Long Island Rail Road Diesel Roster: All-Time

Published: September 21, 2026

The Long Island’s first diesel was a boxcab in a city that had decided it was finished with soft-coal smoke. No. 401, an Alco–GE–Ingersoll-Rand 600-horsepower unit, was completed in November 1925, construction number 66085, and set to work where a steam locomotive had been offending the neighbors. The railroad then spent thirty years with steam and diesel on the same timetable. Ten Alco RS-3s, delivered in August and September 1955, took the last commuter jobs. G5s 35 and 39 made the public goodbye at Hicksville on October 8 of that year.

What followed was a commuter diesel roster with a short memory and a long parts list: Fairbanks-Morse C-Liners, Alco C-420s, EMD GP38-2s, and a set of old cab units rebuilt as head-end-power cars with the traction motors taken out. The engines in service now are twenty-four DE30ACs and twenty DM30ACs, assembled for this railroad at Schenectady in 1998 and 1999, plus MP15ACs on the work trains.

Long Island Rail Road Fairbanks-Morse H16-44 1506 with a combine at Hillside about 1954

Fairbanks-Morse H16-44 #1506 with a combine at Hillside, about 1954. Meyer Pearlman photo. American-Rails.com collection. No. 1506 is one of 1504–1509, serials 16L408–16L413, completed in October 1951.

On this page: At a glance · Boxcabs and the Kaufman Act · Fairbanks-Morse · Alcos, through the C-420s · GP38-2s, then Schenectady · Power cars · The two RDCs · All-time roster

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Long Island Rail Road. Mark LI. Company Long Island Rail Road
This roster	All-time diesel-electrics, the two Budd rail diesel cars, and the cab units rebuilt as head-end-power cars. One row per builder batch. Serial and order are separate columns
First diesel	Boxcab 401, Alco–GE–Ingersoll-Rand, serial 66085, order S1494, November 1925
Why so early	The 1923 Kaufman Act pushed smoke out of the city. A diesel on the Evergreen Branch also gave the Pennsylvania a machine to study
Last steam	October 8, 1955, Hicksville. The ten RS-3s, 1551–1560, were the engines that replaced it
Passenger cabs	Eight CPA20-5s, 2001–2008 (1950), and four CPA24-5s, 2401–2404 (1951). The Long Island was the only buyer of the CPA20-5
Second generation	Thirty C-420s, 200–229 (1963–1968). Twenty-eight GP38-2s, 250–277 (1976–1977). Twenty-three MP15ACs and eight SW1001s in 1977
In service	DE30AC 400–423 (24) and DM30AC 500–522 less 503, 507, and 511 (20). Built 1998–1999, EMD order numbers 936423 and 956623

Identities follow The Diesel Shop’s Long Island list, rebuilt February 11, 2026, and Dave Keller’s motive-power pages. Information compiled September 21, 2026.

A boxcab, a gasoline experiment, and a yard full of switchers

No. 401 was the 100-ton, 600-horsepower AGEIR boxcab, Alco order S1494, Alco serial 66085, GE serial 9740, finished in November 1925 and sold for scrap on June 7, 1951. The railroad’s first 402 was a different machine: an 80-ton Brill boxcab, construction number 22315, January 1926, with gasoline engines, bought so the mechanical department could compare gasoline with diesel. It failed its tests. A second 402, another AGEIR boxcab, Alco serial 67330, order S1582, arrived in September 1928 and lasted until the early 1950s.

Baldwin’s contribution to that first generation was a married pair, 403A and 403B, serials 60185 and 60186, January 1928. They went back to the builder, returned able to work separately, and in September 1945 were themselves replaced, by VO-660 403, serial 71578. Koehler thought 403A and 403B were the first diesel locomotives on a common-carrier railroad to be retired in favor of a newer diesel. Four Baldwin DS-4-4-660s, 409–412, followed in May 1948, and a single DS-4-4-1000, No. 450, in April 1948.

