I have an old postwar Soo Line SW-1 that I got from my grandfather. It has a manual reversing unit and it is pretty much a low quality locomotive. However, it has great sentimental value. Does anyone know when it was produced and how many they were? I have every Lionel catalog from 1950 to 1992 and I can’t find it anywhere.
I have a picture but it won’t let me paste it onto the page.
What is the number on the side of the cab?
Rob
I could swear I’ve seen this same post recently and responded that I am not aware that Lionel ever made an SW-1. But they did make the 8569 Soo NW-2 from 1975 to 1977.
You are correct Bob. Lionel never made a SW-1. Still hasn’t. They did introduce an NW-2 switcher in the late 1940’s. This was the first engine made with MagneTraction, and featured a die-cast frame, high-end motor, and ringing bell. Later, this engine was severely cheapened with a stamped steel frame, cheaper motor, and junkier couplers. This engine was cheapened again in the 1980’s with plastic trucks/couplers and truck-mounted CAN motors. There’s a ton of numbers in this series, so we’d need to know which he is talking about. Jon [8D]
The number on the cab is 8569.
I have the instruction sheet/owners manual and it says SW-1.
I found a link to it on an auction site. I’ve found it online called an NW-2 but it says SW-1 on the box and the instruction sheet.
You mentioned that it was a Post War engine, but it is not. The #8569 was a Lionel/MPC product cataloged between 1975 and 1977. It is listed as a NW-2 yard switcher (SW-1’s had single stacks). Red body; white lettering Soo Line logo on cab; black stamped-metal frame; headlight; single Type II motor; two position reverse; dummy couplers on both ends. Part of the #1582 Yard Chief set. $30 Very Good $75 Excellent $100 Mint (All from a very old price guide!) Jon [8D]
Lionel erroneously referred to the model as an SW-1, as in the 1955 catalog: “…the thousand-horsepower ‘SW-1’, built by General Motors!” It is actually a model of the NW-2. The Lionel description is wrong on the face of it, since the “SW” in “SW-1” stands for “six hundred horsepower”. (The “W” was for “welded-frame”.) The NW-2 was a 1000-horsepower locomotive. The “N” stood for “nine hundred horsepower”, which was the original rating of the series, which started with the cast-frame NC-1 and the NW-1.
Ok. Thanks for clarifying that.
The NW2 in mention was also cataloged as a SW1 IN THE 1974 OR 1975 catalog