Jersey Central Diesel Locomotives: History, Roster & Photos

Published: September 17, 2026

The Central Railroad of New Jersey bought the first commercially successful diesel locomotive and, a generation later, the only double-ended cab diesels in North America. In between it sampled every major builder: Alco, Baldwin, Electro-Motive, Fairbanks-Morse, and the Alco-GE-Ingersoll-Rand boxcab that started it. Steam was announced gone on July 1, 1954. The last new freight engines were twelve SD35s in 1965. Thirteen GP40Ps in 1968, paid for with New Jersey and B&O money, finished the Train Master commuter pool.

Jersey Central Fairbanks-Morse H24-66 Train Master 2410 resting between commuter assignments at Bay Head Junction New Jersey on July 15 1956

Jersey Central Train Master #2410 between commuter assignments on the New York & Long Branch at Bay Head Junction, New Jersey, July 15, 1956. Author’s collection. Thirteen H24-66s, 2401–2413, owned that shore pool until the GP40Ps of 1968.

On this page: At a glance · Boxcab 1000 · Switchers · Double-enders, F3s, Baldwins · FM, Alco, Geeps · SD35s, SD40s, GP40Ps · Red Baron to Conrail · All-time roster

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Central Railroad of New Jersey / Jersey Central Lines. Mark CNJ
First diesel	Alco-GE-Ingersoll-Rand 60-ton boxcab #1000, 1924/25, Bronx Terminal. First commercially successful diesel. Preserved, B&O Railroad Museum
Last steam announced	July 1, 1954. Freight dieselized 1953; passenger 1954
Builders	Alco, Baldwin, Electro-Motive, Fairbanks-Morse, GE/Ingersoll-Rand, Budd (RDC), Davenport
Unique to CNJ	Six Baldwin DRX-6-4-2000 double-enders, 2000–2005, 1946–48. Only ones in North America. Sublettered Wharton & Northern
Train Masters	Thirteen FM H24-66, 2401–2413, 1954 and 1956. NY&LB commuter power. Photo: #2410 Bay Head
Last new freight	Twelve SD35s, 2501–2512, May–June 1965. To Conrail 6040–6051
Last new passenger	Thirteen GP40P, 3671–3683, October–November 1968. NJDOT / B&O money. Became NJ Transit GP40PH-2s; see 4109
Paint	Blue and tangerine; then dark green; 1972 red-and-white “Red Baron” on some RS-3s, GP7s, and SD40 3067
CRP	Central Railroad of Pennsylvania sublettering, 1946–52, on F3s, Baldwin cab units, RSD-4s, and some switchers

Serials and dates follow the live CNJ tables, Extra 2200 South (May 1968) as compiled at The Diesel Shop, builder records, and Classic Trains. Information compiled September 17, 2026.

Bronx Terminal, and boxcab 1000

In 1924 Alco, General Electric, and Ingersoll-Rand built five 60-ton, 300-horsepower diesel switchers. CNJ purchased the first of them for its Bronx carfloat terminal. Drury, and Jim Boyd in The American Freight Train, treat #1000 as the first commercially successful diesel locomotive. It switched around New York for about 27 years. No more diesels arrived until the late 1930s, when the railroad began buying switchers. 1000 is preserved at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. The diesel history page and the GE page carry the same 1924/25 service-era date.

A second 1000, a Davenport 35-tonner, later reused the number. A Davenport-Cooper-Bessemer-GE end-cab, 1001, sat beside it. They were industrial curiosities on a Class I roster.

HH-600s, Baldwins, and the Elizabethport flock

Alco HH-600s 1020–1023 were the first catalog diesels after 1000. Electro-Motive SCs 1005–1008 and SW1s 1009–1012, Baldwin VO-660s and VO-1000s, Alco S-1s and S-2s, Baldwin DS-4-4-1000s and S-12s, and a pair of NW2s filled the yards at Communipaw, Elizabethport, Allentown, and the Pennsylvania colliery branches. When the Pennsylvania lines were papered as the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania in 1946–52, some of this power—and the 1947 road cabs—wore CRP sublettering to keep the engines off New Jersey’s tax rolls.

Electro-Motive SW7s 1080–1083 (May 1950) and SW9s 1084–1094 (1951–52) were the late CRP switchers; they became Conrail 8868–8871 and 8951–8961. In the last years B&O sent over SW1s 8400 and 8405, a handful of Baldwin DS-4-4-1000s in the 9200s, and Fairbanks-Morse H10-44s in the 9700s, still in B&O numbers.

