Utilizing the GP-20 shell and providing it with a C-truck drive, the husky appearing SD-18 arrives in the 1978 Milwaukee train set offering. This was the first release with this Lionel C-truck design. The same drive would later help create the U36C, SD-9, SD-24 and SD-28 offerings in the Fundimensions years of Lionel. For 1979, Lionel offered a powered and dummy blue and yellow Santa Fe SD-18 diesels. These are the only two roadnames found for the Lionel SD-18 during our website's survey period of 1980-1986.

Though the focus of this site is to follow, illustrate and detail the regular cataloged items from Lionel between 1970 and 1986, you'll see a couple SD-18 roadnames presented here that did not make it into the regular annual catalog roundup of products. The Ontario Northland SD-18 diesels are featured in the 1981 Fall Collector Center catalog from Lionel. The Virginian SD-18, in powered and dummy, did not see any Lionel catalogs.