my ESPEE MODELERS ARCHIVE

California's Railroad to the U.S. 1861 - 1996

Southern Pacific / T&NO / Cotton Belt

EMD NW-2

NW-2/NW-2E Roster

see also Image Library of NW2 Detail Shots.

SP bought 10 EMD NW2's in 1941, #1310 - 1319, these were delivered in the black and white scheme; opinion varies, that the white may have been aluminum, or some may have had aluminum instead of white... The Kato comes painted black and white. They came with no hood-side louvers, and small exhaust stacks, known generally as Phase I. They had 567 engines, and D7 traction motors. Later they were painted into the yard-switcher Tiger Stripe scheme, some (1312) and maybe others, received the Interim Tiger Stripe scheme.

SP bought another 40 NW2's in 1949, SP 1403 - 1425 and T&NO 72 - 80, delivered in orange Tiger Stripes and lettering, these Phase IV or V's came with hood-side louvers and tall exhaust stacks. They had 567A engines and D27B traction motors.

The T&NO engines came lettered for Southern Pacific, with T&NO sublettering on the cabside. T&NO being the 'poor relation' their locomotives kept obsolete paint schemes much longer than the 'Pacific Lines'; SP west of El Paso.

SSW received two NW2's 1050-1051 in May of 1949, and another two 1052-1053 in November 1949. These came in SSW's Gray and yellow paint, subsequently painted in SSW's orange 'bow wave' on black. All had 6 louvered doors, with a 12" gap for lettering; when delivered they had just the Cotton Belt logo on the cabside, when repainted into the SSW orange and black scheme, 12" Cotton Belt was applied between the louvers, with the roadnumber on the cabside and a Cotton Belt logo in the orange at the bottom of the cab. As they lasted until 1968, perhaps they were repainted in SP scarlet and gray.

The 1974-76 SP Motive Power Annual has a photo of 1312 in 1941, and again in 1946, by which time it had received orange tiger stripes and lettering, though it was lettered Southern Pacific Lines, a shortlived aberration, and tall exhaust stacks.

The 1941 group were sold or traded in, their electrical equipment deemed too expensive to justify rebuilding.

The SSW units were also traded in and scrapped.

Of the 1949 group 37 were rebuilt to NW2E's

Note: Phase designations are only used by the Railfan community, who need to know the detail differences, and are not official EMD nomenclature.

The (Modelers) differences between Phases are:

• Pre War Phase I - Flat hood section in front of Windshield, short exhaust stacks.
• Phase II - Frame corners slightly rounded, tall conical exhaust stacks.
• Phase III - Six rows of louvers added on hood side, else same as Phase II.
• Phase IV - 12 inch gap left in louvers for roadname.
• Phase V - Hood angled straight down to windshield, no falsies - see SW Info Page

Additional information on this Page supplied by Bruce Conklin.