Central of Georgia Diesel Roster (All-Time)

Published: October 6, 2026

Central of Georgia dieselization started with a stock switcher. Electro-Motive SW1 No. 1, built in August 1939 as Electro-Motive 905, was the first. Yard engines from Baldwin, Alco, and Fairbanks-Morse followed. The passenger trains went to E7As between 1946 and 1948, and two E8As arrived in 1950. Nine F3As were the only freight cab units. Hood units finished the road. Steam was gone by May 1953.

Each locomotive is listed once, at the number it carried on the Central. Later Southern numbers are in the notes where a source pairs them. Electro-Motive order numbers follow Andre Kristopans. On Baldwin No. 22, the Order column is Baldwin’s own serial and the Serial column is the construction number. Alco construction numbers are in the Serial column.

Electro-Motive builder photograph of new Central of Georgia E7A No. 810 in June 1948

Electro-Motive builder photograph of new E7A No. 810 in June 1948. Warren Calloway collection, Tom Alderman colorization. No. 810 is serial 5242, order E880, the last of 801–810.

On this page: At a glance · Switchers · Road switchers · Cabs · GP35s and SD35s · After 1971

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Central of Georgia. Mark CG. Company Central of Georgia
First diesel	SW1 No. 1, August 1939, serial 905, order E287. Sold to the Atlanta Stone Mountain & Lithonia as No. 1 on January 17, 1957
Passenger cabs	E7A 801–810, 1946–48. E8A 811–812, August 1950. Twelve E units
Freight cabs	Nine F3As, 901–909, December 1947 and May 1948
Road switchers	Five H15-44s. Fifteen GP7s, 106–107 and 120–132. Thirty-nine RS3s, 108–119 and 133–159. Eleven GP9s, 160–170. Eight GP18s
Six-motor	SD7 201, May 1953. SD9 202–207, 1955. SD35 215–224, January 1966
Last new as CG	GP35 210–214, December 1963, ordered as GP30s. SD35 215–224, January 1966. Southern was already in control
Last steam	May 1953. Into the Southern Railway on June 17, 1963

Numbers and builder dates follow Kristopans where he lists the Central, and the Central of Georgia compilation at thedieselshop.us, new October 8, 2015, for the remaining rows. Classic Trains, October 27, 2022, is the check on the road-switcher counts. Information compiled October 6, 2026.

Switchers

The 1939 SW1 was joined by three more, Nos. 2, 3, and 7, in 1941. Two NW2s, 20 and 25, followed in 1941 and 1942. Baldwin’s contribution was one VO-660, three VO-1000s, two DS-4-4-1000s, and four S-12s. The VO-660, No. 5, is the only one of that model built with an oval grille and Baldwin trucks. Alco’s yard engines were S1s 4 and 6 and S2s 21, 23, 24, and 28–35. Fairbanks-Morse added four H12-44s, 315–318, in March 1953. Ten SW9s, 301–310, closed the yard purchases in 1952 and 1953. Southern later numbered that SW9 block 1134–1143.

Early switchers were black, with white lettering and a red rectangle on the cab. The lists used here leave the construction-number cells blank for the Alco switchers, the H12-44s, the S-12s, VO-660 No. 5, and VO-1000 No. 26.

Model	CG numbers	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
VO-660	5			October 1940	Only VO-660 with an oval grille and Baldwin trucks
VO-1000	22	62333	9	October 1940	Baldwin demonstrator 333, completed March 1940. Acquired October 19, 1940. See the VO-1000 page
VO-1000	26
VO-1000	27	70174		April 1944	Scrapped
DS-4-4-1000	36–37	74194–74195		August and October 1949	No. 37 scrapped
S-12	311–314			March–April 1953
S1	4			1940
S1	6			September 1941
S2	21			1940
S2	23–24			December 1941
S2	28–29			April 1944
S2	30–35			1944–1948	Later Southern 330–335
H12-44	315–318			March 1953
SW1	1	905	E287	August 1939	Built as Electro-Motive 905. Sold to the Atlanta Stone Mountain & Lithonia as No. 1 on January 17, 1957
SW1	2–3	1230–1231	E365	January 1941	Later Southern 1000 and 1001
SW1	7	1459	E441	December 1941	Later Southern 1003
NW2	20	1232	E366	January 1941	Later Southern 1016
NW2	25	1460	E442	February 1942	Later Southern 1017
SW9	301–304	16803–16806	4141	July 1952
SW9	305–306	16960–16961	4141	July 1952
SW9	307–310	17649–17652	4196	February–March 1953

