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Southern Pacific Diesel Locomotive Compendium Vol 1 by Joseph A Strapac
Southern Pacific Diesel Locomotive Compendium Vol 1 by Joseph A Strapac
Pre 1965 SP numbers
T&NO and Cotton Belt
Subsidiary Roads
Hard Cover
231 pages
Copyright 2004
CONTENTS
1 Introduction 1
Roster Additions, by Year 14
Cross-Reference to Locomotive Models 15
2 Diesels of the Pacific Lines 16
3 Switchers 1000-1905 20
The Case of the Might-Have-Been #1091 28
4 Early Roadswitchers 44
Electro-Motive SD24 Demonstrator Units 50
5 Passenger Units, 5900-6068 80
City of San Francisco Joint Pool Locomotives 85
6 Freight F A-Units, 6100-647094
7 Late Roadswitchers, 7000-7782 118
8 Freight F B-Units, 8000-8305 130
9 Twin-Engine and Hydro Locomotives 146
10 SP's Miscellaneous Locomotives (Electric, Tie Mill, Shop Switch, Narrow Gauge)152
Electric Rotary Snowplows and Power Units ("Snails") 158
11 Diesels of the Texas & New Orleans 160
12 Diesels of the St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) 188
13 Subsidiaries and Associated Roads (Leased and Owned Units) 204
14 Number Changes and Transfers 220
The 1949 Cab and B-Unit Renumbering Program223
Intra-Corporate Transfers Between SP and its Subsidiaries 225
The Renumbering and Reclassification of October 1965 229
INTRODUCTION
About two thousand, seven hundred forty Southern Pacific diesel locomotives are tabulated and discussed in this volume, which addresses the locomotive roster as it developed between the 1930s and 1965.
Why the particular cut-off date? First, and most importantly, 1965 was the year that the Southern Pacific made its one and only attempt to rationalize locomotive numbering on a systemwide basis-consolidating the numbers of locomotives of all three major corporate components (SP, Texas & New Orleans and the Cotton Belt) into one system. Secondly, SP was then aware that the locomotive builders were on the threshold of releasing a flood of new, high-performance diesels-most notably the SD45. In the sixties, power planners would be given a virtual "blank check" to buy locomotives, and the old number system would have left little room for new units.
This book, then, documents those locomotives delivered before 1965 and follows them at least up to the renumbering imposed late that year. SP did not renumber those locomotives in 1965 that it planned to retire by 1970 (this goal was missed in many cases). If a locomotive kept its pre-1965 number, it will be followed out to its final disposition in the pages of this volume and will not appear in Volume Two. Diesel units that were not renumbered in 1965 include the Cotton Belt GP7, all Baldwin roadswitchers, the GE 70-ton units, all F7 and F9M cab and B-units and the Pacific Lines' 1000-series switchers. Those units that were renumbered are not shown with complete disposition data-but all of their "future" SP numbers are shown in these pages.
The diesels of each corporate component are listed and discussed in ascending numerical order-not necessarily chronologically and definitely not by model. (A list of SP/T&NO diesels arranged by order date and SP order number is available from the author.) Locomotives of the Pacific Lines appear in Chapters Two through Ten; those of the Texas &New Orleans in Chapter Eleven; the Cotton Belt in Chapter Twelve; and those of subsidiaries and associates in Chapter Thirteen. Chapter Fourteen is devoted to renumberings and transfers of diesel units.
Actual "style" of the roster tables follows that used in classic Railway &Locomotive Historical Society Bulletins over the years-and is essentially the same as Diebert and Strapac's Southern Pacific Steam Locomotive Compendium, published by Shade Tree Books in 1987. Each class is listed with its specifications and notes on purchase and modifications, then the individual units in that class each receive a one-line listing. In some cases, dispositions (and subsequent owner information) are so complex that a separate table presents this data.
Corporate Organization
By the time the diesel era arrived on the Southern Pacific, SP's corporate structure included just the Southern Pacific (frequently referred to in these pages as the "Pacific Lines"), the Texas & New Orleans Railroad and the St. Louis Southwestern Railway. The latter was not operated by the SP, but had its own management and operating practices and locomotive numbering system. Also known as the Cotton Belt, the East St. Louis-to-Fort Worth SSW had been 97% owned by the SP since the early 1930s.
