as a reflection of the GE model. The General Electric version of this
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www.nmra-scwd.org 28 FEBRUARY 2014
type of diesel is a handy little locomo- tive that found its way into all kinds of railroading throughout the world. Shortlines gravitated to them, in part because of a strong sales team that hustled for orders, and in part because they were built by a company with a good reputation that would be around in the future. Class 1’s liked them because they could navigate tight curves in industri- al areas and easily tread light-railed branchlines with enough horsepower to make their purchase worthwhile, and industrial customers saw them as an in- tegral part of their daily operation. They were easy to operate and easy to maintain. More than one mechanical of- ficer knew that almost everything he needed to fix them could be carried in the trunk of his automobile. The locomotive could be found al- most everywhere in railroading both here and abroad. It was conceived as a ¾-scale model of the EMD SW1 switch- er, to be sold with easy financing to shortlines and industries with line- haul operations. Before and during World War II, General Electric did not offer a single “railroad” locomotive in its catalog. As the war wound down, however, GE wanted to find new markets. One was undercapitalized steam-powered short- lines and industrial railroads that re- quired replacement locomotives weigh- ing 70 tons or less (both to meet engineer pay requirements and to safe- ly operate on light rail), but with rela- tively high gearing to allow decent road speeds. The answer was to use cutting-edge
manufacturing techniques to develop a single-engine diesel locomotive with 600 horsepower that weighed thirty tons less than an Alco, Baldwin or EMD switcher rated at the same pow- er. A bare-bones machine, the new GE switcher could be sold at a significantly lower base price and be at home on rail too light to support a standard 99-ton switcher.
The concept worked. General Elec- tric created the right locomotive at the right time. More than 400 of them were shoved out the erecting bay doors for worldwide customers. While 400 units is not really a staggeringly high num- ber, the 70 tonners seemed to be every- where. And they left the competition, which in many cases produced some very fine machines of their own, in their sales wake. Ron Sims, a GE 70-tonner devotee, literally scoured every source in an at- tempt to produce a definitive photo and reference book on the subject. He has succeeded handily. Here, in a single 172-page softcover book, the reader can find information on every conceiv- able type of service and in almost every paint scheme they ever wore. Sims in- cludes users from Class 1’s to short- lines,
industrials and loggers. He
chronicles the various offshoots, such as the GE 95-tonner, and shows the various models of the competition. There is a complete construction table from the first unit in 1946, to the last in 1959. There are paint schemes you probably never saw, repowered units that caused them to change shape, narrow gauge units, derailed units, and wrecked units. There are many tables,
including preserved units, factory customizing options, sec-
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