Florida East Coast Steam Roster (Post 1900)

Published: October 8, 2026

The Florida East Coast bought steam for a railroad that stayed within a few miles of the Atlantic, on a profile that barely left sea level. Drury's post-1900 grid is 272 locomotives, Ten-Wheelers of 1897 through the last Mountains of 1926. Eighty-seven of them were Pacifics and ninety were 4-8-2s. The boom of 1924–1926 alone put 125 new engines on the property. Six steam locomotives were still on the roster through 1958. The railroad was all-diesel in 1959.

Florida East Coast 0-8-0 270 on the ready track at West Palm Beach on December 15, 1953

Florida East Coast 0-8-0 #270, built by Alco in 1926, on the ready track at West Palm Beach on December 15, 1953. John Krave photo.

On this page: At a glance · Ten-Wheelers, Atlantics, Pacifics · Mountains and Mikados · Switchers · Sold to other railroads · Roster built since 1900

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Florida East Coast Railway. Mark FEC. Still operating. Company page: Florida East Coast
This roster	Engines in Drury's post-1900 grid, pages 177–179. 272 locomotives. Ten-Wheelers 28–32 of 1897 are included because Drury printed them
Passenger and dual service	4-6-0: 17. 4-4-2: 20. 4-6-2: 87
Freight	4-8-2: 90. 2-8-2: 15, copies of the USRA heavy Mikado
Switchers	0-6-0: 14. 0-8-0: 29, Richmond, 1924–1926. No. 270 is one of them
Last new steam	4-8-2s 801–823, Schenectady, 1926. Based on the USRA heavy Mountain
End of steam	Between 1952 and 1954 the steam count fell from 66 to 9. Six remained through 1958. All-diesel in 1959
Still running	Pacific 148, Richmond, 1920, on the Sugar Express at Clewiston

Roster follows Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives (revised edition), pages 177–179. Information compiled October 8, 2026.

Ten-Wheelers, twenty Atlantics, eighty-seven Pacifics

Drury's first road engines, printed with the later roster for completeness, are five 4-6-0s numbered 28–32, Schenectady, 1897, with 63-inch drivers. Seven more, 33–39, followed in 1900 with the same dimensions. Baldwin delivered 40–44 in 1902, and those five were the last Baldwin locomotives the Florida East Coast bought. Four of the earlier Ten-Wheelers and three of the Baldwins went to industrial owners between 1925 and 1934. The other Ten-Wheelers were scrapped between 1925 and 1930. Baldwin Americans 1–27, from the years before this grid, sit outside the table.

In 1904 and 1905 Schenectady built twenty Atlantics, 45–64. The drivers were no more than 70 inches. Atlantic 64, photographed for Drury by C. W. Witbeck, is the 1905 engine of the group, with Stephenson gear and inside piston valves. One Atlantic went to a construction company. One blew up in 1923. The rest were dismantled or sold for scrap in 1925 and 1930. Drury's scrap span for the class is 1923–1930.

Between 1907 and 1922 the railroad bought 87 Pacifics. Details changed across those fifteen years, and the common dimensions held: 69-inch drivers, 22-by-26-inch cylinders, and about 204,000 pounds, light as Pacifics go. The number series skips 137–140 and 158–160, which are 0-6-0s built on the same orders. The four groups are 65–74 (Schenectady, 1907), 77–136 (Schenectady, 1910–1917), 141–150 (Richmond, 1920), and 151–157 (Schenectady, 1922). Drury's portrait of the 1920 engines is No. 147, high headlight, paired compressors, and a wood pilot. Pacific 148, from that same Richmond order, runs on the Sugar Express at Clewiston. The sales table has no row for 147 or 148.

Light track, then ninety Mountains

The peninsula main line starts at 8 feet above sea level at Jacksonville, reaches 9 feet at South Jacksonville, drops to 7 at St. Augustine, climbs to a summit of 16 feet at West Palm Beach, drops to 7 at Fort Lauderdale, and finishes at 15 feet in Miami. A branch west from New Smyrna Beach reaches 70 feet at Lake Helen. The railroad was lightly built, and the first Mountains were built to match it.

In 1923 the FEC turned to the 4-8-2. Vacationers and perishable fruit needed a stronger engine, and the track needed the weight spread out. Numbers 301–315, Richmond, 1923, were among the lightest Mountains built: about 287,000 pounds, 68-inch drivers, and 43,100 pounds of tractive effort, about 10,000 pounds more than a USRA light Pacific.

