| In 1969 and 1972, the Milwaukee Road took delivery of the unique SDL39....a light weight six axle roadswitcher. These 10 units were especially built for the Milwaukees light rail branchlines in the midwest. They featured a 12 cylinder turbocharged 645 engine, a short frame (shorter than a GP9), export trucks and weighed in at 249,000 lbs. The 581 was wrecked, but the other 9 units were transferred to the Soo Line. A few of the SDL39s were leased to the DM&E in 1987. The remaining 9 units were purchased by the Wisconsin Central but deemed surplus when the Canadian National took over the WC and are now in service in Chile on the Ferrocarril del Pacifico (FEPASA). |