The EMD NW3 was a road switcher diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between November 1939 and March 1942. A total of seven were built for the Great Northern Railway, the sole original purchaser; they were originally numbered #5400-5406 and later renumbered #175-181. The locomotive fundamentally consists of an NW2 hood, prime mover and main generator on a long frame with road trucks. The extra length was used for a large cab and an additional, full-width hood section, which contained a steam generator for passenger service. The boiler's exhaust was in the front center of the cab, between the front windows and exiting at the middle of the roof front. The locomotives were delivered in GN's black diesel paint scheme of the time, but were later repainted in the bright, orange and green "Empire Builder" scheme. The short exhaust stacks as delivered were at some point replaced by standard conical EMD switcher stacks. The first four locomotives were traded in by GN to EMD on new locomotives in 1965. The remaining three locomotives were sold to other railroads: #179 was sold to A.E. Staley Co. of Morrisville, Pennsylvania, keeping the same number; then locomotive #179 was purchased by Locomotive Trouble Shooters, from Fairless Hills, PA 19030 and the engine was replaced, #180 was sold to the Clinchfield Railroad as their #361; #181 went to Anaconda Aluminum as their #100. The Clinchfield locomotive was scrapped; the Anaconda Aluminum unit is on display at the Whitefish, Montanadepot in its GN "Empire Builder" colors, locomotive #179 was still in service in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. The January 2019 issue of Railfan & Railroadmagazine featured a picture of No. 179 on page 26 with accompanying text stating the locomotive was scrapped on November 30, 2018. Additional text on page 15 stated "Though the final owner, Tate & Lyle, made some effort to find a buyer, there were no takers. The high cost of trucking the oversized unit from the site was an inhibiting factor for many museums and historical societies." This leaves the restored GN 181 on static display near the Amtrak station in Whitefish, MT, as the sole surviving EMD NW3.
