railroads across the United States and Canada, including units associated with the Milwaukee Road, Southern Pacific, and Canadian National.

The NW2 was rated at 1,000 horsepower and rode on a B-B wheel arrangement, meaning two powered two-axle trucks with all axles driven, providing a balanced and capable platform for switching service. Power came from EMD's 12-cylinder model 567 engine, an inline prime mover that formed the foundation of EMD's postwar locomotive success, later updated in some production runs to the 567A specification. The locomotive used direct-current electrical transmission, with the diesel engine driving a main generator that supplied traction motors mounted on each axle, a straightforward arrangement well suited to the start-stop demands of yard switching work. Visually, the NW2 could be distinguished from related EMD switcher designs by several specific external features. The locomotive carried two exhaust stacks positioned toward the middle of the hood rather than at one end, and its radiator grille was of half-height configuration. The front platform lacked a sandbox, and the upper front corners of the hood sides did not carry the small louvers found on some predecessor models. The frame was of welded construction, a detail encoded in the model designation itself, as the letter W in the NW series indicated a welded rather than cast frame. These design choices contributed to a relatively clean and functional appearance that became familiar in railroad yards throughout the 1940s.

Models by: Walthers