Subsidiary corporations Pacific Electric, Petaluma & Santa Rosa and the Visalia Electric "owned" diesel units (actually paid for with SP funds and leased to them) with their own names painted on them and had their own locomotive numbering systems. On the other hand, the names of subsidiaries San Diego &Arizona Eastern and the Northwestern Pacific were never painted on diesel units. Each of these five corporations drew extensively upon SP for leased units to supplement their own locomotives.
Especially in the case of the NWP, new Southern Pacific diesel units arrived on the property mere days after delivery and were destined to remain on the NWP through the 1965 renumbering. On frequent occasions, SP power planners would even swap diesel units between the NWP and the PE. (Chapter 14 includes a list of intracorporate transfers between the SP and its subsidiaries.)
The Southern Pacific and the Union Pacific had corporate ties going back to the Harriman era in the early 1900s. Their most important jointly-owned subsidiary was Pacific Fruit Express, which owned a large fleet of refrigerator cars that were deployed primarily on behalf of the SP and the UP. While it had no "railroad" of its own, the PFE did employ switching locomotives at Roseville and Tucson, its two largest shops. The roster of PFE diesel units consisted entirely of hand-me-downs from its two parent roads (details in Chapter 13).
Still another "appendage" roster was the small fleet of Maintenance of Way locomotives, so assigned because of a tax loophole assessing non-revenue equipment at a lower tax rate. In steam days, almost every SP roundhouse had its own saddletank shop switch engine to move dead locomotives around the shop area-these shop switchers were given "MW" numbers quite distinct from those of revenue locomotives. The tradition continued to some extent in diesel days with MW locomotives used at tie and timber creosoting mills-as well as a couple of diesel shop switchers.
Locomotive Numbers
Locomotives of each component railroad are listed in ascending numerical order, not by models. A cross-reference list by builder and model and page range appears at the end of this chapter.
The Pacific Lines of the Southern Pacific began numbering its diesels at 1000, a number never used during steam days. Switchers occupied the lower numbers, filling gaps in number blocks between existing and eventually retired groups of steam locomotives. By 1939, when the first switchers arrived, the 1000 block was virtually empty. Likewise the 1300 series had been vacated in 1938 of its 0-8-0s in anticipation of diesel purchases. By the time the larger switchers spilled into the 1400s, the last 4-4-0s had been moved to the 1500s. Mogul-type locomotives (2-6-0) occupied the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s, so new GE 44tonners were placed in the 1900 series when they were delivered in 1942.
Postwar deliveries were numbered above the highest-numbered steam: 0-8-0s in the 4500s and 4-10-2s in the 5000s. The GE 70-tonners were assigned to the 5100s and the EMD 800 horsepower units landed in the 4600 series. Road units occupied the 6000 series; roadswitchers began the 5200 series.
On the Texas & New Orleans, tradition held that locomotives should be numbered below 1000. With steam scattered throughout this number range, it was necessary to renumber many steamers to make room for newly arriving diesels: low-horsepower diesel switchers received the lowest numbers, but many 0-6-0s in the 100 series had to be renumbered to the 800 series to make room for them. Roadswitchers were numbered downward from 190, while the Alco PA units occupied the 200 series. Electro-Motive F3 and F7 cab units were assigned the 300 series (pushing the remaining 4-6-0s up to the 600s), while F3B/F7B deliveries quickly occupied the 500s-after the remaining 500 series 2-6-0s had been renumbered to the upper 400s. The low 400 series began filling in with GP9 units as small 2-6-0s in those numbers were being retired. By 1957, all T&NO steam was off the books, but numerous transfers of F-units to and from the Pacific Lines necessitated frequent re-use of numbers.
The Cotton Belt's locomotive numbering was entirely independent from the SP's, but still was required to fit around the numbers of existing steam power. The switchers arrived first, occupying the 1000 series; FT units came next in the 900 numbers. Later units were assigned lower numbers, with the unique center-cab transfer unit carrying the lowest SSW diesel number, 260.
Many railroads constantly renumbered their locomotives for one reason or another. SP avoided this practice to a large degree, only once in 1949 simplifying the original factory-recommended numbering system for cab and booster units. In 1955, a half-dozen Baldwin "calf" roadswitchers were renumbered to make room for new Alco RSD-5 units. Otherwise, the "original" or "1949 renumbering" number held true throughout the timespan of this volume. It was not until the fall of 1965 that painters were given their marching orders for a comprehensive renumbering of virtually every SP switcher and hood unit. The details appear with the entries for each individual locomotive unit and are summarized in Chapter 14.
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