ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Transportation Museum volunteers have returned a 1949 EMD SW1 diesel locomotive to operation. The unit was built for the Wabash Railroad and later sold to window-maker Andersen for switching at its Bayport, Minn., plant.
“It started with a hinge,” says Tim Nelson, one of the volunteers who led the project, in an interview with the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “Once I took that off, I realized there was rust damage everywhere. From there, we just kept going.”
Parts that were rusted beyond repair had to be fabricated in the museum’s shop. Replacement parts for decades old locomotives don’t exist, says Nelson.
Volunteers worked weekends for 11 months to rebuild the locomotive, which included recreating the Andersen paint scheme. More than 1,000 hours were devoted to the rebuild.
The SW1 model was manufactured by EMD’s Electro-Motive Division from November 1939 to November 1953. Production was suspended from 1942-45 due to World War II. EMD sold 660 SW1s to U.S. railroads and one to Mexican lines.
Andersen is the largest window and door manufacturer in the U.S. Its SW1 spent decades moving in boxcars of raw lumber and shifting out carloads of finished product. When the locomotive was retired and donated to the museum, Andersen made one request: Maintain the company identity represented in the paint scheme.
During the rebuild, volunteer sign painter and graphic designer Mike Alfveby took up the task of recreating the Andersen identity. Months were devoted to researching photos, tracing letters, and redrawing the graphics.
“I tracked down old photos and even a vintage Andersen lithograph to make sure the layout was exactly right,” Alfveby told the Star-Tribune. “Every letter and number was hand-painted, just like it was decades ago.”
For Minnesota, the Andersen locomotive represents a slice of its industrial history. The SW1 came on the state railroad scene at a time when locally dominant railroads like the Great Northern and Milwaukee Road were transitioning from steam to diesel power. It also represents a household name familiar to families across the country.
The museum plans to operate the locomotive on its half-mile demonstration track in St. Paul.
Find out more about the Minnesota Transportation Museum on its website.
