EMD RS1325

[Murphy Siding]

     In 1960, EMD built 2 ligh road switchers, which were basically a 1325 h.p. switcher on a longer frame, with a short hood for a steam generator.  The idea being, they would be used for passenger terminal work.  In the end, a coal hauler, Chicago & Illionois Midland, bought them for freight use.  I can understand why.

     Why would a railroad purchase a specialized locomotive to do something that an off the shelf GP9 could easily do?

[beaulieu]

Probably needed a lighter weight road locomotive. They also owned a group of SW1200 switchers set up for branchline service. The RS1325 gave them room to provide a crew toilet.

[Murphy Siding]

     Would it be much lighter than a GP9?

[nanaimo73]

Were these demonstrators which the C&IM picked up at a good price?

[Murphy Siding]

Were these demonstrators which the C&IM picked up at a good price?

Just guessing, but these were the only 2 ever built, so it's quite possible.

[beaulieu]

No, they weren't demonstrators. I would think that they would be at least 5 tons lighter than a GP9 could be. Shorter frame, engine 2/3 the size of the GP9 diesel. A few Canadian GP9s were built with the Flexicoil B truck to hold down the weight, but no US GP9s were built that way. Only a 900 gallon fuel tank. etc.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The RS1325 was an entry in EMD's catalog that barely sold and seems to have paralleled the development of the GMD1 in Canada.  The market for passenger switchers had just about dried up and an SW1200 with Flexicoil trucks could work a lot of the same freight duties as an RS1325 so it's interesting as to why EMD even put it in the catalog.