EMD SD60

The EMD SD60 entered production in 1984 as General Motors Electro-Motive Division's answer to growing railroad demand for more powerful and fuel-efficient six-axle motive power. Although it bore a close external resemblance to the SD50 that preceded it, the SD60 represented a meaningful step forward in locomotive technology, incorporating a new prime mover and a computer-controlled electrical system that together produced measurable gains in fuel economy. Chicago and North Western's own analysis indicated that a pair of SD60s could achieve fuel savings of up to 16 percent compared to three SD40s on a standard coal train, an advantage that made the type attractive to carriers running heavy freight over long distances. Over the course of its production run, which extended through 1995, EMD delivered 583 SD60 series locomotives to a variety of North American railroads. Customers included Norfolk Southern, Conrail, Union Pacific, Burlington Northern, the Soo Line, and Canadian National, each of which sometimes specified different cab and body configurations to suit their operational preferences. Conrail's fleet was eventually divided between Norfolk Southern and CSX following the 1999 breakup of that railroad, scattering SD60 variants across much of the eastern United States. Canadian National retired its cowl-bodied SD60F units by 2017, though several found continued service on shortline carriers in the northern Great Plains. The SD60's most notable legacy program has been Norfolk Southern's SD60E rebuild effort, which began with a prototype delivered in 2010 and relied on the railroad's Juniata Shops to carry out the conversions. The program aimed to modernize 240 units with a new wide-nose cab, updated electronics, and an engine uprated to 4,000 horsepower, but was ultimately terminated after 135 rebuilds had been completed. The remaining unrebuilt SD60 variants in Norfolk Southern's fleet were sold or scrapped by 2019. One SD60I, a former Conrail unit, was donated by Norfolk Southern to Penn State University Altoona in October 2019 and has since been relocated to the Railroaders Memorial Museum, standing as one of the earliest preserved examples of a Conrail road locomotive.

The SD60 is powered by the EMD 710G3A, a 16-cylinder engine that forms part of the 710 series introduced alongside the locomotive in the mid-1980s. This prime mover displaces 710 cubic inches per cylinder and drives a DC electrical transmission system to produce a rated output of 3,800 horsepower. The locomotive rides on a C-C wheel arrangement, meaning it carries two three-axle trucks, giving it the adhesion necessary for heavy drag freight applications as well as the flexibility to handle medium-speed general freight service. The standard SD60 used the same spartan 40-series cab first introduced on the SD40-2, but subsequent variants adopted more ambitious body designs. Two of the more technically notable variants were the SD60I and the SD60MAC. The SD60I, ordered exclusively by Conrail, featured a full-width short hood enclosing the so-called WhisperCab, which used rubber gaskets to isolate the cab structure from engine noise and vibration, a refinement that influenced later EMD models including the SD70I and the SD80MAC. The SD60MAC, while produced only in demonstrator quantities for Burlington Northern, was significant for proving the practical viability of AC traction motors in heavy North American freight service, paving the way for the more successful SD70MAC that followed. The SD60F built for Canadian National featured a full-width cowl body and a crashworthy safety cab with a distinctive four-piece windshield, setting it apart visually from all other members of the family.

Models by: Athearn · Atlas · Walthers