SD9 SD9L
Three quarters of the Alabama Midland Railroad (AMRR) heritage short lines and branches were composed of Class 3 and excepted track at its start up. It did have the well-maintained former CSX (ex-SAL) secondary main known as the ” Bow Line” from Montgomery, AL to Thomasville, GA where the large SD six axles roamed. Much of the routes feeding into the Bow Line were light rail or possessed bridges banning the heavy SDs. While suited for first generation four axle road switchers, SD units allowed longer trains with better tractive effort while spreading the load on the sometimes less than opportune trackage on these branch lines. As a result, the AMRR maintained a substantial group of low horsepower six axle first generation power, many of which were still configured as built.
The first group of early SD units came by way of the acquisition of the Rail Management owned Bay Line Railroad (BAYL). The paper mill owned railroad sampled new EMD units over its near 100-year history as the original Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay Railroad (ASAB) and later the Bay Line Railroad (BAYL) when the road was renamed and sold to Rail Management. Two SD9 units came as part of the original ASAB roster, #504 and #505. Both SD-9L units #504 and #505 were involved in a derailment at Youngstown, FL in 1978. 504 was repaired and put back in service with little changes. 505 was severely damaged and sat behind the BAYL main shops at Panama City, FL for several years. It was eventually rebuilt complete with a new EMD SD40 series main cab and nose.
The next additions were two SD-9 units coming from the Georgia Southwestern Railroad (GSWR). These two units were former DMIR units purchased while GSWR was part of RailTex. They remained when the GSWR was sold to local interests and carried over when the AMRR bought the line a few years later in 2010. These two units were rebuilt at the BAYL Panama City, FL shops with updated 26L braking and AAR clean cab standards. Units also had turbochargers removed during the rebuild and liberated exhaust similar to the BAYL SD9L rebuilds a few years before.
With the purchase of the Birmingham Southern Railroad (BSRR) from TranStar Holdings, AMRR added additional first generation units to its roster. BSRR had a total of eleven unit operational at the time of the AMRR purchase. While AMRR sold many of the older end cab switchers in favor of newer GP locomotives, it opted to retain the BSRR SD9 units well after the Fairfield mill closed and ore deliveries over the Birmingport Branch ceased. AMRR sent the whole group to Stephens Railcar for rebuilding in kind. Of the eleven, only six were deemed economically viable with the remaining three scrapped for parts.
| Road Number | Number Of Units | Paint Scheme | Notes |
| BAYL | 2 | Various Schemes | ex-ASAB, transferred to BAYL after railroad sold by Continental Container to Rail Management in early 2000s; 504 and 505 damaged in derailment in Youngstown, FL in 1978; 504 repaired but 505 stored HBO for a number of years; both rebuilt with 645E block rated at 2000hp; In service. |
| GSWR | 2 | Various Schemes | ex-DMIR, exx-EJE rebuilt by DMIR Proctor Shops as model SD-M; Sold to RailTex and assigned to GSWR; Upgraded with normal aspirated 645E primemover rated 2000hp; In service assigned to Georgia Grain Unit operations out of Dothan, AL |
| BSRR | 8 | Various Schemes |
Georgia Road Transportation 