EMD SD7
Model of 1500 hp Co′Co′ American diesel locomotive
title: "EMD SD7" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["electro-motive-division-locomotives", "c-c-locomotives", "diesel–electric-locomotives-of-the-united-states", "railway-locomotives-introduced-in-1952", "freight-locomotives", "standard-gauge-locomotives-of-the-united-states", "baltimore-and-ohio-locomotives", "chicago-and-north-western-railway-locomotives", "chicago,-burlington-and-quincy-locomotives", "denver-and-rio-grande-western-railroad-locomotives", "great-northern-railway-(united-states)-locomotives", "milwaukee-road-locomotives", "pennsylvania-railroad-locomotives", "southern-pacific-railroad-locomotives", "union-pacific-railroad-locomotives"] description: "Model of 1500 hp Co′Co′ American diesel locomotive" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_SD7" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Model of 1500 hp Co′Co′ American diesel locomotive ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox locomotive"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | EMD SD7 |
| powertype | Diesel-electric |
| image | 2023-05-27 Southern Pacific 1518.jpg |
| caption | SP #1518 inside Barn 9 at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois on May 27, 2023. |
| builder | General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) |
| buildmodel | SD7 |
| builddate | May 1951 – November 1953 |
| totalproduction | 188 |
| aarwheels | C-C |
| gauge | |
| trucks | EMD Flexicoil C |
| wheeldiameter | 40 in |
| minimumcurve | 23° (250 ft radius) |
| wheelbase | 48 ft |
| length | 61 ft |
| width | 10 ft |
| height | 15 ft |
| locoweight | 309000 lb |
| fuelcap | 1200 usgal |
| primemover | EMD 16-567B |
| rpmrange | 800 |
| enginetype | V16 diesel engine |
| aspiration | Roots-type blower |
| displacement | 9072 cuin |
| generator | D-12-C |
| tractionmotors | (6) D-27-B |
| cylindercount | 16 |
| poweroutput | 1500 hp |
| maxspeed | 65 mph |
| tractiveeffort | 77250 lbf |
| locale | United States |
| disposition | Some still in service, others preserved |
| :: |
| name = EMD SD7 | powertype = Diesel-electric | image = 2023-05-27 Southern Pacific 1518.jpg | caption = SP #1518 inside Barn 9 at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois on May 27, 2023. | builder = General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) | buildmodel = SD7 | builddate = May 1951 – November 1953 | totalproduction = 188 | aarwheels = C-C | gauge = | trucks = EMD Flexicoil C | wheeldiameter = 40 in | minimumcurve = 23° (250 ft radius) | wheelbase = 48 ft | length = 61 ft | width = 10 ft | height = 15 ft | locoweight = 309000 lb | fuelcap = 1200 usgal | primemover = EMD 16-567B | rpmrange = 800 | enginetype = V16 diesel engine | aspiration = Roots-type blower | displacement = 9072 cuin | generator = D-12-C | tractionmotors = (6) D-27-B | headendpower = | cylindercount = 16 | poweroutput = 1500 hp | maxspeed = 65 mph | tractiveeffort = 77250 lbf | locale = United States | disposition = Some still in service, others preserved
The EMD SD7 is a model of 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between May 1951 and November 1953. It had an EMD 567B 16-cylinder engine producing 1500 hp for its six traction motors. United States railroads bought 188 units.
This was the first model in EMD's SD (Special Duty) series of locomotives, a lengthened B-B GP7 with a C-C truck arrangement. The two extra axles and traction motors are useful in heavy, low-speed freight service. EMD continues to produce SD series locomotives to this day. Some SD7s both high and short-hood can still be found in service today on shortline railroads and industrial operators, although most Class I roads stopped using these locomotives by the 1970s and 1980s.
Design and production
The SD7 was conceived as a modification of the existing EMD GP7 with two additional powered axles, one for each truck. Providing two more axles served two purposes: it gave the locomotive more tractive effort compared to the four-axle GP7, and it distributed the locomotive's weight more evenly.
EMD produced its first examples of the SD7 in May 1951, using the 567B engine. Starting in August 1953 a total of 26 SD7s were produced which used either the 567BC engine or the 567C engine.
SD7s were originally set up to run long hood forward, usually noted by the letter "F" painted adjacent to the top step of the long hood boarding steps. Many were later changed or upgraded to run short hood forward as is today's Association of American Railroads standard.
EMD ended production in November 1953 and began producing the SD7's successor, the SD9, in January 1954.
Rebuilds
SD7R
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company (SP) had rebuilt a total of 42 of their SD7 locomotives into the EMD SD7R. They were numbered 1500–1542. The rebuilds had also included upgrades to the electrical systems, traction motors, as well as a changeout of the prime movers swapping the 16-cylinder 567B prime movers with 16-cylinder 645CE prime movers.
