Lackawanna Diesel Roster (All Time)

Last revised: September 17, 2026

The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western dieselized later than the publicity implied and earlier than the anthracite map suggested. Steam still paid on coal into the 1950s. The first diesels were not road FTs but Alco-GE-Ingersoll-Rand boxcabs in 1926, GE 102-ton center-cabs, Alco HH600s from 1933, and two EMC/GE SC switchers, 425–426, in February 1935—among the first true Electro-Motive diesels, outshopped at GE Erie with B&O 50 and the EMC demonstrators. FTs arrived in 1945. Last steam was 1953. Last new diesels were eight SW1200s in 1957. The company is the Lackawanna. Steam is the steam roster. This page is the diesels, through Erie Lackawanna on October 17, 1960. The 1960 count was 212.

What made the roster recognizable was maroon and gray, the colors of Stevens Institute of Technology at Hoboken, on the F units and E8As that took the Phoebe Snow. Switchers and RS-3s often wore a simpler freight dress. A 1957 trial of solid gray was vetoed. The can-opener and EL gray-maroon came after this page ends.

First-generation road power was Electro-Motive. Twelve FTAs and eight FTBs (601s and 651s, April–May 1945) started freight dieselization. F3s followed in 1946–48, freight and passenger, including the 801-series passenger sets. F7s in 1948–49 filled holes. Eleven E8As, 810–820, January–May 1951, took the varnish; 810–811 had been Electro-Motive demonstrators. Twenty GP7s, 951–970, 1951–53, were the first Geeps. Yard power was Alco HH600s and HH660s, SW1s, NW2s, S-2s, then SW8s, SW9s, and SW1200s. Three GE 44-tonners, 51–53, September 1946, covered light branches and the Harlem Transfer.

Alco and Fairbanks-Morse kept the roster from being a pure La Grange fleet. Eighteen RS-3s, 901–918, 1950–52, handled locals and the cutoff. Six H16-44s, 930–935, December 1952, and twelve Train Masters, 850–861—ten sight-unseen in June 1953, two more in November 1956—were the 2,400-horsepower signature of late Lackawanna freight. William White started dieselization; Perry Shoemaker finished it. By 1960 the 0-8-0s and Poconos were gone. Erie Lackawanna renumbered most of the fleet. Conrail took what remained on April 1, 1976. A handful survive: SC 426 at Steamtown in Lackawanna paint, and GP7s that went through Paducah as GP8s.

EMD builder photo of Lackawanna F3 set 621 in January 1948

An Electro-Motive builder’s photo of Lackawanna F3 set #621, January 1948. 621A–C were serials 4595–4597.

On this page: At a glance · Boxcabs and SCs · FTs, F3s, E8As · Geeps, RS-3s, Train Masters · All-time roster

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. Mark DLW. Company Lackawanna
First diesels	Alco-GE-IR boxcabs 3001–3002, 1926. EMC/GE SC 425–426, February 1935
Last steam	1953. 0-8-0 #232
First road freight	EMD FT, 601 and 651 sets, April–May 1945
Passenger cabs	E8A 810–820, 1951. 810–811 ex-demonstrators. Photo: Hoboken on the company page
Train Masters	Twelve FM H24-66, 850–861, 1953 and 1956
Last new	SW1200 561–568, May–June 1957
Paint	Maroon and gray (Stevens Institute). Simpler freight dress on switchers and RS-3s
1960 fleet	212 diesels at the Erie Lackawanna merger, October 17, 1960

Serials and dates follow The Diesel Shop (R. Craig, Extra 2200 South, Sweetland) and the live American-Rails tables as cleaned below. Information compiled September 17, 2026.

Boxcabs, 102-tonners, and the 1935 SCs

In 1926 Alco and GE built two boxcabs for the Lackawanna, 3001–3002. They were industrial curiosities on a Class I that still believed in steam. GE 102-ton center-cabs 450–455 followed in 1933–34. Alco HH600s 401–408 arrived 1933–34; 409–411 in April 1940. The units that matter in diesel history are 425 and 426: EMC/GE SC switchers, February 1935, built at Erie, serials EMD 516–517 / GE 11653–54. Classic Trains treats them with B&O 50 as EMC’s first true diesel locomotives. 426 is at Steamtown in Lackawanna paint. Two GE tri-power locomotives, 3501–3502, October 1930, and GE electric 4001 were experiments around the same shops; 4001 is not a diesel.

