USA: Integral dx has delivered a diesel shunting locomotive to the US Air Force, after supplying locos to the Army and Navy.
The SWR18 rear-cab four-axle 1 800 hp loco delivered to Air Mobility Command’s Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina follows on from centre cab locomotives delivered to the Army in November 2025 and the Navy in March 2025.
For fuel efficiency and low emissions, the locos have a dual engine-generator set with the ability to use one or both engines at the operators’ discretion. Every electrical system in the locomotive can run off just one engine, with the other only used when more power is needed. ‘It’s a design element we are very proud of’, Integral dx told Railway Gazette International. The Air Force loco has two 900 hp CAT C27 engines, each paired with a Marathon-743 RSL generator, and meets the EPA Tier 4-final emissions standard.
The locomotives are produced at the Integral dx subsidiary of Ritalka’s Assocation of American Railroads and ISO 9001 certified plant in Granite Falls, Minnesota.
‘For over 25 years we have engineered and built over 300 000 mobile industrial machines across a multitude of applications’, said Integral dx CEO Kevin Wald on February 10. ‘That foundational experience enabled our entry into the shortline and rail yard switcher locomotive market with our Integral dx Locomotives. We demonstrate daily that manufacturing is alive and well in rural America.’
Wald said ‘a senior Federal Railroad Administration manager shared with me that no company has offered a new ground-up design and full family offering of switcher and shortline locomotives since 1974. The North American fleet of switcher and shortline locomotives is aging and Integral dx offers an extensive line of switcher locomotives and custom builds to meet the current and future needs of the industry.’
