N&W | Locomotives

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Norfolk and Western Railway Diesel Locomotives

Below is a diesel locomotive roster for the Norfolk & Western (N&W) Railway, organized by manufacturer and then by model. This roster includes the number of units the N&W owned for each model. There are numerous websites, books, and archived reference materials that include the details of each locomotive.

Note: The N&W was a notable holdout for steam power and did not fully dieselize until 1960. Their diesel roster was initially small and primarily comprised of EMD GP9s. The roster expanded significantly following the 1964 merger with the Nickel Plate Road (NKP), Wabash Railroad (WAB), and other smaller lines, which added a large number of secondhand diesel locomotives, some of which were later rebuilt by the N&W. 

Electro-Motive Division (EMD)

  • GP9: The backbone of the N&W’s early diesel fleet, purchased in large numbers for both passenger and freight service. The passenger versions were equipped with steam generators and were often known as “redbirds.”
    • Number of units: ~416 (includes original N&W units, plus inherited NKP and WAB units)
  • GP18: Following their large GP9 orders, the N&W acquired the updated GP18 model.
    • Number of units: 48
  • GP30: An early second-generation road switcher acquired by the N&W in 1962.
    • Number of units: 44
  • GP35: Continuing to acquire new EMD models, the N&W purchased a significant number of GP35s.
    • Number of units: 40
  • GP40: In the mid-to-late 1960s, the N&W acquired a number of GP40s, all built with the distinctive high short hood.
    • Number of units: 60
  • GP38AC: These reliable units were purchased in the early 1970s.
    • Number of units: 40
  • GP38-2: The Dash 2 version of the GP38 was later acquired by the N&W.
    • Number of units: 220
  • SD35: The N&W was a major purchaser of this EMD model for heavy freight service.
    • Number of units: 54
  • SD40: Delivered in the mid-1960s, these high-horsepower, six-axle units were crucial for N&W’s heavy freight operations.
    • Number of units: 45
  • SD45: The N&W acquired a large fleet of SD45s in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The 20-cylinder engine proved to be less reliable than expected, leading to some mechanical issues.
    • Number of units: 115
  • SD40-2: Following their SD40s, the N&W acquired the more reliable and updated SD40-2 model.
    • Number of units: 135
  • SD50S: A small number of these were delivered in the early 1980s.
    • Number of units: 6
  • F7A: Following the 1964 merger with the Wabash, the N&W inherited a fleet of over 100 F7 units.
    • Number of units: Over 100 (Wabash)
  • F7B: The N&W also inherited some F7B units from the Wabash merger.
    • Number of units: Inherited from Wabash
  • SW8: A handful of these switchers were inherited from the Wabash merger.
    • Number of units: 9 (Wabash)
  • SW9: The N&W also inherited a number of SW9s from the Wabash.
    • Number of units: 48 (Wabash)
  • SW1200: Some SW1200 switchers were inherited from the Nickel Plate.
    • Number of units: 20 (NKP)
  • NW2: The N&W acquired some NW2s from the Nickel Plate merger.
    • Number of units: Inherited (NKP) 

American Locomotive Company (ALCO)

  • C420: The N&W received a number of C420s from the Nickel Plate merger.
    • Number of units: 8 (NKP)
  • C425: These were delivered to the N&W shortly after the 1964 merger, though originally ordered by Wabash.
    • Number of units: 17
  • C628: In the mid-1960s, the N&W acquired a number of C628s.
    • Number of units: 30
  • C630: These powerful locomotives were also part of the N&W’s C-series fleet.
    • Number of units: 10
  • RS-3: The N&W inherited a small number of RS-3s from the Nickel Plate.
    • Number of units: 8 (NKP)
  • RS-11: The N&W inherited RS-11s from the Nickel Plate.
    • Number of units: 35 (NKP)
  • RS-36: These were delivered to the N&W in 1962.
    • Number of units: 6
  • T-6: These switchers were delivered to the N&W and Chesapeake Western.
    • Number of units: 40 

Fairbanks-Morse (FM)

  • H-16-44: The N&W acquired a large fleet of H-16-44s through the merger with the Virginian Railway.
    • Number of units: 40 (VGN)
  • H-24-66 (“Train Master”): A small number of these were inherited from the Virginian merger.
    • Number of units: 13 (VGN), later rebuilt into slugs. 

General Electric (GE)

  • U25B: A few U25Bs were inherited from the Wabash merger.
    • Number of units: Inherited (WAB)
  • U28B: These were among the N&W’s early GE acquisitions.
    • Number of units: 30
  • U30B: Purchased in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
    • Number of units: 75
  • U30C: Acquired in the mid-1970s.
    • Number of units: 3
  • C30-7: The N&W purchased a significant number of C30-7s in the late 1970s.
    • Number of units: 80
  • C36-7: A final order of these C-series locomotives was placed in the early 1980s.
    • Number of units: 30 

Rebuilds

  • RP-E6Y/RP-G4 Slugs: The N&W rebuilt a number of older locomotives, including some acquired from mergers, into power-boosting “slug” units.
    • Number of units: Converted from various units.
  • GP9R: The N&W performed an extensive rebuilding program on its GP9 fleet, converting many into GP9R units.
    • Number of units: Converted from GP9s. 

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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