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31-491: EMD constructed 3,626 GP9s, including 165 GP9Bs. An additional 646 GP9s were built by General Motors Diesel , EMD's Canadian subsidiary, for a total of 4,257 GP9s produced when Canadian production ended in 1963. The GP9 was succeeded by the similar but slightly more powerful GP18 . EMD designed the GP9 as an improved version of the GP7, with an increase in power from 1,500 hp to 1,750 hp, and

62-456: A 1,500 horsepower (1.12 MW) CAT 3512 and re-classified as GP15C . The Illinois Central Railroad rebuilt some of its GP9s with their front (short) hood reduced in height for improved crew visibility. The IC designated these rebuilt locomotives GP10 . EMD has rebuilt and continues to rebuild GP9s into what it calls the GP20C-ECO , which is repowered with an EMD 8-710-G3A engine in place of

93-911: A S-4, and the only operating ALCO on the line currently. 5109 recently was repainted into its original Chesapeake and Ohio colors in September 2013. An ALCO S-2 built in 1946 was serving the Columbia & Reading Railway as No. 2-26 in Columbia, Pennsylvania , during 2019 after first operating on the C&;O as No. 5015 and later on six other railroads. The North Alabama Railroad Museum in Huntsville, Alabama runs one S-2 in regular tourist excursions, Mercury and Chase No. 213. It also owns another S-2, Mercury and Chase No. 484, which returned to service with No. 213 in 2018. The museum also has ex-Santa Fe No. 1534, an ALCO S-4 that

124-600: A change in prime mover to the latest version of the 567 engine , the 567C. Externally, the GP9 strongly resembled its predecessor. Most were built with high short hoods, but the Southern Pacific ordered a number with low short hoods for improved crew visibility. EMD built GP9s at its LaGrange, Illinois facility until 1959, when American production was ended in favor of the GP18. GMD production in Canada continued until August 1963, when

155-399: A new facility. General Motors Diesel selected a site on the outskirts of London, Ontario , for this plant. It opened in 1950, eventually expanding several times to 208 acres (842,000 m ) and branching out into building transit buses, earth movers ( Terex 1965-1980) and military vehicles built at adjacent facilities. Originally designed to produce one unit per day, it took some time for

186-846: A similar purpose for the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and the Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC) in Kingston served a similar purpose for Baldwin Locomotive Works . MLW and CLC also produced steam and diesel engines of their own designs. The growing market for diesels in Canada meant it became worthwhile to build facilities in Canada to avoid import duties. While MLW and CLC both utilized existing steam locomotive erecting shops in Montreal and Kingston, respectively; General Motors, never having built steam locomotives, required

217-399: A success, with many remaining in service today. The locomotives' exterior was styled by ALCO engineer Ray Patten, who used curves in a mild application of Art Deco principles. The S-2 and S-4 are distinguishable externally from the very similar S-1 and S-3 660 hp (492 kW) switchers in that they have a larger exhaust stack with an oblong base and a larger radiator shutter area on

248-537: A successful joint venture company between General Dynamics Land Systems and GM Defense (the "GM-GDLS Defense Group Ltd") with the award of the US Army Stryker contract, the defense side of the Canadian operations was sold to General Dynamics in 2003. On April 4, 2005, GM sold its EMD subsidiary with its London and LaGrange operations to a partnership between Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners . The company

279-845: Is at the Meadville Railroad Depot Museum. New York, Susquehanna and Western S-2 No. 206 remains on static display at the Maywood Station Museum in Maywood, New Jersey . In Muskogee, Oklahoma , at the Three Rivers Museum, a S-2 No. 63-138 sits behind the Midland Valley Station. The Houston Railroad Museum in Houston, Texas, has two S-2s: ex-Santa Fe No. 2350 and ex-Houston Belt and Terminal No. 14. The Gold Coast Railway Museum possesses NASA S-2 No. 1, which

310-657: Is not in service. The San Francisco Bay Railroad , the short-line railroad for the Port of San Francisco , operates S-2 No. 23 from the San Francisco Belt Line Railroad. S-2 No. 25 (also former Belt Line) was disabled and put on static display outside the yard in 2019. An S-2 of D&RGW heritage survives on the Big South Fork Scenic Railway , as number No. 102. It was purchased in February 1964 for

341-402: Is now Conrad Yelvington No. 365. The Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad operates S-2s No. 75 and No. 85 on its tourist / freight railroad. The Toledo, Lake Erie, and Western owns three ALCO S-2 locomotives and one ALCO S-4. TLEW 62, a S-2 purchased in 2012, ex. Delray Cement 62, TLEW 112, a S-2 that was part of the original TLEW roster, now reduced to a parts unit as of 2010, TLEW 5109,