Double-enders, F3s, and Baldwin baby-faces

Jersey Central Baldwin DRX-6-4-2000 double-ender 2003 during a station stop in September 1953

Jersey Central double-ender DRX-6-4-2000 #2003 during a station stop in September 1953. Built for subsidiary Wharton & Northern as a variant of Baldwin’s DR-6-4-2000. Jack Raymus photo.

In 1946–48 Baldwin delivered six 2,000-horsepower double-cab units, DRX-6-4-2000 2000–2005, so commuter trains would not have to turn at Communipaw. They were the only double-ended cab diesels in North America, and a reminder of the 2-6-2T and 4-6-4T suburban tanks on the steam roster. They were sublettered for the Wharton & Northern. The 1946 trio, 2000–2002, replaced Pacifics on Mauch Chunk–Jersey City trains; 2003–2005 followed in 1948. All were scrapped. The company-page photograph is sister 2005 at Plainfield.

Jersey Central Baldwin DR-4-4-1500 A-B-A set 76-L-77 on a mixed freight at Phillipsburg New Jersey in the fall of 1948

An A-B-A set of Jersey Central DR-4-4-1500s, 76-L-77—CNJ lettered the cab units with numbers and the boosters with letters—on a mixed freight at Phillipsburg, New Jersey, fall 1948. John Maris photo. CRP sublettering on the Pennsylvania-side Baldwin fleet.

Road freight dieselized in 1947 with five A-B-A sets of Electro-Motive F3s (cabs 50–59, boosters A–E) and five A-B-A sets of Baldwin DR-4-4-1500 baby-faces (cabs 70–79, boosters K, L, M, R, S). That bump retired many of the Mikados. On July 1, 1948, the Ashley Planes closed; diesels handled all freight on the Back Track at half the cost. Later F7s were not a CNJ order. 10–17 were leased from the B&O. 20–29 came off the Norfolk & Western as former Wabash units.

Jersey Central F7A 13 and Norfolk and Western F7A 3690 at Communipaw Avenue engine terminal Jersey City on November 8 1969

Jersey Central F7A #13 and Norfolk & Western F7A #3690 (ex-Wabash) at the Communipaw Avenue engine terminal, Jersey City, November 8, 1969. Roger Puta photo. The leased and secondhand F7s filled holes after the home-road F3s aged out.

Fairbanks-Morse road switchers, Alco RS units, GP7s

Jersey Central H15-44 1512 with train 3357 at Long Branch New Jersey in August 1964

Jersey Central H15-44 #1512 with train #3357 at Long Branch, New Jersey, August 1964. Rick Burn photo. 1500 was the Fairbanks-Morse demonstrator, purchased in September 1948.

Fairbanks-Morse got there early. Demonstrator H15-44 1500, built March 1948, was purchased that September. Thirteen production H15-44s, 1501–1513, followed in 1949; four H16-44s, 1514–1517, in July 1950. Two more H16-44s, numbered 18 and 19 (second), came off the B&O as 6700–6701. The opposed-piston 1,500- and 1,600-horsepower road switchers did freight and commuter work on the NY&LB and the Central Division until the Train Masters and Geeps took the heavier trains.

Jersey Central H15-44 with train 1414 at 45th Street in Bayonne New Jersey in August 1964

A Jersey Central H15-44 with train 1414 at 45th Street in Bayonne, New Jersey, August 1964. Rick Burn photo. Two years from the Aldene cutoff that ended through passenger service to Communipaw.

Alco’s road-switcher fleet was larger than the live roster showed. Six RS-1s, 1200–1205, arrived in 1950–51. Fourteen RSD-4s, 1601–1614, and one RSD-5, 1615, covered the Pennsylvania grades (1601–1606 sublettered CRP). Home-road RS-3s ran in two blocks: freight 1540–1555 and steam-generator commuter units 1700–1709. Reading RS-3s 1562–1566 and leased Precision National units 1560–1561 filled gaps in the 1970s. Baldwin contributed four RS-12s, 1206–1209, in January 1953.

Jersey Central RS3 1700 at Jersey City New Jersey in the winter of 1970

Jersey Central RS-3 #1700 at Jersey City, New Jersey, winter 1970. American-Rails.com collection. 1700–1709 were the steam-generator commuter RS-3s, built March 1953.

Electro-Motive GP7s 1520–1532, November–December 1952, were the first Geeps. 1526 was wrecked on September 15, 1958, in the Newark Bay drawbridge accident that killed 48 people on commuter train 3314. A second 1526 was made from 1528; 1531 and 1532 were replaced in August 1959 by GP9m rebuilds on serials 25447–25448. Several GP7s later wore the 1972 red-and-white scheme and went to Conrail as 5676–5677, 5681, and 5902–5904. Budd RDC-1s 551–561 covered the lighter passenger runs; 558–561 were ex-New York, Susquehanna & Western M1–M4.

