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The EMD NW2 is one of the oldest diesel engine-powered switchers ever used in the railway industry in the world. It earned favor from different railroad corporations/ owners. More than 1000 units were sold in the USA and Canada.
The history of the EMD NW2
The production of the EMD NW2 dates back to 1939. It was manufactured a few years after the first NW1 locomotive. It was manufactured a few years before Electro-Motive Corporations was established as a division of General Motors.
The NW2 was as successful as its predecessor, The EMD NW1. Over 1100 units were sold. 1121 units were sold in the USA and the remaining 24 units were exported to Canada. It was a successful locomotive. The production of the EMD NW2 was closed down in December of 1949, after a successful run of 10 years.
The production of this series closed because of a new type of locomotive, the EMD SW series. This new series of locomotives have similar but better specifications. They can produce more output and have more power in their core.
Regardless of the newer models, you can still find some EMD NW2 locomotives being operated in different areas. Most of the EMD NW2 that are not active got preserved, and a few got scrapped.
What is in the EMD NW2?
The EMD NW2 has a twelve-cylinder 567 engine inside of it. It could produce 1000 horsepower easily.
The whole thing (locomotive) weighed 124 tons and the length was 44 feet. For a locomotive of this size, 1000 horsepower was a huge milestone in 1939. This locomotive could easily move around in the terminal pulling tons of weights behind it. This is what made the EMD NW2 still active in many industries.
What is the current status of EMD NW2?
The current status of the EMD NW2 is that it is out of production. But most of them are still active and working on different terminals. Some of them are preserved, and only a few were scrapped.
Some Facts about the EMD NW2
What Engine is in an EMD NW2?
The EMD NW2 has a twelve-cylinder 567 diesel-powered engine. Some of the EMD NW2 locomotives (The ones that were produced on the latest dates) had a 12-cylinder 567A engine.
Regardless of the engine variation, both engines could produce 1000 horsepower.
How long is an EMD NW2?
The EMD NW2 locomotive is 44 feet long. That is 13.41 in meters.
How many EMD NW2 are there?
There were 1145 EMD NW2 officially produced by General Motors. Most of them are still active and working on different industry applications. Some of them are well preserved, and a few of them are scrapped off.
How much Horsepower does an EMD NW2 have?
The EMD NW2 locomotive’s engine can produce 1000 horsepower.
What does an EMD NW2 weigh?
The EMD NW2 locomotive weighed 124 tons.
How much does EMD NW2 cost?
There is no official pricing of the EMD NW2. But as it was manufactured by General Motors, we can estimate its price to be around $1.5 or $2 million.
The prize could be more as it is a relic of the past.
Are there other versions of EMD NW2?
There are two versions of the EMD NW2. The difference is t=its prime mover/ engine. The old ones have a 567 twelve-cylinder engine. But the ones that were manufactured later had a 567A twelve-cylinder engine.
Conclusion
The EMD NW2 is practically the second switch, and yard duty locomotive manufactured by General Motors. Although there are more powerful switch-duty locomotives, the EMD NW2 is still in use in many terminals.
You can expect to see these machines work for more than 50 years. That will make them over a hundred years older.
Peter has been building model trains for longer than he can remember. An avid fan of HO and O scale this blog is a creative outlet to allow him to dive further into other scales and aspects of the model train community and hobby.