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (C&NW) had seven SD7s rebuilt at their own Oelwein shops in Oelwein, Iowa changing their power output from 1,500 horsepower (1.12 Megawatts) to 1,750 horsepower (1.30 Megawatts). All seven C&NW units were retired from the C&NW's roster on September 5, 1986, and sold to the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E).
Original buyers
::data[format=table]
| Image | Owner | Quantity | Numbers | Notes | Ref. | Total | 188 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electro-Motive Division | 2 | 990 | to Southern Pacific 5308 then to 2715 to 1415 and finally 1518. Preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum. | date=September 1997 | title=Trains | url=https://www.trains.com/?r3d=trains-september-1997 | |
| 991 | to Baltimore and Ohio 760 | ||||||
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | 4 | 761–764 | These units were built with the 567BC engine. | ||||
| Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad | 8 | 451–455, 801–803 | |||||
| Chicago and North Western Railway | 5 | 1660–1664 | |||||
| [[File:Chicago, Burlington and Quincy transfer run led by SD7 319 at 130th Street and Torrence Ave., Chicago, IL on November 25, 1966 (25823992086).jpg | 150x150px]] | Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad | 37 | 300–324, 400–411 | 322-324 were built with the 567BC engine. To Burlington Northern 6023-6059 | ||
| Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (Colorado and Southern Railway) | 10 | 810–819 | To Burlington Northern 6070-6079 | ||||
| [[File:Fort Worth and Denver City, Diesel Electric Road Switcher No. 857 (15901202260).jpg | 150x150px]] | Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (Fort Worth and Denver Railway) | 11 | 850–860 | 858-860 were built with the 567BC engine. To Burlington Northern 6080-6090 | ||
| [[File:Four Roger Puta Photos of Milwaukee Road Freight Power (27377737351).jpg | 150x150px]] | Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad | 24 | 2200–2223 | Renumbered 500–523, 2215-2223 were built with the 567BC engine. | ||
| Central of Georgia Railway | 1 | 201 | |||||
| Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad | 5 | 5300–5304 | |||||
| Great Northern Railway | 23 | 550–572 | To Burlington Northern 6000-6022 | ||||
| Kennecott Copper Corporation | 1 | 903 | |||||
| Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway | 2 | 852, 952 | Renumbered 300–301. To Chicago and North Western Railway. | ||||
| Nevada Northern Railway | 1 | 401 | Sold to LADWP in the 1980s; reacquired by Nevada Northern in 2021, along with RSD-4 #201. | ||||
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 2 | 8588–8589 | These units were built with the 567BC engine. Later renumbered to 6950-6951, to Penn Central 6998-6999, and to Conrail 6998-6999 | ||||
| [[File:SP 1518 20050716 Illinois Railway Museum.JPG | 150x150px]] | Southern Pacific Company | 42 | 5279–5293, 5309–5335 | 5321-5323, 5334-5335 were built with the 567C engine | ||
| Union Pacific Railroad | 10 | 775–784 | |||||
| :: |
Preservation
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/PNWR_1501,_January_20,_2022,_Albany,_Oregon.jpg" caption="PNWR 1501 working in PNWR's yard in Albany, Oregon, on January 20, 2022"] ::
Currently preserved
- Burlington Northern #6008 (ex-Great Northern #558) is preserved at the Minnesota Transportation Museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota. #6008 was one of the first 20 SD7s to be built in 1952; it's currently under restoration to its original appearance as Great Northern #558.
- Southern #197 is preserved at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. It was originally built as Central of Georgia #201.
- Southern Pacific #1518 (ex-EMD demonstrator #990), is preserved in operational condition at the Illinois Railway Museum. #1518 was the first SD7 (later converted into an SD7R) built by EMD.
- Portland and Western formerly rostered SD7 #1501 (Ex-SP #5280), which was retired in 2023 as part of a fine resolution agreement with the EPA.
- The Dakota Southern Railway rosters one SD7, #512 (ex-MILW #2212)
- ILSX #1751 (ex-Pennsylvania Railroad #8589) is in operation at Red Trail Energy in Richardton, ND.
- Nevada Northern Railway 401 is in service at the Intermountain Power Plant in Delta, Utah. When retired, it will be donated to the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, as part of an agreement with the museum.
References
References
- Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). "The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide". Kalmbach Books.
- Guss, Chris. (May 16, 2023). "EMD's pioneering SD7 and SD9 locomotives". [[Kalmbach Media]].
- Solomon, Brian. "GE and EMD Locomotives: The Illustrated History". Voyageur Press.
- Schafer, Mike. (1998). "Vintage diesel locomotives". Motorbooks International.
- {{Harvp. Withers. 1995
- {{Harvp. Shine. 1991
- (September 1997). "Trains".
- "Great Northern Empire - Then and Now".
- "Bring 401 and 201 Home".
- (2018-03-14). "Minnesota museum acquires Great Northern SD7 {{!}} Trains Magazine".
- "G&W locomotives to scrap or upgrade per EPA decree in 2023".
- Franz, Justin. (2021-09-29). "Nevada Northern Raising Money to Bring Two Historic Diesels Home".
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