The engine that dieselized the NY&LB was the Train Master. Seven H24-66s, 2401–2407, came in May–June 1954; six more, 2408–2413, in March–April 1956. 2,400 opposed-piston horsepower on C-C Trimount trucks, steam generators for the coaches. They lasted in that assignment until the GP40Ps arrived twelve years later.

Jersey Central Fairbanks-Morse Train Master 2401 with a westbound train at Elizabeth New Jersey circa 1960

Jersey Central Train Master #2401 westbound at Elizabeth, New Jersey, circa 1960. Meyer Pearlman photo. American-Rails.com collection.

SD35s, borrowed SD40s, GP40Ps

Twelve SD35s, 2501–2512, May and June 1965, were the last new freight locomotives CNJ paid for. They wore the dark green that had replaced blue-and-tangerine on the road fleet. They became Conrail 6040–6051. Ally B&O supplied nine SD40s in May 1967, numbered 3061–3069, built as B&O 7482–7490. Those are the units in the Ashley photograph on the company page and in the Green’s Bridge lash-up below. They became Conrail 6285–6292.

Jersey Central SD40 3063 leading an eclectic lash-up at Greens Bridge New Jersey on April 19 1972

Led by SD40 #3063 (ex-B&O #7484), an eclectic lash-up at Green’s Bridge, New Jersey, April 19, 1972. Bob Wilt photo / Warren Calloway collection. Classic Trains called consists like this “we ain’t mad at nobody.”

In November 1968 Electro-Motive delivered thirteen GP40Ps, 3671–3683: elongated GP40s with a steam generator in the long hood, numbered in the B&O system, painted blue. New Jersey DOT and the B&O financed them. They replaced the thirteen Train Masters in passenger service. After Conrail they stayed on the commuter trains, became GP40PH units with head-end power, and in 1991–92 GP40PH-2s. NJ Transit 4109 still wears Jersey Central paint.

Jersey Central H24-66 Train Master 2410 working commuter service at Matawan New Jersey in the summer of 1967

Jersey Central H24-66 Train Master #2410 on a commuter stop at Matawan, New Jersey, summer 1967. Randy Kotuby collection. The GP40Ps were a year away.

Red Baron, April 1, 1976

In 1972 CNJ adopted a red body with white trim. It went on some RS-3s and GP7s and on SD40 3067, which picked up the name Red Baron. It did not save the railroad. Conrail took the freight locomotives on April 1, 1976. GP40Ps stayed with the state. A few GP7s and RS-3s lasted on New Jersey short lines; 1554 went to the Black River & Western. The green, the tangerine, and the Liberty-herald red are heritage paint now: NS 1071 on the company page, NJT 4109 on its own.

All-time roster

This is an owned-, lettered-, and long-term-leased Central Railroad of New Jersey diesel roster. CRP sublettering is noted. B&O, Reading, Wabash/N&W, and Precision National units that ran as CNJ are included with their origins. Serials are given where Extra 2200 South, the live tables, or builder lists publish them. The GP40Ps post-date the May 1968 Extra 2200 South roster that The Diesel Shop used as a base; they are in the EMD table from Classic Trains and NJ Transit records.

