Unusual EMD Shop Switcher

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2014 12:22 am

As so often happens, I was looking for something else and ran across this:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FgaW0GYgcRA/T ... dDD35B.jpg

Source page:

http://desind.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html

Anyone care to say what this unit is or was? It looks like it might have been an export model that stayed home.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2014 12:36 am

http://emdexport.railfan.net/demos2.html

Quote:

EMD 7037, EMD GM6W C 600 hp. This is the smallest EMD export, with a single traction motor driving 3 axles and an EMD 6-567C engine. This unit spent its entire life at the LaGrange plant but did inspire some sales (Lebanon, South Africa). It wound up life at the Pielet Brothers Scrap yard next to EMD's plant and was eventually scrapped.

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2014 1:17 am

Thanks for the quick reply, Sandy!

As to the unit in the background, it's a DD-35B demonstrator. It was intended to run between a pair of GP-35s. There's an illustration (EMD painting) of such a unit in this service in the source page; it does take a bit of scrolling down to reach it, but there'll be no mistaking it, not with all that red and white paint on that long side!

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2014 1:29 am

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H3iUDpLAEjg/T ... 0/GP35.jpg

The page is from Brazil, and I'm afraid I don't read Portugese, but it looks like it's from a firm that does graphics design work, and they apparently like EMD's demonstrator schemes; there are a number of interesting paintings and photos of demonstrators there.

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2014 2:14 am

Ah, you find out new stuff every day.

http://www.worldrailfans.info/Articles/US/UPDD35.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_DD35

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_DD35A

Seems the cabless units were DD-35s, and the unit was intended to strictly be a booster. Union Pacific wanted a cabbed version, and the result was the DD-35A, actually developed after the booster unit!

Production turned out to be interesting, with 30 cabless units (27 UP, including 2 demonstrators, and 3 SP) and 15 cab-equipped ones (all UP). None exist today.

filmteknik · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2014 11:27 am

The DD35A took a good bit of redesign work relative to the DD35 in order to make room for the cab. One aspect of that were the SD45-like flaring radiator intakes. Really just two GP35's on a raft.