Road switchers

Five Fairbanks-Morse H15-44s, 101–105, arrived in June 1949 and soon moved to the branches. The road fleet that replaced steam was fifteen GP7s, thirty-nine RS3s, eleven GP9s, and eight GP18s, plus one SD7 and six SD9s. Four of the GP7s and four of the RS3s carried steam generators for passenger trains. The GP7s are 106–107 and 120–132. Numbers 111–119 are RS3s, built in May 1951. The GP9s are 160–170, built in 1956 and 1957.

The first GP7s, 106 and 107, are July 1950, serials 12068 and 12069, order 5004. They later became Southern 8216 and 8217. The May 1951 GP7s divide by order. Nos. 120–123 are order 5059. Nos. 124–132 are order 5118, April and May 1951. In 1971 Southern renumbered many of these Geeps into the 8200s. Confirmed examples are 122 to 8219, 128 to 8225, and 132 to 8229.

The RS3s arrived in four years: 108–110 in September 1950, 111–119 in May 1951, 133–147 in July 1952, and 148–159 in April 1953. Nos. 108 and 109 went to the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina in December 1967 as 209 and 210. The April 1953 engines left Alco out of serial order. Nos. 151–154 carry 80248–80251, Nos. 155–159 carry 80262–80266, and Nos. 148–150 carry 80267, 80269, and 80270.

SD7 No. 201, May 1953, serial 18310, order 6512, later ran as Southern 197. The six SD9s, 202–207, are one order, 5394, serials 20445–20450, March through June 1955. Nos. 202 and 205 later became Norfolk Southern 198 and 199.

Through 1959 the road diesels wore the blue, gray, and black described on the company page. That year the railroad began a simplified Pullman green with yellow striping, a scheme some fans called collard green. The GP18s, 171–178, were the only locomotives delivered in that green. They came in May and June 1960, serials 26000–26007, order 5620. After the Southern takeover in 1963, Central locomotives began to receive Southern’s black and imitation-aluminum tuxedo, still lettered Central of Georgia and still carrying their own numbers.

Model	CG numbers	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
H15-44	101–105	15L30–15L34		June 1949	Moved to branch-line service
GP7	106–107	12068–12069	5004	July 1950	Later Southern 8216 and 8217
GP7	120–122	9661–9663	5059	May 1951	122 later Southern 8219
GP7	123	14479	5059	May 1951
GP7	124–132	14480–14488	5118	April–May 1951	128 later Southern 8225. 132 later Southern 8229
RS3	108–110	78246–78248		September 1950	108 and 109 to the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina as 209 and 210, December 1967
RS3	111–119	78753–78761		May 1951
RS3	133–147	80140–80154		July 1952
RS3	148–150	80267, 80269–80270		April 1953
RS3	151–154	80248–80251		April 1953
RS3	155–159	80262–80266		April 1953
GP9	160–165	22007–22012	5465	November 1956
GP9	166–170	23185–23189	5533	April 1957
GP18	171–178	26000–26007	5620	May–June 1960	Delivered in Pullman green
SD7	201	18310	6512	May 1953	Later Southern 197
SD9	202–207	20445–20450	5394	March–June 1955	202 and 205 later Norfolk Southern 198 and 199

Passenger units and the nine F3As

E7A 801–807 came in September 1946 on order E676, serials 3384–3390. No. 808, the eighth, is its own order, E714, serial 3754, the same month. Nos. 809 and 810 followed in June 1948 on order E880. Their serials are 5197 and 5242. No. 810 is the engine in the builder photograph. Two E8As, 811 and 812, arrived in August 1950 on order 2003, serials 8527 and 11700. The compilation notes that both wore an Illinois Central color scheme. Drury’s dozen E units are these ten E7As and two E8As.

