HO SW1500 Locomotive, Rock Island #949 Overview
The Rock Island was a prolific user of switchers, and while the road owned many makes of the type, EMD was the favored builder. The Rock owned a sizeable group of EMD SW1200s; when they went looking for additional switchers in 1966, they found that the SW1200 had been replaced in the catalog by the SW1500. The SW1500s were optioned much the same as the SW1200s, having the same Flexicoil trucks, hood-mounted handrails, and paint scheme. All outlasted the Rock itself and found employment elsewhere after the 1980 bankruptcy.
An EMD SW1500 is a 4-axle diesel switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1966 and 1974. It is similar in appearance to the EMD SW1000 model, which has a different engine and has one exhaust stack while the SW1500 has two.
Power was provided by an EMD 645E 12-cylinder engine which generated 1,500 horsepower. This locomotive was built on the same common frame as the EMD SW1000, giving it an overall length of 44 feet 8 inches.
The SW1500 featured a bulkier carbody and was a bit heavier from earlier models although its intended use remained the same, working light branch lines or in industrial settings. Many railroads regularly used SW1500s for road freight service.