By model

Model	Numbers	Qty	Dates	Notes
AGEIR 60-ton boxcab	1000	1	1924/25	Bronx Terminal. Preserved, B&O Museum
Davenport 35-ton / DCBGE	1000 (2nd), 1001	2	—	Industrial switchers
EMD SC	1005–1008	4	—
EMD SW1	1009–1012	4	—
Alco HH-600	1020–1023	4	late 1930s	First catalog diesels after 1000
Alco S-1	1024–1025	2	—
Baldwin VO-660	1040–1043	4	—
Baldwin S-12	1053–1059	7	—
EMD NW2	1060–1061	2	—
Baldwin VO-1000	1062–1066	5	—
Alco S-2	1067–1071	5	—
Baldwin DS-4-4-1000	1072–1074	3	—
EMD SW7	1080–1083	4	5/1950	CRP. To CR 8868–8871
EMD SW9	1084–1094	11	12/1951–12/1952	CRP
Alco RS-1	1200–1205	6	6/1950–9/1951
Baldwin RS-12	1206–1209	4	1/1953
FM H15-44	1500–1513	14	1948–49	1500 ex-demonstrator. Photo: #1512 Long Branch
FM H16-44	1514–1517; 18–19 (2nd)	6	1950, 1952	18–19 ex-B&O 6700–6701
EMD GP7 / GP9m	1520–1532	13+2	1952; GP9m 8/1959	1526 wrecked Newark Bay 9/15/1958
Alco RS-3	1540–1555, 1700–1709, plus 1560–1566	see unit table	1950–53	1700s steam-generator commuter. Photo: #1700 Jersey City
Alco RSD-4 / RSD-5	1601–1614; 1615	14+1	1951–53	1601–1606 CRP. 1611 later Utah Railway 307
Baldwin DR-4-4-1500	70–79 (A); K, L, M, R, S (B)	10+5	1947–48	CRP. Photo: 76-L-77 Phillipsburg
EMD F3A / F3B	50–59; A–E	10+5	7/1947	CRP
EMD F7A	10–17; 20–29	8+10	1950–52	Leased B&O; ex-Wabash/N&W. Photo: #13 Communipaw
Baldwin DRX-6-4-2000	2000–2005	6	1946–48	Double-enders. Wharton & Northern. Photo: #2003
FM H24-66	2401–2413	13	1954, 1956	Train Masters. Photo: #2410 Bay Head
EMD SD35	2501–2512	12	5–6/1965	Last new freight. To CR 6040–6051
EMD SD40	3061–3069	9	5/1967	Ex-B&O 7482–7490. To CR 6285–6292. Photo: #3063 Green’s Bridge
EMD GP40P	3671–3683	13	10–11/1968	NJDOT. To NJ Transit as GP40PH-2s
Budd RDC-1	551–561	11	1954+	558–561 ex-NYSW M1–M4
B&O switchers (leased)	SW1 8400, 8405; DS-4-4-1000 92xx; H10-44 97xx	—	—	Late B&O power, B&O numbers

American Locomotive Company

Model	Numbers	Serial	Built	Notes
HH-600	1020–1023	—	late 1930s
S-1	1024–1025	—	—
S-2	1067–1071	—	—
RS-1	1200–1204	78095–78099	6/1950
RS-1	1205	79234	9/1951
RS-3	1540–1547	78058–78065	6/1950
RS-3	1548–1550	80234, 80243, 80247	3–4/1953
RS-3	1551–1553	80255, 80261, 80268	4/1953
RS-3	1554–1555	80271, 80276	4/1953	1554 later Black River & Western
RS-3	1560	78248	9/1950	Leased Precision National; ex-Central of Georgia 110
RS-2	1561	77565	11/1949	Leased Precision National; ex-SP&S / BN
RS-3	1562–1563	80104, 79863	1952	Ex-Reading 486, 475
RS-3	1564	80107	7/1952	Ex-Reading 489. To CR 5389
RS-3	1565	80108	7/1952	Ex-Reading 490. To CR 5390
RS-3	1566	78936	8/1951	Ex-Reading 522
RSD-4	1601–1606	78745–78750	11/1951–2/1952	CRP
RSD-4	1607–1608	78946–78947	2/1952
RSD-4	1609–1614	78949–78954	1–2/1952	1611 to Utah Railway 307
RSD-5	1615	80286	4/1953
RS-3	1700–1701	80236–80237	3/1953	Steam generator. Photo: #1700
RS-3	1702–1704	80232, 80233, 80235	3/1953	Steam generator
RS-3	1705–1709	80238–80242	3/1953	Steam generator

Baldwin Locomotive Works

Model	Numbers	Serial	Built	Notes
VO-660	1040–1043	—	—
S-12	1053–1059	—	—
VO-1000	1062–1066	70136–70137 (1065–1066)	—
DS-4-4-1000	1072–1074	—	—
RS-12	1206–1208	75446–75448	1/1953
RS-12	1209	75698	1/1953
DR-4-4-1500 (A)	70–79	73114–73123	11/1947–9/1948	CRP. Photo: #76 at Phillipsburg
DR-4-4-1500 (B)	K, L, M	73124–73126	11/1947, 7–8/1948	CRP
DR-4-4-1500 (B)	R, S	73127–73128	9/1948	CRP
DRX-6-4-2000	2000–2002	73060–73062	11/1946–1/1947	Double-ender. Wharton & Northern
DRX-6-4-2000	2003–2005	73750–73752	8–9/1948	Double-ender. Photo: #2003. Company-page hero is #2005

Budd Company

Model	Numbers	Serial	Built	Notes
RDC-1	551–554	5919–5922	4/1954
RDC-1	555–557	—	—
RDC-1	558–561	—	—	Ex-NYSW M1–M4