The freight cabs are nine F3As, 901–909. Nos. 901–904 are December 1947, serials 4475–4478, order E803. Nos. 905–908 are May 1948, serials 5198–5201, order E881. No. 909, serial 6993, is the same order and the same month. Nos. 901, 902, 905, and 909 are the four the Southern compilation records as conveyed to the Southern. The nine freight cabs are A units.

Model	CG numbers	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
E7A	801–807	3384–3390	E676	September 1946
E7A	808	3754	E714	September 1946
E7A	809	5197	E880	June 1948
E7A	810	5242	E880	June 1948	Builder photograph above
E8A	811	8527	2003	August 1950	Illinois Central color scheme
E8A	812	11700	2003	August 1950	Illinois Central color scheme
F3A	901–904	4475–4478	E803	December 1947	901 and 902 conveyed to the Southern
F3A	905–908	5198–5201	E881	May 1948	905 conveyed to the Southern
F3A	909	6993	E881	May 1948	Conveyed to the Southern

Ordered as GP30s, delivered as GP35s

Southern control dated from June 17, 1963. The Central was still receiving locomotives under its own numbers. Five GP35s, 210–214, were ordered as GP30s and delivered as GP35s in December 1963. Their serials, 28541–28545, order 7692, sit in the GP30 series, with GP30s for other railroads built after them. A few of their specifications stayed with the GP30. They later became Southern 240–244. Ten SD35s, 215–224, followed in January 1966, serials 30796–30805, order 7837, later Southern 2990–2999.

Model	CG numbers	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
GP35	210–214	28541–28545	7692	December 1963	Ordered as GP30s. Later Southern 240–244
SD35	215–224	30796–30805	7837	January 1966	Later Southern 2990–2999

Southern-system GP38s, GP38-2s, SD40-2s, U23Bs, B23-7s, SW1500s, and the MP15 that the same compilation files under a Central affiliation were Southern locomotives assigned to the paper subsidiary. This roster lists the locomotives that carried Central of Georgia numbers. Norfolk Southern’s Central of Georgia heritage ES44AC 8101 is on the company page.

Georgia & Florida switchers, 1972

In 1971 the Southern merged the Georgia & Florida, the Wrightsville & Tennille, and the Savannah & Atlanta into the Central and renamed the company the Central of Georgia Railroad. Three Georgia & Florida SW1s then took Central numbers. They had been built in July 1950 as Georgia & Florida 70–72, serials 11097–11099, order 6070. No. 72 became Central of Georgia 1006 in December 1972. The three are listed together as 1004–1006. Georgia & Florida’s own GP7s, 701–706, serials 11091–11096, order 6069, September 1950, stayed in that road’s number series.

Model	CG numbers	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
SW1	1004–1006	11097–11099	6070	July 1950	Built as Georgia & Florida 70–72. No. 72 became CG 1006 in December 1972

Sources

The Central of Georgia file at thedieselshop.us, new October 8, 2015, formatted by R. Craig, is the road-number list. Its credits name Extra 2200 South (June 1962), Diesel Era, Gary and Stephen Dolzall’s Baldwin Diesel Locomotives, and Paul K. Withers, with Warren Calloway and J. Harlen Wilson, Diesels of the Southern Railway. Jerry M. Laboda’s note on the GP35s is the shop’s Note I.
Andre Kristopans, Electro-Motive production lists preserved at utahrails.net: switchers, road switchers through the SD35, passenger units, and freight cab units. Orders are printed only where the serial span matches the unit count.
Don’s Rail Photos, Central of Georgia diesel locomotives, for SW1 No. 1, NW2 No. 25, VO-1000 No. 27, DS-4-4-1000 No. 37, RS3s 108, 109, 112, and 115, the GP7 renumbers cited in the notes, and Georgia & Florida 72 to CG 1006.
Baldwin VO-1000 production on the VO-1000 page, for demonstrator 333 to Central of Georgia 22. Baldwin DS-4-4-1000 production list, for 36 and 37, construction numbers 74194 and 74195.
“Central of Georgia locomotives remembered,” Classic Trains, October 27, 2022, for the road-switcher counts, the four steam-generator GP7s and four steam-generator RS3s, the H15-44s on branch lines, and the 1959 green.

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