Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Diesel Roster: All-Time

Last revised: September 17, 2026

The Chesapeake & Ohio was late to diesel and never bought a Fairbanks-Morse. Steam still paid on coal, so the first road diesels were not mine-run Geeps but Pere Marquette E7s for the 1946 streamliners. GP7s from 1950 and GP9s from 1954 then replaced the Kanawhas and the Mallets. Last new C&O-lettered power was a batch of SD50s in 1984–85, already in Chessie paint. Steam ended in 1956.

Chessie System Chesapeake and Ohio GP40-2s in Chicago on April 28 1973

Chessie System (Chesapeake & Ohio) GP40-2s in Chicago, April 28, 1973. American-Rails.com collection. The kitten-C arrived in 1972; C&O sublettering stayed on the frame until CSX.

On this page: At a glance · Late to diesel · E7s and the Pere Marquette · Switchers and the Herd · GP7s, GP9s, F7s · Alco and Baldwin · GP30s to SD50s · Roster: switchers · Roster: road-switchers · Roster: cab units · Roster: second generation

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. Mark CO. Pere Marquette diesels from June 6, 1947
First road diesel	EMD E7A, Pere Marquette 101–108, 1946–47, for the Pere Marquette streamliners. C&O 95–98 followed in July 1948
Last steam	1956. GP7s and GP9s took freight; E and FP units took what varnish remained
Builders	Electro-Motive (and GMD), Alco, GE, Baldwin. No Fairbanks-Morse
Geeps	GP7 5700–5900 plus GMD 5720–5738; GP9 5901–6263 (363 engines). The freight dieselization
Cab freight	F7A 7000–7093; F7B 7500–7546 and 8500–8506; FP7 8000–8015
Last new	EMD SD50 8553–8575 and 8624–8643, January 1984–November 1985. Chessie paint, C&O lettering
1963 fleet	1,053 diesels (company glance)
Paint	Enchantment blue and yellow; then Chessie yellow, vermilion, and blue from 1972

Steam until the parts ran out

C&O ordered Kanawhas, Alleghenies, poppet-valve Hudsons, and ten new 2-6-6-2s after the war. The M-1 turbines were a last argument that coal-fired power could still match Electro-Motive. They lost. What ended steam was not a sudden conversion of faith. It was the disappearance of the steam parts business and the obvious arithmetic of a GP7 on a coal branch. The railroad that had sold thirty brand-new 0-8-0s to the Norfolk & Western in 1950 was buying Geeps by the hundred a year later. Last fire was 1956.

E7s first, on the Pere Marquette

Chesapeake and Ohio E7A 4520 ahead of train 26 departing Traverse City Michigan for Grand Rapids in August 1962

Chesapeake & Ohio E7A #4520 ahead of train 26 as it leaves Traverse City, Michigan, for Grand Rapids in August 1962. Rick Burn photo. 4520 is a former Pere Marquette E7, still on PM iron fifteen years after the merger.

The Pere Marquette put E7As 101–108 on the Detroit–Grand Rapids streamliners in 1946–47—the first new postwar streamliner, August 10, 1946. Those were the first road diesels in the family. C&O added 95–98 in July 1948. After the June 6, 1947 merger the E7s were renumbered into the 4500s and later some into the 1400s for a joint C&O/B&O passenger pool. E8As 4000–4030, 1951–53, took the George Washington and the F.F.V. FP7s 8000–8015 covered leftover passenger and mail.

NW2s, S2s, and the Herd

Yard power was mostly Electro-Motive and Alco. Pere Marquette brought SW1s 10–11, GE 70-tonners 20–22, and NW2s 51–64. The Manistee & Northeastern added a 44-tonner and two NW2s. Fort Street Union Depot in Detroit contributed two NW5s. C&O’s own orders were Alco S2s 5000–5057, S4s 5100–5113, EMD NW2s and SW7s/SW9s in the 5200s, and—unusually—TR3 A-B-C “Herd” sets 6500 and 6501 (1949) and TR4 cow-calf sets 6000 and 6001 (1950) for hump yards. Those later wore 9552–9557 and 9622–9625. A few S2s went to the B&O after 1963.

The Geep flood, then F7s

GP7s 5700–5900 (with GMD 5720–5738 for Canadian lines) arrived 1950–53 and bumped steam off the coal branches. GP9s 5901–6263, December 1954–August 1957, finished the job on the mains: 363 engines, one of the larger GP9 fleets. Together they were the C&O freight diesel of the 1950s and 1960s. Many later ran as B&O after the 1963 control. BL2s 80–85 and 1840–1847 were an early, odd EMD road-switcher; 83 became 1839.

Chesapeake and Ohio F7A 7047 between runs at Springfield Illinois in August 1965

Chesapeake & Ohio F7A #7047 between runs at Springfield, Illinois, in August 1965. Mac Owen collection. F7As 7000–7093 were the cab freight fleet; F7Bs used 7500–7546 and 8500–8506.

