CSX | Locomotives

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CSX Transportation (Railroad)

Photo by Warren Calloway

CSX Diesel Locomotive Roster

Below is a diesel locomotive roster for CSX, organized by manufacturer and then by model. This roster includes the number of units that CSX owned/owns for each model. For further details, there are numerous websites, books, and archived reference materials that include more information on each locomotive.

CSX has a complex history of mergers, acquisitions, sales, retirements, and modernizations since its 1980 formation from the Chessie System and Seaboard System Railroads. The following roster outlines key locomotive models that have been part of the CSX fleet, including older models inherited from predecessor railroads and newer units purchased by CSX. Where possible, specific purchase or inheritance details are provided, but note that numbers constantly change with ongoing fleet management. 

Electro-Motive Division (EMD)

  • SW7/SW9: 44 locomotives. (Inherited from Seaboard System) Older switcher units used for industrial and yard duty, most are likely retired or sold.
  • MP15T/MP15AC: ~40 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD/Purchased by CSX) Versatile switchers acquired in the mid-1980s that have been a long-serving part of the CSX fleet.
  • GP7/GP9: ~250 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD and Chessie) A massive fleet of older road switchers, the majority of which have been retired or rebuilt. Many were the basis for the GP16 program.
  • GP16: 149 locomotives. (Inherited from Seaboard System) A fleet of older EMD units rebuilt by the SCL. Most have been retired.
  • GP38/GP38-2: >200 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD/Chessie, purchased by CSX) A large fleet of reliable road switchers that remains an important part of CSX’s modern fleet. Many have been modernized or assigned to yard service.
  • GP40/GP40-2: >150 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD/Chessie, purchased by CSX) Once mainstays of the fast freight fleet, many have been retired, rebuilt, or relegated to lesser duties.
  • SD35: ~35 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD/Chessie) Older six-axle units, nearly all of which have been retired.
  • SD40/SD40-2/SD40-3: >250 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD/Chessie, purchased by CSX/rebuilt by CSX) This massive fleet was a key part of the railroad’s heavy haulage. A portion of the SD40-2 fleet has been rebuilt into SD40-3s, while many older units have been retired.
  • SD45/SD45-2: ~60 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD/Chessie) Older, six-axle, high-horsepower units, retired in favor of more modern power.
  • SD50: 81 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD/Chessie) Units from the SBD fleet, many of which were retired or sold in the 2010s due to reliability issues.
  • SD60/SD60M: ~49 locomotives. (Purchased by CSX/Inherited from Conrail) A fleet of locomotives acquired both new and through the Conrail acquisition.
  • SD70MAC: 300 locomotives. (Purchased by CSX/Inherited from Conrail) A major part of the high-horsepower fleet, known for its AC traction, all of which were acquired or inherited in the 1990s and 2000s.
  • SD70ACe: 25 locomotives. (Purchased by CSX/Inherited from Conrail) A newer AC traction model, some of which were inherited from the Conrail split.
  • SD70AH: 10 locomotives. (Purchased by CSX) These are SD70ACe Tier 4 units. 

General Electric (GE)

  • U18B: 15 locomotives. (Inherited from SCL) Lighter-weight units for local freights, all retired.
  • U30B/U33B/U36B/U36C: ~200 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD/Chessie) The “U-boat” fleet of GE, which was largely retired by CSX.
  • C40-8/CW40-8: >100 locomotives. (Purchased by CSX) Early GE wide-cab models acquired by CSX.
  • AC4400CW/CW44AC: >600 locomotives. (Purchased by CSX) A massive fleet of 4,400 horsepower AC traction locomotives, acquired between the 1990s and 2000s. Many are being modernized into CM44ACs.
  • ES44AH/ET44AH: >700 locomotives. (Purchased by CSX) CSX’s newest high-horsepower locomotives, acquired since the late 2000s. The ES44AH are ES44ACs with an extra 10,000 pounds of weight added for improved traction. The ET44AH are Tier 4 versions.
  • C30-7: ~150 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD/Chessie) Six-axle freight units, all of which are retired.
  • B30-7/B36-7: ~200 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD/Chessie) Four-axle units, all of which are retired.
  • B23-7/BQ23-7: ~80 locomotives. (Inherited from SBD) Four-axle units, all retired. The BQ23-7 had a unique elongated cab. 

American Locomotive Company (ALCO)

  • C420/C628/RS-11: ~60 locomotives. (Inherited from SCL) Remnants of predecessor ALCO fleets, retired early in the CSX era.

Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW)

  • S-12/AS-616: ~120 locomotives. (Inherited from SCL) Retired Baldwin units.

Fairbanks-Morse (FM)

  • H16-44: 15 locomotives. (Inherited from SCL) Retired FM road switchers. 

Other

  • Road Slugs: ~100 locomotives. (Built by CSX) Booster units built from old locomotive frames, used for yard and local service.
  • Mother/Daughter Units: 24 sets. (Built by CSX) Rebuilt GP40-2s and former GP38s rebuilt into booster units for yard service. 

