EMD SD45

EMD SD45

Preserved Erie Lackawanna SD45 No. 3607 at the St Louis Museum of Transportation

Type and origin Power type Diesel Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) Model SD45 Build date 1965–1971 Total produced 1,260

Specifications AAR wheel arr C-C Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Length Loco weight 368,000 pounds (167,000 kg) Prime mover EMD 645E3 Engine type V20 diesel Generator AR10B Cylinders 20

Performance figures Maximum speed 71 miles per hour (114 km/h) Power output

The SD45 is a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1965–1971. It had an EMD 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine generating on the same frame as the EMD SD38, EMD SD39, EMD SD40, and EMD SDP40.

Design

1,260 were built for American railroads before the SD45-2 replaced it. Other models, like the SD45T-2 'Tunnel Motor', were released in 1972.

SD45s had several teething problems. Reliability was not as high as anticipated; the twenty-cylinder prime mover could break its own crankshaft. Though it produced more than the 16-645E3 in the SD40, some railroads felt it wasn't worth it, even after EMD redesigned the block to reduce crankshaft flexing, thereby producing the 645F crankcase and crankshaft. But, the redesigned block and crankshaft formed the basis of the exceptionally reliable 710G engine, which is the cornerstone of EMD's current offerings.

Buyers included the Burlington Northern, Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, Pennsylvania Railroad, the Great Northern Railway, Union Pacific and the Northern Pacific Railway. (Contrary to enthusiast legend the SD45 was not a "gas guzzler." It produced more power per unit of fuel than its counterpart, the SD40. It did consume more fuel at idle than the 16 cylinder prime mover in the SD40, and at the time US railroads typically left a locomotive idling when not in use.) Many SD45s still exist, some rebuilt with sixteen-cylinder 645s for lease companies. SD45s and SD45-2s owned by Montana Rail Link retain their 20-cylinder prime movers. Wisconsin Central used to roster a large fleet of SD45s, but its sale to CN has recently retired the entire fleet, with mass scrappings. Montana Rail Link is also starting to sell some for scrap.

Preservation

• Great Northern 400, named "Hustle Muscle", is preserved by the Great Northern Railway Historical Society, based out of Saint Paul, Minnesota.
• Erie Lackawanna No. 3607. St. Louis Museum of Transportation. Restored to EL colors, this unit is a static display.
• Norfolk and Western No. 1776. This high-hood unit is a static display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation.
• Northern Pacific 3617. This locomotive is preserved at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum.
• Seaboard Coast Line No. 2024. This locomotive is preserved at the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum.
• Southern Pacific No. 8800/7457. This locomotive is a static display at the Utah State Railroad Museum.
• Wisconsin Central No. 7525. This locomotive is at the Illinois Railway Museum and is operable. It is one of two WC SD45 units to be painted in an Operation Lifesaver scheme.

References

• Pinkepank, Jerry. Diesel Spotters Guide 2.
• Diesel Spotter's Guide, Volume 2. Kalmbach, 1994.
• White, Dr. W. J. How Diesel Electric Locomotives Operate. Peat. 1998.

External links

• EMD SD45 Original Owners