F7As 7000–7093 and matching boosters handled through freight before second-generation six-axle power. Number 7500 was F7B first, SD40 later—the 7500s were reused after the cab units left.

Alco six-motors, Baldwin AS-616s

C&O sampled everyone but FM. Alco RS-2s 5500–5501 (sold on), RS-1s 5114–5115, RS-3s 5600–5601 (April 1955), RSD-5s 5570–5595, RSD-7s 6800–6811, RSD-12s 6700–6709, and four C-630s 2100–2103 in 1967. Baldwin DRS-6-6-1500s 5530–5532 and a large AS-616 fleet, 5528–5569, worked coal and transfer. Several AS-616s were scrapped before the 2200-series renumber.

GP30s, U-boats, Chessie GP40-2s, SD50s

Trio of Chesapeake and Ohio GP35s led by 3520 and 3566 leaving Rockwell Yard at Kedzie Avenue and 75th Street Chicago April 9 1965

A trio of Chesapeake & Ohio GP35s, led by #3520 and #3566, working out of Rockwell Yard at Kedzie Avenue and 75th Street, Chicago, April 9, 1965. Marty Bernard photo. Nearly new; GP30s 3045 and 3047 were wrecked and replaced by GP35s 3583–3584.

Second generation was EMD and GE. GP30s 3000–3047 (1962–63), GP35s in the 3500s, GP38s 3850–3899 (1967) and 4820–4829 (1970), GP39s 3900–3919, GP40s 4065–4099 and 3780–3794, then GP40-2s from 1972 that wore Chessie paint from the start. Six-axle: SD18 1800–1818 (later 7300–7318), SD35 7420–7431 plus wreck replacements, SD40s 7450–7481 (later 7550s) and 7501–7536 (second). GE U25Bs 2500–2537 (later 8100s), U23Bs 2300–2329, U30Cs 3300–3312, U30Bs 8200–8234, B30-7s 8235–8298. Last new locomotives lettered C&O were SD50s 8553–8575 and 8624–8643, 1984–85. After August 31, 1987, the roster was CSX.

Switchers

Later numbers in the notes. TR3/TR4 sets are listed once, as built, not again as 9500s.

Numbers	Model	Builder	Built	Notes
FSUD 1–2	NW5	EMD	1–2/1947	Fort Street Union Depot, Detroit. Serials 4148–4149
M&NE 1	44-ton	GE	8/1946	To C&O 8303. Serial 28501
M&NE 2–3	NW2	EMD	5/1948	To 5297–5298. Serials 5555–5556
PM 10–11	SW1	EMC	7/1939, 4/1942	11 to 8401. Serials 902, 1714
PM 20–22	70-ton	GE	12/1946	Serials 28506, 28508, 28510
PM 51–64	NW2	EMD	10/1942–5/1946	To 5275–5289 (no 5279). Serials 1715–1718, 3463–3472
1850–1856	NW2	EMD	11–12/1948	To 9558–9564. Serials 6268–6274
5000–5057	S2	Alco	5/1949–1/1950	Some to 9160s or B&O
5060–5079	NW2	EMD	6–9/1949	Serials 10381–10386, 10367–10380
5080–5093	SW9	EMD	4/1952–12/1953
5100–5113	S4	Alco	7–9/1953	Serials 80622–80626, 80629–80637
5100 (2nd)	S2	Alco	9/1943	Ex-B&O 480/9024, serial 70253
5200–5213	NW2	EMD	8–11/1949	Serials 10259–10272
5214–5239	SW7	EMD	1–3/1950	Serials 10273–10298. Not SW9
5240–5244	SW9	GMD	1–2/1951	Serials A149–A153
5245–5265	SW9	EMD	10–11/1951	Serials 15504–15524
6000A/B, 6001A/B	TR4	EMD	6/1950	Cow-calf. Later 9622–9625. Serials 11945–11948
6500A/B/C, 6501A/B/C	TR3	EMD	10/1949	Herd. Later 9552–9557. Serials 10253–10258
8419	SW1	EMD	5/1942	Ex-B&OCT 219/8419, serial 1604
9164 (2nd)	S4	Alco	6/1956	Ex-B&O 9099, serial 81972

Road-switchers (first generation)

Numbers	Model	Builder	Built	Notes
80–85	BL2	EMD	6–7/1948	83 to 1839. Serials 4724–4729
1840–1847	BL2	EMD	10/1948–3/1949	Not RSD-5s. Serials 6275–6281 as listed live
1800–1818	SD18	EMD	1–3/1963	To 7300–7318. Serials 27598–27616
5114–5115	RS-1	Alco	9/1953	Later 9185–9186
5500–5501	RS-2	Alco	5/1949	Serials 76826–76827. Sold (LV)
5528–5529	AS-616	Baldwin	7/1953	To 2232–2233
5530–5532	DRS-6-6-1500	Baldwin	11/1949	5530 to 2200. Serials 74701–74703
5533–5569	AS-616	Baldwin	11/1950–3/1952	Some scrapped before 2200-series numbers
5570–5595	RSD-5	Alco	3–7/1952	Seven to 2000–2006
5600–5601	RS-3	Alco	4/1955	Serials 81160–81161. Not 1951
5700–5719, 5739–5900	GP7	EMD	4/1950–4/1953	U.S.-built. 5900 later 5809 (2nd)
5720–5738	GP7	GMD	3–6/1951	Canadian. Serials A154–A169, A239–A241
5901–6263	GP9	EMD	12/1954–8/1957	363 units
6700–6709	RSD-12	Alco	4–5/1956	To 2007–2016. Serials 81943–81952
6800–6811	RSD-7	Alco	2–4/1956	Serials 81901–81912