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372-827: The Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement in 1989, all of EMD's locomotives were built at the London facility. In 2005 new owners of EMD renamed the Canadian subsidiary "Electro-Motive Canada". The plant was closed by EMD's new owner Progress Rail in 2012, with EMD's production remaining in LaGrange, Illinois and Muncie , Indiana . Diesel-electric locomotives were built in Canada beginning in 1928. The earliest diesels were custom built one-of-a-kind designs such as Canadian Nationals numbers 9000 and 9001 and Canadian Pacific number 7000. After these unique locomotives, steam remained in favor for road service owing to

403-653: The "Diesel Division of General Motors of Canada Ltd." on February 1, 1969, in a consolidation of all Canadian properties. Once dominant in North American diesel locomotive production having seen Baldwin, Fairbanks-Morse, Lima-Hamilton , Alco, MLW and CLC all fall by the wayside in the railway market, General Motors fell under intense competition from General Electric (GE). During the 1950s GE expanded beyond its early production of small locomotives, much of it for small and medium size industries, into large mainline road locomotives for Class I railroads . With excess capacity at

434-595: The 1930s into the 1940s the largest market for diesel-electric locomotives was for switchers such as the ALCO S-2 and the EMD NW2 . Tariffs protected Canadian manufacturers against imported goods, thus many companies wanting to do business in Canada set up controlled or wholly owned subsidiaries in Canada. General Motors Diesel, Ltd., was EMD's subsidiary organized for that purpose. Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in Montreal served

465-807: The Kentucky and Tennessee Railway (K&T), and is in operable condition in Stearns, Kentucky . This was one of the diesels that replaced Southern Railway 4501 on the K&;T. Southern Pacific 1474 is in operation, in rotation, at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, California , pulling a tourist train on weekends. The Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad operates a pair of restored ex- Canadian National units S-4 No. 3051 (formerly CN No. 8181) and S-7 No. 3052 (formerly CN No. 8223). In 2017, they acquired

496-475: The London operation following the peak demand years of the 1950s, GMC Truck and Coach Division used it for production of heavy road vehicles such as buses. The plant was also used for production of construction equipment and light armored vehicles under contract. EMD moved all locomotive construction to London in 1991, after which the London plant supplied US customers under the Free Trade agreement between Canada and

527-535: The United States. Some primary equipment manufacturing, such as engines, generators, and traction motors, remained at EMD's LaGrange, Illinois facility. Meanwhile, locomotives were exported to Argentina, Bengal, Brazil, Ceylon, Liberia, Sweden, New Zealand; Norway and Pakistan. In the 2000s, GM reorganized the Canadian Diesel Division holdings and separated a portion out under the name "GM Defense". After

558-461: The final GP9 was produced. There were 40 GP9M units built that are included in the 3,441 units built for United States railroads. A GP9M was built with parts from another older EMD locomotive, either an F unit or a damaged GP7. The use of parts from these older locomotives caused the GP9Ms to have a lower power rating than a GP9. This would be either 1,350 horsepower (1.01 MW) if the donor locomotive

589-483: The first order (C-100) received, which was from Canadian Pacific for ten model FP7A 1,500 hp (1100 kW) A units of the "covered wagon" style of carbody. The two orders were on the shop floor under construction at the same time and it was TH&B 71 which was completed first and delivered on August 25 along with 72. Pairs of A units were delivered commencing with CP numbers 4028 and 4029 on September 14 and continuing until November 11. TH&B 71 cost $ 191,712 at

620-900: The former Concord and Claremont Railroad ALCO S-4 units S-4 No. 102 (formerly D&H No. 3050) and S-4 No. 104 (formerly D&H No. 3036). As of 2020, all but No. 104 were operational on the tourist passenger and maintenance of way services between Milford and Cooperstown, New York . S-7 No. 3052 is thought to be the final S-7 built that is still in operation. The coal-hauling Beech Mountain Railroad in Alexander, West Virginia , rosters an S-2 (No. 113) and an S-4 (No. 115). Both were built new for Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company. The Minnesota, Dakota and Western Railway operates five S-2 locomotives, MD&W Nos. 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, which were formerly B&O 512, Y&N 220, Toledo Terminal 103, B&O 500, and Northern Pacific 716, respectively. In

651-417: The higher initial costs and lower reliability of early diesel locomotives. The benefit of diesels was largely their reduced operating costs compared to steam, but they had to be kept going to pay for themselves. Increased use was key to their cost benefits. The greatest savings were to be had in yard service, where switching often meant idling that maximized the efficiency advantages of diesel over steam. Through