Electro-Motive Division

Model	Numbers	Serial	Built	Notes
SC	1005–1008	—	—
SW1	1009–1012	—	—
NW2	1060–1061	—	—
SW7	1080–1083	11629–11632	5/1950	CRP. To CR 8868–8871
SW9	1084–1092	14745–14753	12/1951	CRP
SW9	1093–1094	17111–17112	12/1952	CRP
F3B	A, B, C	4056–4058	7/1947	CRP
F3B	D, E	4059–4060	7/1947	CRP
F3A	50–59	4046–4055	7/1947	CRP
F7A	10	10230	8/1950	Leased B&O 4503; built as B&O 243A
F7A	11–12	15907, 15916	1/1952	Leased B&O 4576–4577
F7A	13–15	15918, 15910, 15911	1/1952	Leased B&O. Photo: #13 Communipaw
F7A	16–17	15913, 15922	1/1952	Leased B&O 4588–4589
F7A	20–22	9032–9033, 12615	7/1951	Ex-N&W 3689–3690, 3697; nee Wabash 689–690, 697
F7A	23–25	15038, 15040, 15047	1/1952	Ex-N&W 3703, 3705, 3712; nee Wabash 703, 705, 712
F7A	26–29	17069–17070, 17072–17073	9/1952	Ex-N&W 3714–3715, 3717–3718; nee Wabash 714–715, 717–718
GP7	1520–1525	17098–17103	11–12/1952	To CR 5676–5677, 5681, 5902–5904
GP7	1526 (1st)	17104	11/1952	Wrecked Newark Bay Bridge, 9/15/1958
GP7	1526 (2nd)	17106	12/1952	Renumbered from 1528 (1st)
GP7	1527	17105	12/1952	To NJ Transit
GP7	1528 (2nd), 1529–1530	17109, 17107–17108	12/1952	Number shuffle after 1526 wreck
GP7	1531–1532 (1st)	17109–17110	12/1952	Replaced by GP9m 8/1959
GP9m	1531 (2nd), 1532 (2nd)	25447, 25448	8/1959	EMD, using wrecked GP7 parts
SD35	2501–2510	29974–29983	5–6/1965	To CR 6040–6049
SD35	2511–2512	30298–30299	6/1965	To CR 6050–6051
SD40	3061–3069	33161–33169	5/1967	Ex-B&O 7482–7490. To CR 6285–6292. Photo: #3063
GP40P	3671–3683	34249–34261	10–11/1968	NJDOT / B&O. To NJ Transit GP40PH-2s; see 4109

Fairbanks-Morse

Model	Numbers	Serial	Built	Notes
H15-44	1500	15L6	3/1948	Ex-FM demonstrator 1500. Purchased 9/1948
H15-44	1501–1513	15L15–15L27	1–4/1949	Photo: #1512 Long Branch
H16-44	1514–1517	16L304–16L307	7/1950
H16-44	18 (2nd)–19 (2nd)	16L697–16L698	12/1952	Ex-B&O 6700–6701
H24-66	2401–2407	24L849–24L855	5–6/1954	Train Master. Photo: #2401 Elizabeth
H24-66	2408–2413	24L885–24L890	3–4/1956	Train Master. Photo: #2410 Bay Head

General Electric / Ingersoll-Rand / others

Model	Numbers	Built	Notes
AGEIR 60-ton boxcab	1000	1924/25	Alco mechanical, GE electrical, Ingersoll-Rand engine. Bronx Terminal. Preserved, B&O Railroad Museum
Davenport 35-ton	1000 (2nd)	—	Reused number
Davenport / Cooper-Bessemer / GE	1001	—	End-cab industrial

Sources

Extra 2200 South, May 1968, as compiled at The Diesel Shop (CNJ.HTML), with updates from Marty Bernard, Edwin Cooper, Tom Berry, and R. Craig. Serials and dates for F-units, Baldwins, Alco RS/RSD, FM, GP7s, SD35s, SD40s, switchers
Eagleson, Mike. Motive Power of the Jersey Central. Cited on The Diesel Shop CNJ roster
Drury, George H. Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, revised edition, p. 100. Boxcab 1000; double-enders as the only ones in North America; dieselization by April 1953 / July 1, 1954
“Jersey Central: Coal, Commuters, and a Comet.” Classic Trains, Winter 2011. 1947 F3 and Baldwin sets; Ashley Planes closed July 1, 1948; Train Masters; SD35s 1965; B&O SD40s 1967; GP40P 3671–3683 November 1968; Red Baron 1972
Boyd, Jim. The American Freight Train. Boxcab 1000, 1924
Conrail Cyclopedia, SD35 roster. CNJ 2501–2512 to CR 6040–6051
American-Rails.com: CNJ company; Train Master production; RS-3; SD35; GP7; NJ Transit 4109

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