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EMD SD18

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EMD SD18
Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway 60 coupled to two SD9 locomotives at Springfield, Illinois, 7 May 1966
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderGeneral Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
ModelSD18
Build dateApril 1960 – March 1963
Total produced114
Specifications
Configuration:
 • AARC-C
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm), Brazil
Prime moverEMD 567
Engine typeV16 diesel
Cylinders16
Performance figures
Power output1,800 hp (1.3 MW)

The EMD SD18 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between April 1960 and March 1963.[1] Power was provided by an EMD 567D1 16-cylinder engine which generated 1,800 hp (1.3 MW).[1]

54 examples of this locomotive model were built for American railroads,[1] and 60 for export, including fifteen for Korail (order numbers 700735–700749, serial numbers 28373–28387).

Design and Production

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The SD18 was the third model in EMD's SD (special duty) line of locomotives. It was designed as a modified GP18 which had six axles instead of four. The additional axles allowed for more tractive effort and a more even distribution of weight compared to the GP18.[1]

Original Owners

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Owner Quantity Numbers
Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad 7 851–857[1]
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 19 1800–1818[1]
Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway 2 60–61[1]
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway 19 175–193[1]
Reserve Mining Co. 7 1226–1232[1]
RFFSA (export to Brazil) 45 3401–3445
Korea National Railroad 15 6001–6015
Totals 114

Preservation

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At least four SD18s have been preserved.

Chop-nosed Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 193 is now an operating member of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum collection. They also previously had DM&IR 316 in their collection, which is an "SDM"; an EMD SD18 given EMD 645 power assemblies by the Missabe, though still labeled as an SD18.[2] In 2019 #316 was traded for Northern Pacific #245 and left the museum for the Dakota Quality Grain Corporation in Parshall, N.D.

As of March 2022, grain terminal operator AgRail LLC of Bloomington, Illinois has acquired Western Rail Inc. SD18M No. 1229 through a lease-to-purchase agreement. The unit began service with Minnesota's Reserve Mining in May 1961 and was last used by the Western Milling plant in Goshen, CA. It was rewired in the 1980s.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Marre, Louis A. (1995). Diesel locomotives : the first 50 years : a guide to diesels built before 1972. Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Pub. Co. pp. 66–68. ISBN 0-89024-258-5. OCLC 34531120.
  2. ^ "Diesel Locomotives". Lake Superior Railroad Museum. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  3. ^ Smedley, Steve (March 15, 2022). "Illinois grain facility acquires rare SD18M". Trains. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
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