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For More Information – Sources and Resources

The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the history and operation of the Appalachian Railroads. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Appalachian-Railroads.org. Much of the collective railroad history data points on this website are verified across multiple sources.

  • Personal Maps & Memorabilia: Documents, maps, timetables, and track charts
  • Associations, Historical Societies and their Archives
  • Archives of Appalachia: ETSU, Johnson City TN
  • Newspaper Articles: Newspapers.com
  • Magazines/Online: ‘Trains‘, ‘Classic Trains‘
  • Books
    • Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
    • Appalachian Region
      • Grant: ‘The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road’
      • Graybeal: ‘The Railroads of Johnson City
      • Huddleston: ‘Appalachian Crossings – The Pocahontas Roads‘ and ‘Appalachian Conquest‘
      • Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina‘
      • Timko and Young: ‘Appalchian Coal Mines and Railroads, Vol. 1, 2, & 3‘
      • Roberts: ‘Sand Patch, Clash of the Titans‘
      • Yanosey: ‘Tidewater Triangle’
    • Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
      • Calloway: ‘Atlantic Coast Line, The Diesel Years‘
      • Griffin: ‘Atlantic Coast Line, The Standard Railroad of the South‘
      • Goolsby: ‘Atlantic Coast Line Passenger Service, The Postwar Years‘
    • Baltimore & Ohio Railway
      • Jacobs: ‘The History of the Baltimore & Ohio’
      • McGuirk: ‘Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the Potomac Valley‘
      • Ori, Salamon and Oroszi: Baltimore & Ohio/Reflections of the Capitol Dome‘ and ‘Baltimore & Ohio/Sunburst Trail to Chicago’
    • C&O Railway/Chessie System
      • Dixon: ‘Chesapeake & Ohio, Superpower to Diesels‘, Chesapeake & Ohio in the Coalfields, ‘C&O Allegheny Subdivision‘, and ‘Chesapeake & Ohio Railway – A Concise History and Fact Book‘, and ‘The Chessie Era’
      • Dorin: ‘The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway’
      • Huddleston: ‘Riding the New River Train‘
      • Ori – ‘Chessie System‘
      • Paton: ‘Allegheny with an A’
      • Turner: ‘Chessie’s Road‘
    • Clinchfield Railroad
      • Beach: ‘The Black Mountain Railway’
      • Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield‘ and ‘When Steam Ran the Clinchfield‘
      • Helm: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad in the Coal Fields‘
      • Irwin & Stahl: ‘The Last Empire Builder: The Life of George L. Carter‘
      • King: ‘Clinchfield Country‘
      • Marsh: ‘Clinchfield in Color‘
      • Poteat & Taylor: ‘The CSX Clinchfield Route in the 21st Century‘
      • Stevens & Peoples: ‘The Clinchfield No. 1 – Tennessee’s Legendary Steam Engine‘
      • Way: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad, the Story of a Trade Route Across the Blue Ridge Mountains‘
    • CSX Railroad
      • Springirth: ‘CSX Transportation Heritage‘
    • ET&WNC: Listed on the website’s ET&WNC pages
    • Interstate Railroad
      • Wolfe & Wolfe: ‘Appalachian Coal Hauler’
      • Wolfe: ‘The Interstate Railroad‘
    • L&N Railroad
      • Castner, Flanary & Dorin: Louisville & Nashville Railroad The Old Reliable‘
      • Flanary: The Louisville & Nashville Cumberland Valley Division
      • Flanary, Oroszi & McKee: ‘The Louisville & Nashville in the Appalachians‘
      • Oroszi & Flanary: ‘Dixie Lines, The Louisville & Nashville Railroad‘
    • NC&StL Railway
      • Prince: ‘Nashville Chattanooga & St Louis Railway‘
    • Norfolk Southern
      • Esposito: ‘Norfolk Southern Railroad’
      • Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review‘
    • Norfolk & Western Railway
      • Newton: ‘Rails Remembered, Volumes 1-6
      • Warden: ‘Norfolk & Western: Diesel’s Last Conquest‘ and ‘Norfolk & Western’s Passenger Service’
      • Wolfe, Wilson & Mandelkern: ‘Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line‘
    • Pennsylvania Railroad
      • Jacobs: ‘The History of the Pennsylvania Railroad‘
    • Seaboard Air Line, Seaboard Coast Line, Seaboard System
      • Calloway and Withers: ‘Seaboard Motive Power‘
      • Carleton: ‘Locomotives of the Seaboard System‘
      • Griffin: ‘Seaboard Coast Line and Family Lines Railroad‘ and ‘All Lines North of Raleigh‘
      • Johnson: ‘Through the Heart of the South‘
    • Southern Railway
      • Davis: The Southern Railway, Road of the Innovators‘
      • Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi. The Southern Railway‘
      • Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History‘
      • Wolfe: ‘Southern Railway Appalachia Division‘
    • Virginian Railway
      • Reisweber: ‘Virginian Rails’
      • Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Virginian Railway Handbook‘
  • Online Article: Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘; Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
  • Online Videos: Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1 | Video #2:
  • Websites:

3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org