EMD SD60F

The EMD SD60F was a specialized variant of Electro-Motive Division's SD60 locomotive family, produced exclusively for Canadian National Railway between 1987 and 1989. A total of 63 units were constructed during this relatively brief production window, making the SD60F one of the more limited members of the SD60 series. Canadian National's interest in the cowl-body configuration reflected the railroad's longstanding preference for that style of carbody, which offered crew protection and an enclosed equipment environment particularly well suited to demanding Canadian operating conditions. Canadian National operated the SD60F fleet for several decades before retiring the units in 2017. Following retirement, a portion of the locomotives found continued service on regional carriers. The Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western Railroad and the Northern Plains Railroad, both operating in North Dakota, each acquired several units, while a larger group reportedly entered service on the Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway in North Carolina. This post-CN service life demonstrated that the SD60F's fundamental mechanicals remained viable even after the primary operator had moved on to newer motive power. Within the broader SD60 family, the SD60F occupies a distinctive place as the only cowl-bodied variant aside from the earlier SD40-2F that CN had also favored. Its concentrated production run and single-railroad origin make it one of the more identifiable members of the SD60 line, and its survival on shortline operations decades after construction testifies to the durability of the EMD 710-series platform.

The SD60F was powered by the EMD 710G3B prime mover, a 16-cylinder two-stroke diesel engine that produced 3,800 horsepower. The locomotive rode on a C-C wheel arrangement, meaning two three-axle trucks, and employed a direct current traction system. The full-width cowl body that gave the SD60F its designation distinguished it visually from the conventional hood-unit SD60, enclosing the machinery in a smooth carbody shell rather than an open hood structure. A prominent feature of the design was the crashworthy safety cab at the front of the unit, fitted with a four-piece windshield arrangement that provided the operating crew with enhanced protection compared to older cab designs. This cab configuration placed the SD60F in the broader trend of the late 1980s toward improved crew safety standards in North American locomotive design, and it shared certain design philosophies with the contemporary North American safety cab being adopted across the industry during that period.

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