#4126
EMD SD45T-2
🇺🇸 United States ·built by Electro-Motive Diesel· from 1972· class of 247 American 3600hp Co′Co′ diesel-electric locomotives
what is it?
The SD45T-2 is a model of diesel-electric locomotive built by EMD for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Like the later SD40T-2 it is colloquially nicknamed a tunnel motor. 247 total units (including the original EMD/SP joint-venture prototype) were produced from February 1972 to June 1975, including 84 for SP's subsidiary Cotton Belt.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 54 years ago, in 1972.
- 2.7 MW is about 32 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 21.3 m long: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1972–1975
- status
- in service
- number built
- 247
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- Electro-Motive Diesel
- operators
- Southern Pacific Transportation Company, St. Louis Southwestern Railway
- top speed
- —
- power
- 2.7 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- C-C
- length
- 21.3 m
- nicknames
- "tunnel motor"
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q5323469, Wikipedia: EMD SD45T-2 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.