Atlantic Coast Line Steam Roster (Post 1900)

Last revised: October 6, 2026

The Atlantic Coast Line’s main line from Richmond to Jacksonville was nearly a water-level railroad, and the company chose the Pacific where other roads would have bought a Consolidation. When the 4-4-0s were outgrown, the next freight engine was a 4-6-0. The Pacific that followed hauled Florida passengers south and citrus north. Drury calls the Coast Line the only railroad in the United States that used the Pacific extensively for freight. The two P-5 classes alone were 235 engines. Twelve Baldwin 4-8-4s of 1938 were the largest steam the road ever bought, and they were in freight service after the war.

The class grid below is the post-1900 roster in George H. Drury’s Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, revised edition, pages 69–72, read against the chapter’s own text and against Richard E. Prince. The company history is the Atlantic Coast Line. Diesels are the diesel roster.

Baldwin builder photograph of new Atlantic Coast Line 4-8-4 No. 1805, class R-1, in 1938. The class was 1800–1811.

On this page: At a glance · Copper Heads · Pacifics · Consolidations, Mikados, Santa Fes · The twelve 4-8-4s · Switchers · June 30, 1955 · Roster built since 1900

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Atlantic Coast Line. Mark ACL. Company page: Atlantic Coast Line
This roster	Engines built since 1900, after Drury, pages 69–72
Ten-Wheelers	Copper Heads. Classes K through K-15. One K-16, No. 1045, Baldwin, 1922
Pacifics	ACL’s own P through P-4, then 70 USRA light P-5-As (1500–1569) and 165 P-5-Bs (1600–1764). Thirteen more came from the AB&C
Freight	2-8-0s for the Montgomery line, then Mikados, then twenty Q-1 2-10-2s in 1925. No 2-10-0 on this roster
4-8-4	Twelve R-1s, 1800–1811, Baldwin, 1938. Eighty-inch disc drivers. Assigned to freight after the war
4-8-2	Five ex-DL&W J-1s, bought 1943. Two ex-FEC AM-1s, from the AB&C in 1946
Last steam	June 30, 1955. Six locomotives were left at the end of 1954
Preserved	P-5-A No. 1504, Alco-Richmond, 1919, at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, Jacksonville

Roster follows Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives (revised edition), pages 69–72, with the built years of the early Pacifics taken from Drury’s text and from Prince where the grid column is a year early. Information compiled October 6, 2026.

Copper Heads

In the early 1890s the Coast Line wanted a passenger engine with more boiler than a 4-4-0. Baldwin had just shown a 2-4-2 at the World’s Columbian Exposition, and the wide firebox on a trailing axle was the idea the railroad took home. Baldwin designed a 4-4-2 for the Coast Line and named the type for the railroad. The company bought ten Atlantics between 1894 and 1900, plus a pair of 2-4-2s to try the wheel arrangement. They were too light for the main, went to local trains, and were scrapped in 1934. The name stayed on the type. The Coast Line went back to Ten-Wheelers.

Baldwin delivered five Ten-Wheelers in 1898 for freight, and they worked. More followed, some with 64-inch drivers for freight and some with 69-inch drivers for passenger trains. The type picked up the nickname Copper Head from a decorative copper flange on the stack. The basic engine was steady for years: 185 pounds of boiler pressure, equally spaced drivers, and a weight of 140,000 to 160,000 pounds, with 19-by-26-inch cylinders and later 20-by-26. Drury’s Copper Head classes are K, K-4, K-5, K-6, K-14, and K-15. The last batches had piston valves and Walschaerts valve gear. Many of the earlier engines were superheated and given piston-valve chests.

In 1922 the railroad and Baldwin designed one more Ten-Wheeler, class K-16, No. 1045, 34,000 pounds heavier than the newest Copper Heads. It was meant for lines that could not yet carry a Pacific. By the time it arrived, the track work had moved ahead of it, and one engine was enough. Five K-9s, 206–210, came with the Plant System. Rhode Island built them in 1893 as cross-compounds for the Milwaukee Road, which sent them back. Rhode Island rebuilt them as simple engines for the Plant System, and in 1912 the Coast Line rebuilt them as 4-6-0s. The grid carries 1900 in the built column for that group. No. 211 is a separate Baldwin K-9 of 1902, also ex-Savannah, Florida & Western.

