A Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western “corn train” rolls southbound at Merida, North Dakota, on August 29, 2018. The unit train is powered by a pair of SD60Fs recently acquired from Canadian National. DMVW bought EMD SD60F Nos. 5500, 5501 and 5544 in October 2017, and they currently still retain their CN colors. Interestingly, Nos. 5500 and 5501, built at London in 1985 as testbed prototypes, are the earliest 60 Series built. Their builder’s plates are stamped SD50AF, but the 710-powered cowls are considered SD60Fs.
The EMD SD (special duty) series are a strong and reliable kind of locomotive which still serve America's rails today. They have proved themselves reliable by clocking in several million miles of freight service over several decades.
Freight Cowls are standard locomotives that have a hood that extends the full width of the locomotive. Sadly, most Freight Cowls have been retired, but a few still run on short lines.