FTs, F3s, F7s, E8As

Delaware Lackawanna and Western FTA 602 publicity photo circa 1950

A Delaware, Lackawanna & Western publicity photo of FTA #602, circa 1950. Location not recorded. FTs 601–604 and 651–654 were the first road freight diesels, 1945.

Twelve FTAs and eight matching boosters dieselized through freight in 1945. F3s came in three waves: freight 605–606 (December 1946), passenger 801–805 (1946–47), and more freight 621, 655–662 (1947–48). F7s 611 and 631–636, 1948–49, were the last covered wagons for freight. E8As 810–820 took the Phoebe Snow and the remaining varnish from 1951. Express passenger steam, including the 1151-class Hudsons, was already off the main by 1947.

Lackawanna F3A 661 a GP7 and other F units northbound on the Lehigh Valley at Allentown Pennsylvania 1950s

Lackawanna F3A #661, a GP7, and other F units northbound (railroad westbound) on the Lehigh Valley at Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1950s, crossing Little Lehigh Creek. Photographer unknown. American-Rails.com collection.

Lackawanna F7A 635 leading an A-B-B-A set of F units eastbound at Binghamton New York 1950s

An A-B-B-A set of Lackawanna F units eastbound at Binghamton, New York, during the 1950s. F7A #635 leads; an F7B, F3B, and F7A trail. American-Rails.com collection.

GP7s, RS-3s, Train Masters

Twenty GP7s, 951–970, 1951–53, were the road-switcher Geeps. Eighteen Alco RS-3s, 901–918, covered what F units did not. Fairbanks-Morse sold six H16-44s in December 1952 and twelve H24-66 Train Masters: 850–859 in June 1953, 860–861 in November 1956. The Train Masters were 2,400 opposed-piston horsepower on C-C trucks, the most powerful four-axle freight engines on the railroad. Switchers after the war were S-2s 475–491, SW8s 501–511, SW9s 551–560 (plus a second 434), and SW1200s 561–568 in 1957—the last new Lackawanna locomotives. Erie Lackawanna renumbered the RS-3s into the 1040s; the unit in the photograph below is EL 1043, built as DL&W 905.

Lackawanna light road-switcher RS3 1043 in simple freight livery 1960s built as DLW 905 in 1951

RS-3 #1043 in the 1960s, already wearing its Erie Lackawanna number. Built as Lackawanna #905 in April 1951. American-Rails.com collection.

All-time roster

Owned Lackawanna diesels through October 16, 1960. EL merger numbers in the notes. Serials from The Diesel Shop / Extra 2200 South. Electrics 4001 and the tri-powers are listed once, as experiments, not as a MU dump.

Cab units

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Built	Notes
FTA	601A/C, 602A/C	4	2711–2714	4–5/1945	EL 6011, 6014, 6021, 6024. Photo: #602
FTA	603A/C, 604A/C	4	2715–2718	5/1945
FTB	601B–604B	4	2719–2722	4–5/1945
FTA	651A–654A	4	2703–2706	5/1945
FTB	651B–654B	4	2707–2710	5/1945
F3A	605A/C, 606A/C	4	3723–3726	12/1946
F3B	605B–606B	2	3727–3728	12/1946
F3A	621A/C	2	4595, 4597	1/1948	Photo: set 621
F3B	621B	1	4596	1/1948
F3A	655A–656A	2	3729, 3731	1/1947
F3B	655B–656B	2	3730, 3732	1/1947
F3A	657A–662A	6	4973–4978	3/1948	Photo: #661 Allentown
F3B	657B–659B	3	4979–4981	3/1948
F3A	660B–662B	3	4982–4984	3/1948	B-units numbered as A; F3A carbodies
F3A	801A/C, 802A/C	4	3717–3720	12/1947	Passenger
F3A	801B–802B	2	3721–3722	12/1946
F3A	803A/C–805A/C	6	4395–4400	12/1947
F3A	803B–805B	3	4401–4403	12/1947
F7A	611A/C	2	4969–4970	7/1949
F7B	611B	1	4972	7/1949	To CR 3850
F7A	631A/C	2	4967–4968	1/1948
F7A	632A–636A	5	7444–7448	7/1949	Photo: #635 Binghamton
F7B	632B–635B	4	7449–7452	7/1949
F7A	636B	1	4971	7/1949	A carbody, B number
E8A	810–811	2	13676–13677	1/1951	Ex-EMDX demonstrators. 810 to CR 4001
E8A	812–820	9	14011–14019	4–5/1951	To CR 4000, 4002–4009