Pacifics, including 235 of the P-5

The Coast Line’s own Pacifics began with fifteen class P engines from Baldwin in 1911, numbers 260–274, with 73-inch drivers and slide valves. They were later superheated and fitted with piston-valve chests. Drury says they were then reclassified P-S. The summary grid keeps the letter P on 260–274. Class P-1, 275–286, followed in 1912 at essentially the same size, superheated and equipped with piston valves from the start.

Class P-2, 400–410, was the freight version, delivered in 1913 with 64-inch drivers. No. 403, a P-2, is the engine in Drury’s photograph of an early Pacific, the odd-shaped cab included. Those engines stayed on the roster until dieselization. Class P-3, of 1914, was the dual-service engine with 69-inch drivers, forty-five locomotives, 411–455. Class P-4, twenty-seven engines delivered in 1916–1918, numbers 456–482, had cylinders an inch larger than the P-3 and set the pattern for what came next.

In 1919 and 1920 the railroad took seventy United States Railroad Administration light Pacifics from Alco’s Brooks and Richmond plants, unusual for a company that bought Baldwin whenever it could. Class P-5-A, numbers 1500–1569, was larger and more powerful than any Pacific the Coast Line had designed for itself, and it became the standard passenger engine. No. 1504 was built at Richmond in 1919, carried number 497 before it was renumbered, and is the one that was saved. After the war, Baldwin and the railroad modified the USRA engine into a slightly heavier dual-service Pacific with 69-inch drivers. The Coast Line bought 165 of them between 1922 and 1926, class P-5-B, numbers 1600–1764. The two classes together are the 235 Pacifics.

Merger of the Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast added thirteen more. Eleven ex-Florida East Coast Pacifics, class AJ-1, were lighter than any of the Coast Line’s own. Two ex-Great Northern engines, class AJ-2, Nos. 7153 and 7175, Lima, 1914, were somewhat heavier than a P-4.

Montgomery’s freight engines

The former Alabama Midland, from Bainbridge northwest to Montgomery, crossed the tail of the Appalachians and ran crosswise to the rivers. It needed heavier freight power than the coastal plain. With the Plant System the Coast Line inherited four Baldwin 2-8-0s built for the Alabama Midland in 1901. It then bought ten more Consolidations from Baldwin in 1903, three in 1905, and four in 1911, all for the Montgomery route until Mikados replaced them and the 2-8-0s were scattered as switchers. On the grid those engines are classes L (700–713), L-1 (714–716), and L-2 (717–720). L-2 is a 2-8-0.

Twenty Mikados, class M, 800–819, came from Baldwin in 1911. Drury describes them as light engines, 233,450 pounds, with 56½-inch drivers and slide valves. In 1919 the railroad bought much larger 2-8-2s for the coal trains on the Montgomery line, on the order of a USRA light Mikado. They are class M-2, 820–836, seventeen engines, Baldwin, 1918–1923.

The AB&C brought seventeen Mikados in three classes. Four small Baldwins of 1912–1915, class AK-1, were already down to the four that reached the Coast Line, two of them scrapped almost at once. Eleven ex-New York Central engines, class AK-2, included ten that had been rebuilt from 2-8-0s between 1912 and 1915. Two Baldwin products of 1910, class AK-3, Nos. 7301 and 7302, were scrapped soon after the Coast Line acquired them. AK-3 is a 2-8-2.

In 1925 the railroad bought twenty Santa Fe type locomotives for the Montgomery route, class Q-1, 2000–2019. Drury describes them as twelve tons heavier than a USRA 2-10-2. They introduced the automatic stoker and the Vanderbilt tender on the Coast Line. A smaller 2-10-2 group, class O, 8000–8009, Baldwin and Richmond, 1917–1918, includes the three light engines of 1917 whose 57-inch drivers were taken out to 63 inches with oversize tires.

Twelve 4-8-4s, then five Mountains

In 1938 Baldwin delivered a dozen class R-1 4-8-4s, 1800–1811, for the mainline passenger trains. They had cast-steel engine beds, 80-inch disc drivers, roller bearings on the lead trucks and the drivers, tenders on eight-wheel trucks, and a two-tone gray-and-black paint scheme. In service the reciprocating machinery proved to have been over-counterbalanced. At speed the engines pounded the rail and threw the track out of line. The condition was never completely corrected. After the war, as the E-units took the passenger trains, the 4-8-4s went to freight.

A wartime rise in traffic to Florida’s west coast sent the railroad out to buy 4-8-2s. Five came from the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western in 1943, class J-1, 1401–1405, Brooks, 1924. They worked chiefly between Tampa and Albany, Georgia. Two more, former Florida East Coast engines, class AM-1, Nos. 7351 and 7372, Schenectady, 1924, came off the AB&C in 1946.

