Beep (locomotive)

The Beep
Santa Fe's #1460, affectionately known to railfans as the "Beep", at the Western America Railroad Museum.
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderBaldwin Locomotive Works;
rebuilt by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Build date1943
Specifications
Configuration:
 • AARB-B
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length48 ft 0 in (14.63 m)
Loco weight254,000 lb (115,000 kg)
Prime moverEMD 16-567BC
Engine typeV16 2-stroke diesel
AspirationRoots blower
Displacement9,072 in3 (148.66 L)
GeneratorDC
Traction motors4 DC
Cylinders16
Cylinder size8.5 in × 10 in (216 mm × 254 mm)
TransmissionDiesel electric
Loco brakeStraight air
Train brakesAir
Performance figures
Maximum speed65 mph (105 km/h)
Power output1,500 hp (1,119 kW)
Tractive effort63,500 lbf (282 kN)
Career
Operators
Numberscurrently 1460
Official nameSWBLW (SWitcher, Baldwin Locomotive Works)
LocaleNorth America

The "Beep" (also referred to as the SWBLW) is an individual switcher locomotive built in 1970 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway at its Cleburne, Texas, workshops. Technically a rebuild, the Beep (a portmanteau of a B-B wheel arrangement and "Baldwin Geep", whose official designation was derived from "SWitcher, Baldwin Locomotive Works") originally entered service on the Santa Fe as a Baldwin Model VO-1000. Following its successful CF7 capital rebuilding program, the company hoped to determine if remanufacturing its aging, non-EMD end cab switchers by fitting them with new EMD prime movers was an economically viable proposition. The conversion procedure proved too costly and only the one unit was modified. In 2008-2009, this locomotive was retired and stored operational at Topeka, Kansas. In May 2009 the unit was donated to the Western America Railroad Museum in Barstow, California.