Road-switchers

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Built	Notes
RS-3	901–904	4	78076–78079	8/1950	EL 1039–1042
RS-3	905–910	6	78573–78578	4/1951	EL 1043–1048. Photo: EL 1043 / DL&W 905
RS-3	911–918	8	79667–79674	3/1952	EL 1049–1056
H16-44	930–935	6	16L687–16L692	12/1952	FM. EL 1930–1935
H24-66	850–859	10	24L734–24L743	6/1953	Train Master. EL 1850–1859
H24-66	860–861	2	24L1035–24L1036	11/1956	Train Master. EL 1860–1861
GP7	951–955	5	14059–14062, 15866	8/1951, 10/1951	EL 1270–1274. To CR 5985–5989
GP7	956–965	10	15717–15726	4–5/1952	EL 1275–1284. 959 later CR GP8 5460
GP7	966–970	5	17980–17984	2/1953	To CR 5925–5929

Switchers and early experiments

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Built	Notes
AGEIR boxcab	3001–3002	2	Alco 66683–84 / GE 10026–27	6–7/1926	To Ingersoll-Rand 91 and Harlem Transfer 2
GE 102-ton	450–455	6	11564–66, 11570, 11638–39	12/1933–10/1934	Center-cab
HH600	401–408	8	68609, 68636–42	2/1933–1/1934	Alco
HH660	409–411	3	69257–69259	4/1940	Alco. 409 later RLCX
SC	425–426	2	EMD 516–517 / GE 11653–54	2/1935	Pre-production. 426 preserved, Steamtown
SW1	427–437	11	1027–1029, 1051–1058	3–5/1940
SW9 (2nd)	434 (2nd)	1	13829	3/1951	To CR 9010
NW2	461–465	5	3391–3395	11/1945	EL 441–445. To CR 9235–9239
S-2	475–491	17	73641–42, 74324–26, 75663–64, 76789–95, 76926–28	9/1945–7/1949	EL 534–550
SW8	501–511	11	14063–67, 15727–30, 17885–86	8/1951–5/1953	EL 361–371
SW9	551–560	10	14068–70, 15731–34, 17887–89	6/1951–6/1953	EL 446–455
SW1200	561–568	8	23762–23769	5–6/1957	Last new DL&W diesels. EL 456–463. To CR 9320–9327
44-ton	51–53	3	29986–29988	9/1946	GE. 53 to Harlem Transfer
Tri-power	3501–3502	2	GE 11208–09	10/1930	Diesel-battery-electric experiment

Sources

The Diesel Shop. “Delaware Lackawanna & Western All-Time Diesel Roster,” R. Craig. Extra 2200 South; Sweetland, David R. Erie Lackawanna Railroad in Color
Live American-Rails DL&W diesel tables, retained as the unit grid and corrected as listed in the editor header
Classic Trains. EMC SC 425–426, 1935, with B&O 50 as first true EMC diesels; Train Masters; last steam 1953
National Park Service / Steamtown. SC 426 preserved; last steam 1953
American-Rails.com: Lackawanna company; Phoebe Snow; Hoboken Terminal

Facebook X Pinterest Tumblr Reddit WhatsApp Messenger