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682-669: The mid-1960s, Hamersley Iron purchased an S-2 for use in the Pilbara region of Western Australia . Baltimore and Ohio Railroad No. 9115 has been cosmetically restored at the West Chester Railroad. In 2022 it was repainted to its original B&O paint scheme. It is not currently in service Western Pacific No. 563, one of two S-4s purchased by that railroad, is preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California . Erie Railroad S-2 No. 518

713-942: The nose sides. The S-1/S-3 radiator shutter area is taller than it is wide, while the S-2/S-4 radiator area is wider. The larger stack is due to turbocharging. The carbody and cab of late S-2s are nearly indistinguishable from those of S-4s. Hence, a truck swap can cause many to misidentify a unit. A few S-2s and S-4s are still in service on short line railroads around the United States. Several more are preserved in U.S. and Canadian railroad museums. Conrad Yelvington Distributors, an aggregate supplier in Orlando, Florida, owns and operates six S-2 locomotives and one S-4 locomotive. The S-2s include former C&O 5029, B&O 516 Ontario Northland 1202 and 1201, and Seaboard Air Lane 1428 and 1431. They are now Conrad Yelvington Nos. 224, 238, 239, 251, 317, and 366, respectively. The S-4, formerly C&O No. 5105,

744-620: The original 567 prime mover. Between April 1970 and March 1979, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (also known as the "Cotton Belt Route") and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company had rebuilt the majority of their EMD GP9 locomotives into EMD GP9E and GP9R locomotives. At least 23 GP9 locomotives have been preserved at various railroad museums, as "park engines", and as excursion engines according to The Diesel Shop: General Motors Diesel General Motors Diesel

775-442: The plant facility. HCL Logistics moved into the plant space after consolidating their London operations and is partner with General Dynamics Land Systems in the same site. ALCO S-2 The ALCO S-2 and S-4 are 1,000-horsepower (746 kW) diesel electric switcher locomotives produced by ALCO and Canadian licensee Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). Powered by turbocharged, 6-cylinder ALCO 539 diesel engines ,

806-515: The time. For comparison, Alco 1,000 hp (750 kW) yard switchers built in Schenectady , New York cost $ 115,000 including import duty. GMD built units for export, a significant amount of business supported by government grants to foreign countries. GMD also built some experimental diesel-hydraulic locomotives and straight electric units as well, although neither were more than a tiny percentage of production. General Motors Diesel Ltd. became

837-606: The two locomotives differed mainly in their trucks : the S-2 had ALCO "Blunt" trucks; the S-4, AAR type A switcher trucks . A total of 1,502 S-2s were built from August 1940 to June 1950; 797 S-4s were built from June 1949 to August 1957. The S-4 was first produced in Canada, with ALCO production beginning in June 1949. The S-2 and S-4 were designed as rail yard switchers, meant to replace older, less efficient, and more demanding steam switchers. They were

868-451: The volume of orders to reach this level. Plant capacity was later expanded to one-and-a-half units per day. By comparison, La Grange, as the US plant was referred to, eventually could produce six units per day. The first diesel locomotive built was Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway (TH&B) number 71, one of four model GP7 1,500 hp (1100 kW) road switchers. It was however, not

899-527: Was a railway diesel locomotive manufacturer located in London, Ontario , Canada. It was established in 1949 as the Canadian subsidiary of the Electro-Motive Diesel division of General Motors (EMD). In 1969 it was re-organized as the "Diesel Division of General Motors of Canada, Ltd." The plant was re-purposed to include manufacture of other diesel-powered General Motors vehicles such as buses. Following

930-554: Was an FT / F2 or 1,500 horsepower (1.12 MW) from F3 / F7 / GP7 locomotives. Many rebuilt GP9s remain in service today with shortline railroads and industrial operators. Some remain in rebuilt form on some major Class I railroads , as switcher locomotives although most Class 1 railroads stopped using these locomotives by the 1980s. Canadian National still had 29 GP9RM locomotives in operation, as of 2022. Canadian Pacific had many GP9u locomotives in operation; however, they were all retired in 2015. Several GP9s were rebuilt with

961-558: Was renamed "Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc", thus retaining the EMD initials. EMD's Canadian subsidiary was renamed "Electro-Motive Canada". In 2010 EMD and its Canadian subsidiary were acquired by Caterpillar's subsidiary Progress Rail . The plant was closed in 2012, after a labor dispute and leasing of a new plant in Muncie , Indiana . In 2015 McLaughlin Brothers and J-AAR Excavating jointly acquire

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