Montevideo, Minn.-based Integral dx, Inc. recently released a line of customizable Tier 4 switchers “in response to sold locomotive orders to the Navy, Army and Air Force,” according to the company, which with sister company SpecSys, Inc., has “designed and built nearly 300 custom railcars since 1999.”
“In 2023, the Navy was seeking someone to design a clean sheet switcher locomotive that matched the 1954 GE80 style and performance,” Kevin R. Wald, CEO of Integral dx parent company Ritalka, Inc., explained in an online letter to customers. In 18 months, “we demonstrated meeting all the AAR-NEC-ISO-ANSI-AWS-related locomotive specifications,” he reported. “We incorporated proven prime movers, generator brand, traction controls, and undercarriage components.” In 2024, the Air Force was seeking a unit similar to the GP-9, which Integral dx provided, and the family of switchers “was born,” according to Wald.
The new line of switchers is said to be built in Integral dx’s Association of American Railroads-certified locomotive facility. Users can select and rear-, mid-, or front-mount new-build cabs that incorporate “the latest in technology and modern tractive effort controls” but provide the traditional AAR control stand, Integral dx says. Cabs, it adds, are mounted on “AAR crash compliant FEA computer analyzed new-build frames.”
Dual engine configurations are available from 900 HP to 2100 HP. “Once the horsepower is selected, tractive effort driving tonnage can be optimized from 80-ton to 180-ton, in 10 ton increments,” Integral dx reports.