Schenectady then built 52 larger Mountains, 401–452, in 1924, 1925, and 1926. Cylinders were 26 by 28 inches, an inch larger than the 301 series, with 73-inch drivers. Weight ran from 313,000 to 321,500 pounds, a little under a USRA light 4-8-2, and tractive effort was 44,100 pounds. The USRA light 4-8-2 was rated at 53,900 pounds. In 1936 the railroad defaulted on equipment-trust payments, and most of 401–420 left for other companies. The sales table is that record. Later groups, including 441–452 in 1945 and several of the 420s in 1948, went to the National Railways of Mexico.

The last new steam was a third Mountain, 801–823, Schenectady, 1926, based on the USRA heavy 4-8-2. They were bought for freight and for the long heavyweight Pullman trains that came south each winter. Drivers were 69 inches, cylinders 28 by 30 inches, weight about 4,000 pounds over the USRA heavy Mountain, and tractive effort 60,800 pounds. Drury's scrap span is 1951–1955. The whole class stayed off the sales list. The same years produced the only Mikados: 701–715, Schenectady, 1925, fifteen copies of the USRA heavy 2-8-2, bought as freight power and scrapped in 1954 and 1955. They too stayed off the sales list.

Switchers added to road orders

Most of the switchers were add-ons to orders for road engines. The 0-6-0s of 1907 and of 1917 and 1920 carried construction numbers immediately above the Pacifics of those years, and they were later renumbered 201–206. The three of 1922 became 207–209. The five of 1924, numbers 210–214, carried construction numbers immediately above Mountains 301–315. The grid lists that last five as Schenectady, 1924, scrapped in 1941 and 1952.

The 0-8-0s were about the size of a USRA switcher. Richmond built all 29, numbers 251–279, in 1924, 1925, and 1926. Numbers 251–255 followed Mountains 401–420, 256–261 followed 421–432, and 262–267 followed the Mikados. No. 270, in the photograph above, is one of the 1926 engines. Drury's scrap span for the class is 1930–1955. A few of them, and a few of the renumbered 0-6-0s, appear on the sales list under their later numbers.

Sold to other railroads

Drury's point about this roster is that it became a parts bin for other companies. The 1930 Pacifics went in numbers to the Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast, and many of those later carried Atlantic Coast Line 7000-series numbers. Others went to the Georgia Northern, the Georgia & Florida, the Savannah & Atlanta, the Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay, the Apalachicola Northern, the Louisiana & Arkansas, and the Columbia, Newberry & Laurens. The 1936 Mountains went to the Western Pacific, the St. Louis Southwestern, the Western Railway of Alabama, and the Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast. In 1941 the surviving 301-series Mountains, and in 1945 and 1948 a further group of the 401s, went to the National Railways of Mexico. The 0-6-0s on this list are the renumbered engines, 203 and up.

Type	Numbers	Year sold	Subsequent owner and number
4-6-2	69	1930	Georgia Northern 106
4-6-2	80	1935	Savannah & Atlanta 750
4-6-2	88	1930	Sold for scrap; Georgia Northern 107
4-6-2	96	1941	Georgia & Florida 500
4-6-2	101, 103, 105, 108	1930	Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast 71–74; Atlantic Coast Line 7071–7074
4-6-2	109	1930	Louisiana & Arkansas 309
4-6-2	110	1930	Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast 75; Atlantic Coast Line 7075
4-6-2	111	1930	Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast 76; Apalachicola Northern 301
4-6-2	112	1930	Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast 77; Atlantic Coast Line 7077
4-6-2	115	1930	Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast 78; Apalachicola Northern 300
4-6-2	117	1930	Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast 79
4-6-2	118–122	1930	Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast 80–84; Atlantic Coast Line 7080–7084
4-6-2	123	1930	Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast 85; Apalachicola Northern 302
4-6-2	125	1930	Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast 86; Atlantic Coast Line 7086
4-6-2	127–129	1934	Georgia & Florida 501–503
4-6-2	130	1936	Georgia Northern 130
4-6-2	131	1935	Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay 131
4-6-2	132–135	1934–37	Georgia Northern 504–507
4-6-2	136, 141	1936, 35	Savannah & Atlanta 752, 751
4-6-2	142, 143	1934	Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay 142, 143
4-6-2	144	1934	Georgia & Florida 508
4-6-2	145, 146	1935, 34	Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay 145, 146
4-6-2	149	1941	Georgia & Florida 509
4-6-2	150	1942	Apalachicola Northern 510; Kansas City, Mexico & Orient 152
4-6-2	151, 152	1941	Georgia & Florida 510, 511
4-6-2	154	1935	Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay 154; Columbia, Newberry & Laurens 154
4-6-2	155	1942	Apalachicola Northern 515; Kansas City, Mexico & Orient 153
4-6-2	156	1941	Georgia & Florida 512
4-6-2	157	1941	Columbia, Newberry & Laurens 157
0-6-0	203	1923	Georgia & Florida 27
0-6-0	206	1934	Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay 206
0-6-0	207	1934	Georgia & Florida 28
0-6-0	208	1934	Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay 208
0-6-0	211, 212	1941	Georgia & Florida 29, 30
0-8-0	251–253	1936	Louisiana & Arkansas 251–253
0-8-0	254, 255	1936	Illinois Terminal 36, 37
0-8-0	264, 265, 267	1930	Illinois Terminal 34, 33, 35
4-8-2	304, 305	1941	National Railways of Mexico 3200, 3201
4-8-2	307–309	1941	National Railways of Mexico 3206, 3202, 3207
4-8-2	311–315	1941	National Railways of Mexico 3208, 3203, 3204, 3209, 3205
4-8-2	401	1936	St. Louis Southwestern 675
4-8-2	402	1936	Western Railway of Alabama 185
4-8-2	403–408	1936	Western Pacific 171–176
4-8-2	409, 411	1936	St. Louis Southwestern 676, 677
4-8-2	410, 412	1936	Western Pacific 177, 178
4-8-2	413, 416	1936	St. Louis Southwestern 678, 679
4-8-2	414, 415	1936	Western Pacific 179, 180
4-8-2	417, 420	1936	Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast 351, 372; Atlantic Coast Line 7351, 7372
4-8-2	418, 419	1936	Western Railway of Alabama 187, 186
4-8-2	421, 422	1948	National Railways of Mexico 3314, 3315
4-8-2	425–427	1948	National Railways of Mexico 3316–3318
4-8-2	429	1948	National Railways of Mexico 3319
4-8-2	433, 434	1945	National Railways of Mexico 3300, 3301
4-8-2	441–452	1945	National Railways of Mexico 3302–3313

