EMD NW5
Olin Mathieson Chemical Corp. EMD NW5 #4 works a chemical train at Saltville, Virginia on April 18, 1971. After Olin received the locomotive from the Union Belt of Detroit, the steam generator located in front of the cab was declared obsolete and so was removed along with a good chunk of the nose.
The EMD NW5 was a road switcher designed and sold by GM-EMD between December of 1946 and February of 1947 with a total of 13 being built. The NW5 had 900 horsepower and weighed in at 214,000 pounds. The engine was an EMD 567B 12 Cylinder and the max speed was 65 MPH. It had 4 trucks and its air compressors were manufactured by Westinghouse.
NW5s in Virginia
- Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation #4 - Saltville, VA
- Rail Supply Inc. #61 - Appalachia, VA
NW5s Preserved
- Great Northern Railway #192 - Lake Superior Railroad Museum #192
- Southern Railway #2100 - Massachusetts Central Railroad #2100
- Union Belt of Detroit #2 - Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum
Mississippi Export Railroad EMD NW5 #61 idles at Moss Point, Mississippi, on August 4, 1970. This locomotive is one of three NW5s that survived into preservation, and is now on display at the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum in Parish, Florida.
Colorado & Eastern Railway EMD NW5 #992 at an unknown location (Probably Colorado Springs) on July 29, 1988. Still in Burlington Northern livery, #992 was lucky and survived into preservation while sister #994 survived all the way to 2011 but was unfortunately scrapped in February of that year.
Council Bluffs Railway EMD NW5 #992 sits as Council Bluffs, Iowa, on September 4, 1993. This ex. Great Northern Railway unit ended up in the short line business, and after being sold and inherited to many different short lines, it was donated to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and now pulls excursions as restored Great Northern Railway #192.
Another original slide of Olin Mathieson EMD NW5 #4 at Saltville, Virginia, in 1967. Actually classified as an NW5m, #4 was rebuilt soon after delivery from the Union Belt of Detroit around 1959 without it's Steam Generator.
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