Cab units

Numbers	Model	Builder	Built	Notes
PM 101–108	E7A	EMD	6/1946–8/1947	First family road diesels. To 4510s / 4522
95–98	E7A	EMD	7/1948	To 4520–4521; later 1418–1419. Serials 6262–6265
4000–4026	E8A	EMD	8/1951–1/1952	Serials 14759–14785. Some to 1468–1471
4027–4030	E8A	EMD	4–5/1953	Live serials repeated the road numbers; omit. 4027–4028 to 1472–1473
7000–7015	F7A	EMD	9/1950	Serials 9728–9743
7016–7031	F7A	EMD	9/1950	Serials 11842–11857
7032–7085	F7A	EMD	1–5/1952	Serials 15969–16022
7086–7093	F7A	EMD	10–11/1952	Serials 17264–17271
7500–7515	F7B	EMD	9/1950	Serials 11858–11873
7516–7542	F7B	EMD	1–5/1952	Serials 16023–16049
7543–7546	F7B	EMD	10–11/1952	Serials 17272–17275
8000–8013	FP7	EMD	2–4/1952	Serials 16050–16063
8014–8015	FP7	EMD	12/1952	To 7094–7095. Serials 17490–17491
8500–8506	F7B	EMD	2–4/1952	Serials 16064–16070

Second generation

Numbers	Model	Builder	Built	Notes
2100–2103	C-630	Alco	10/1967	Serials S-3486-01 to 04
2300–2329	U23B	GE	9–10/1969	Blomberg trucks. Serials 37228–37257
2500–2537	U25B	GE	8/1963–1/1964	To 8100–8137
3000–3047	GP30	EMD	8/1962–10/1963	3045, 3047 wrecked; replaced by GP35s 3583–3584
3300–3312	U30C	GE	6/1967–7/1968
3520–3539	GP35	EMD	4–6/1964	Photo: 3520 Chicago
3560–3575	GP35	EMD	9–11/1964
3537, 3563, 3574 (2nd), 3582	GP35	EMD	9–12/1965	Wreck replacements / extras
3583–3584	GP35	EMD	9/1965	Replaced GP30s 3045, 3047. Serials 30987–30988
3850–3899	GP38	EMD	11–12/1967	Serials 33681–33730
3900–3919	GP39	EMD	5–7/1969	Serials 34784–34804
4065–4089	GP40	EMD	5–8/1971	Serials 38545–38569
4090–4099, 3780–3794	GP40	EMD	12/1971	Serials 39236–39260
4165–4184	GP40-2	EMD	11/1972	First Chessie-paint C&O order. 7394-1 to 20
4262–4286	GP40-2	EMD	1–3/1978
4372–4421	GP40-2	EMD	1–3/1980
4820–4829	GP38	EMD	7–8/1970	Serials 36666–36675
7420–7431	SD35	EMD	9–11/1964	7425 (2nd), 7428 (2nd) 8/1965 wreck replacements
7450–7469, 7475–7481	SD40	EMD	7/1966–5/1967	Later 7550–7569, 7575–7581
7501–7536 (2nd)	SD40	EMD	4/1969–3/1971	7500s previously F7B
8200–8222	U30B	GE	12/1971–12/1972
8223–8224	U30B	GE	5/1966	Ex-GE demonstrators 301–302
8225–8234	U30B	GE	12/1974
8235–8298	B30-7	GE	5/1978–5/1981
8553–8575, 8624–8643	SD50	EMD	1/1984–11/1985	Last new C&O-lettered locomotives. Orders 837057, 857095

Sources

Live American-Rails all-time C&O diesel tables (March 15, 2025), retained as the unit grid and corrected as listed above
The Diesel Shop. “Chesapeake & Ohio All-Time Motive Diesel Summary,” R. Craig, revised March 19, 2026. Extra 2200 South (January 1968); Shaver, Carl W. Chesapeake & Ohio Diesel Review; Staufer, C&O Power
Dixon, Thomas W., Jr. Chesapeake & Ohio GP7/GP9 Diesel Locomotives. C&O Historical Society. Geep dieselization
Dixon, Thomas W., Jr. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway: A Concise History And Fact Book. Late steam / early diesel
American-Rails.com: C&O company; steam roster; Pere Marquette; Chessie System

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