Years and second numbers are Drury's, including pairs listed out of Florida East Coast order. Mikados 701–715 and Mountains 801–823 stay off this list. Their scrap spans are on the class grid.

Florida East Coast steam locomotives built since 1900

Type	Numbers	Qty	Builder	Built	Scrapped	Notes
0-6-0	75, 76	2	Schenectady	1907	1916	Renumbered 201, 202
0-6-0	137–140	4	Schenectady	1917, 1920	1923, 1934	Renumbered 203–206
0-6-0	158–160	3	Schenectady	1922	1934	Renumbered 207–209
0-6-0	210–214	5	Schenectady	1924	1941, 1952	Construction numbers immediately above 4-8-2s 301–315
0-8-0	251–279	29	Richmond	1924–1926	1930–1955	270 is the West Palm Beach photograph. About USRA switcher size
2-8-2	701–715	15	Schenectady	1925	1954–1955	Copies of the USRA heavy 2-8-2
4-4-2	45–64	20	Schenectady	1904, 1905	1923–1930	Drivers no more than 70 inches. 64 is the Witbeck photograph
4-6-0	28–39	12	Schenectady	1897, 1900	1925–1934	28–32 in 1897, 63-inch drivers. 33–39 in 1900. Included for completeness
4-6-0	40–44	5	Baldwin	1902	1930	Last Baldwins bought new
4-6-2	65–74	10	Schenectady	1907	1929–1930	69-inch drivers, 22 by 26 inches, about 204,000 pounds
4-6-2	77–136	60	Schenectady	1910–1917	1930–1937	Same common dimensions
4-6-2	141–150	10	Richmond	1920	1935–1942	147 is Drury's portrait. 148 runs at Clewiston
4-6-2	151–157	7	Schenectady	1922	1934–1952
4-8-2	301–315	15	Richmond	1923	1941–1954	About 287,000 pounds. 68-inch drivers. 43,100 pounds tractive effort
4-8-2	401–452	52	Schenectady	1924–1926	1936–1955	73-inch drivers. 26 by 28 inches. 44,100 pounds tractive effort
4-8-2	801–823	23	Schenectady	1926	1951–1955	Last new steam. USRA heavy Mountain, 69-inch drivers, 28 by 30 inches, 60,800 pounds tractive effort

The quantity column totals 272. The scrapped column is Drury's span for the class. An engine sold to another railroad can fall inside that span, and the sale is in the table above. Americans 1–27 are outside this grid.

Sources

George H. Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, revised edition, Florida East Coast, pp. 177–179. User photographs in Downloads\FEC_Steam, October 2026. Class grid, dimensions, the profile, the 125 locomotives of 1924–1926, dieselization from 66 engines to 9 and then to six through 1958, and the sales list on page 179
Seth H. Bramson, Speedway to Sunshine (Boston Mills Press, 1984, ISBN 0-919783-12-0). Drury's recommended reading for the company
Railroad magazine, January 1948, page 90. The published roster Drury cites
John Krave photograph of 0-8-0 270, West Palm Beach, December 15, 1953, for the hero. The live caption dates the engine to Alco, 1926, inside Richmond's 251–279

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