Switchers

The standard switcher was class E-4, a low-slung slide-valve 0-6-0, numbers 126–190, sixty-five engines, Baldwin, 1904–1910, that looked older than it was. Class E-10, 1100–1125, raised the boiler and put the firebox above the frames, and still used slide valves, Stephenson gear, and main rods connected to the second axle. There were two E-11s, 1126 and 1127: superheated, piston valves, Southern valve gear. The next eight, 1128–1135, are class E-12, with the main rods on the rear axle and Walschaerts valve gear. The United States Railroad Administration assigned ten 0-6-0s, which the railroad classed E-9-S, 1136–1145. Class E-13, five ex-AB&C engines, 1146–1150, looked like a USRA switcher and lacked the superheater. The road went back to slide valves.

The 0-8-0s of class E-14, 1200–1234, are thirty-five Baldwin copies of the USRA design, built in 1923–1926. The three 0-8-0s rebuilt from 4-6-0s are the AB&C’s own class AS-2, 7033–7035, rebuilt in the AB&C shops in 1939–1942.

June 30, 1955

In 1938 the Coast Line bought 4-8-4s and the Seaboard bought diesels. In 1939 the Coast Line bought a pair of Electro-Motive passenger units and then turned to freight cabs. By 1952 diesels were handling 99 percent of the trains. A few steam locomotives remained for seasonal peaks and for lines that could not carry a diesel’s axle load. At the end of 1954 six steam locomotives were on the roster, five of them built before 1920. The railroad retired its last steam locomotive on June 30, 1955.

The grid prints a 1964 retirement for the ninety-six K-5 Ten-Wheelers numbered 910–1005. That year falls after the railroad had finished with steam. No. 1504, retired in 1952, is the Pacific on display at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center in Jacksonville.

