NW3

[PNWRMNM]

Ed,

I suspect original service was branch line passenger or mixed train service.

North Dakota had many branches with such service and NW3 units would have replaced ancient 4-4-0 steam power.

Mac

[SSW9389]

The Great Northern owned seven of these units. The NW3 was ordered five times from EMC/EMD and deliveries spanned from November 1939 to March 1942. It is very possible that additional NW3s would have been built had not the War Production Board halted EMD's switcher line for several years.

Preston Cook called these the first true road switchers, although the Alco RS-1 gets the honor of being first, the NW3 was built first. The common items in these seven units were the 12-567 diesel engine, the Blomberg road trucks in B-B arrangement, the 2250 pound per hour steam generator and the 59:18 high speed gearing. The NW3 was built with the D4 generator and four D7 traction motors. 

The differences are the 12-567 diesel engines installed in the first two units, GN 5400-5401. They may have been the 567U deck version, that is not certain at this time as the change over to the 12-567V deck version may have been in progress when the first two NW3s were built. The remaining five NW3's production falls within the range of the 567V deck engine. The first two NW3s share the same wiring diagram: 8029670. The next three NW3s have sequential serial numbers, which indicates they were planned at the same time, but were on three different orders: E334, E413, and E437. Great Northern #5402-5403 have the same wiring diagram 8055050 and were shipped seven months apart, September 1940 and April 1941. The NW3 #5404 has a December 1941 shipping date and wiring diagram 8062572. The last two NW3s built, Great Northern 5405-5406 have the same wiring diagram as #5404 and were shipped in March 1942.

What was the original service for these units? The steam generators and passenger gearing suggest some type of passenger service.

At least one of these NW3s survives on display in Montana.

Ed in Kentucky