Locomotive Power: EMD NW2 (UP 1026)

No progress on track work today, so instead I thought I'd provide some information on one of my locomotives instead.


The EMD NW2 was a very popular switcher locomotive manufactured between 1939 and 1949. A total of 1145 were manufactured; 95 of those were for Union Pacific. The specific locomotive that this model is based on, Union Pacific 1026, was delivered to UP in October, 1941 and was in service for almost 40 years. UP sold 1026 in March, 1981.

Could a locomotive like this have been seen on the PE&A? Not likely. The PE&A did interchange with the UP at Hooper (and cross the UP at Parvin) and UP power would have been seen from time to time on PE&A rails. But it would not have been an NW2 switcher, which was used by UP primarily in its large rail yards in cities like Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles.

Click here to see a picture of the real 1026 when it was still in service in 1979.

And if you’re interested, click here for some (very) detailed information on UP’s use of the NW2.

As so many of these were manufactured, it's not surprising that there are several NW2s that have been preserved and are still in operating condition.