Atlantic Coast Line steam locomotives built since 1900

Type	Class	Numbers	Qty	Builder	Built	Retired	Notes
0-6-0	E	117	1	Baldwin	1900	1929
0-6-0	E-3	118–120	3	Baldwin	1901	1934
0-6-0	E-3	124–125	2	Baldwin	1903	1936
0-6-0	E-4	126–190	65	Baldwin	1904–1910	1935–1952
0-6-0	E-5	121–123	3	Richmond	1901	1950–1952	Ex-SF&W
0-6-0	E-7	1151–1158	8	Cooke	1918–1919	1951–1952
0-6-0	E-9-S	1136–1145	10	Baldwin	1918–1919	1948–1952	USRA assignment
0-6-0	E-10	1100–1125	26	Baldwin	1916	1951–1952
0-6-0	E-11	1126, 1127	2	Baldwin	1917	1952
0-6-0	E-12	1128–1135	8	Baldwin	1917	1952
0-6-0	E-13	1146–1150	5	Baldwin	1907	1950–1952	Ex-AB&C
0-6-0	AS-1	7023–7028	3	Baldwin	1923–1926	1946–1952
0-8-0	E-14	1200–1234	35	Baldwin	1923–1926	1952
0-8-0	AS-2	7033–7035	3	AB&C	1939–1942	1952	Ex-AB&C, rebuilt from 4-6-0
2-8-0	L	700–713	14	Baldwin	1901, 1903	1939–1942
2-8-0	L-1	714–716	3	Baldwin	1905	1951–1955
2-8-0	L-2	717–720	4	Baldwin	1911	1951–1955
2-8-2	M	800–819	20	Baldwin	1911	1950–1952
2-8-2	M-2	820–836	17	Baldwin	1918–1923	1952
2-8-2	AK-1	7205–7213	4	Baldwin	1912–1915	1946–1951	Ex-AB&C
2-8-2	AK-2	7225–7235	11	Alco	1912–1915	1947–1952	Ex-AB&C, ex-NYC
2-8-2	AK-3	7301, 7302	2	Baldwin	1910	1946, 1947	Ex-AB&C
2-10-2	O	8000–8009	10	Baldwin, Richmond	1917–1918	1949–1952
2-10-2	Q-1	2000–2019	20	Baldwin	1925	1951–1952
4-4-2	AF-1	7401–7403	3	Baldwin	1917	1951–1952	Ex-AB&C
4-6-0	I-3	98, 99	2	Baldwin	1900	1934
4-6-0	K	322–327	6	Richmond	1900	1934
4-6-0	K	328–351	24	Baldwin	1901–1903	1934–1935
4-6-0	K-4	212–222	11	Baldwin	1903	1934
4-6-0	K-5	233–211	12	Baldwin	1907	1936–1939	Number cell as Drury prints it
4-6-0	K-5	910–1005	96	Baldwin	1906–1907	1935–1964	See the note on June 30, 1955
4-6-0	K-6	223–232	10	Baldwin	1905	1934–1942
4-6-0	K-6	351–399	49	Baldwin	1904–1906	1935–1950
4-6-0	K-6	900–909	10	Baldwin	1906	1935–1950
4-6-0	K-9	206–210	5	Rhode Island	1900	1935–1947	Ex-SF&W
4-6-0	K-9	211	1	Baldwin	1902	1934–1942	Ex-SF&W
4-6-0	K-14	245–254	10	Baldwin	1910	1934
4-6-0	K-14	1006–1011	6	Baldwin	1910	1947–1950
4-6-0	K-15	1012–1044	34	Baldwin	1912–1913	1947–1951
4-6-0	K-16	1045	1	Baldwin	1922	1952
4-6-0	AW-1	7060	1	Baldwin	1922	1952
4-6-0	AW-2	7064	1	Baldwin	1907	1949	Ex-AB&C
4-6-0	AW-3	7101–7113	6	Baldwin	1907	1949	Ex-AB&C
4-6-0	AW-4	7115–7124	9	Baldwin	1906–1907	1950–1952	Ex-AB&C
4-6-2	P	260–274	15	Baldwin	1911	1950–1952	73-inch drivers
4-6-2	P-1	275–286	12	Baldwin	1912	1950–1952
4-6-2	P-2	400–410	11	Baldwin	1913	1950–1952	64-inch drivers. On the roster until dieselization
4-6-2	P-3	411–455	45	Baldwin	1914	1950–1952	69-inch drivers
4-6-2	P-4	456–482	27	Baldwin	1916–1918	1947–1952
4-6-2	P-5-A	1500–1569	70	Brooks, Richmond	1919–1920	1950–1952	USRA light. 1504 preserved
4-6-2	P-5-B	1600–1764	165	Baldwin	1922–1926	1950–1953	69-inch drivers
4-6-2	AJ-1	7071–7086	11	Schenectady	1911–1913	1946–1955	Ex-AB&C, ex-FEC. Not every number in the span
4-6-2	AJ-2	7153, 7175	2	Lima	1914	1949, 1950	Ex-AB&C, ex-GN
4-8-0	AS-3	7034	1	Baldwin	1906	1949	Ex-AB&C, ex-N&W
4-8-2	J-1	1401–1405	5	Brooks	1924	1951–1952	Ex-DL&W. Purchased 1943
4-8-2	AM-1	7351, 7372	2	Schenectady	1924	1951	Ex-AB&C, ex-FEC. To ACL in 1946
4-8-4	R-1	1800–1811	12	Baldwin	1938	1951–1952

AB&C Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast. DL&W Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. FEC Florida East Coast. GN Great Northern. N&W Norfolk & Western. NYC New York Central. SF&W Savannah, Florida & Western. A number span with a smaller quantity, such as AJ-1 and AW-3, means the class did not occupy every number in the span. Drury prints the smaller K-5 group as 233–211.

Sources

George H. Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, revised edition, Atlantic Coast Line, pp. 69–72. User photographs in Downloads\ACL_Steam, October 2026. Class grid, the Copper Head description, the P-2 with 64-inch drivers, the 70 USRA light Pacifics, the 165 dual-service engines of 1922–1926, the twelve R-1s, the five DL&W 4-8-2s of 1943, and the two FEC 4-8-2s of 1946
Richard E. Prince, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad: Steam Locomotives, Ships and History (1966), as summarized for the Pacific classes at steamlocomotive.com: P 1911, P-1 1912, P-2 1913, P-3 1914, P-4 1916–18, P-5-A 1500–1569, P-5-B 1600–1764
Mike Schafer, Classic American Railroads, Volume III: last steam locomotive retired June 30, 1955
No. 1504: Alco-Richmond, 1919, USRA light Pacific, earlier number 497, retired 1952, displayed at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, Jacksonville, the former terminal
Drury’s retired cell for K-5 910–1005 prints 1935–1964. The railroad’s last steam date is June 30, 1955, so that 1964 is the book’s figure and not a year the class was still running

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