The yard fleet that actually dieselized the railroad was Alco. Five S-1s, 404–408, came in 1946. Nine more, 413–421, came in 1949. S-2s arrived the same year, some new (446–449 and 451–460) and some secondhand from the Delaware & Hudson (439–445). Number 450 in that series is the Baldwin, above.

Three small General Electrics closed out the shop-goat era. The 44-tonner was No. 400, serial 30854, December 1950, later Black River & Western 400. Two 25-tonners, 398 and 399, arrived in 1958. A third, No. 397, was bought from Long Island Lighting. No. 398 is at the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum. No. 399 is at the Railroad Museum of Long Island.

C-Liners, and a demonstrator that stayed

Fairbanks-Morse sold the Long Island the only CPA20-5s ever built: eight units, 2001–2008, serials 21L331–21L338, delivered in the summer of 1950. The model was a 2,000-horsepower passenger cab on a B-A1A wheel arrangement, class FP-20sc on the railroad. Four CPA24-5s, 2401–2404, serials 24L497–24L500, followed in September 1951, class FP-24sc, 2,400 horsepower. They were handsome, and they were not a long-term answer. Alcos took the passenger trains later in the decade.

The road-switcher side of the same builder was the H16-44. Nos. 1501 and 1502, serials 16L373 and 16L407, and 1504–1509, serials 16L408–16L413, were completed in October 1951. The missing number, 1503, is an H15-44, serial 15L14, built in February 1949 as a Fairbanks-Morse demonstrator and upgraded to 1,600 horsepower. Once that was done, the railroad classed her with the H16-44s.

RS-1s, two RS-2s, the RS-3s, and thirty C-420s

Nine RS-1s, 461–469, were the first Alco road-switchers, class AGP-10sc, delivered from December 1948 into 1950. The serials skip. Nos. 461–465 are 76220, 76222, and 76226–76228. Nos. 466–469 are a later order, 77475–77478, April 1950. Two RS-2s came from the Delaware & Hudson in 1962: 1519 and 1520, serials 77570 and 77571, order 20390, built in November 1949 as D&H 4019 and 4020, class AGP-15msc. No. 1520 later became Detroit & Mackinac 977. A third RS-2 was tried and sent home after an electrical fire.

Long Island Rail Road Alco RS-1 468 at Morris Park, Queens, in 1971

RS-1 #468 at Morris Park, Queens, in 1971. American-Rails.com collection. Morris Park, in Jamaica, was the shop. The engine is from the 466–469 group, serials 77475–77478.

The engines that finished steam were ten RS-3s, class AGP-16msc, Alco specification E1662. No. 1551, serial 81351, is August 1955. Nos. 1552–1560, serials 81352–81360, are September 1955. They carried a steam generator in the short hood, because the cars still wanted steam heat. No. 1556 is at the Railroad Museum of Long Island in Riverhead, with G5s 39 and one of the P72 coaches that shared the Hicksville platform.

The C-420s were the MTA years before EMD took over. Thirty units, 200–229, arrived in four lots between December 1963 and August 1968: 200–207 as 84722–84729, 208–220 as 84779–84791, 221 as order 384 serial 384-01 in July 1965, and 222–229 as order 6006 serials 6006-1 through 6006-8 in August 1968. Nos. 200–211 went to the Delaware & Hudson on lease in 1977, still in MTA paint, and had left by December 1977. That lease is already on the Delaware & Hudson diesel roster. The GP38-2s had by then taken the passenger trains.

Long Island Rail Road C420 221 at Greenport, New York, in the late 1960s

C-420 #221 at Greenport, New York, in the late 1960s. Author’s collection. She is the one-unit order, serial 384-01, completed in July 1965. Greenport is the 1844 terminal, still the end of the Main Line.

GP38-2s, a borrowed FL9, and the dual-modes

Electro-Motive’s first large sale to the Long Island was the GP38-2. Twenty-two units, 250–271, came on order 756091 in January and February 1976, serials 756091-1 through 756091-22. Six more, 272–277, came on order 766041 in March and April 1977, serials 766041-1 through 766041-6. The same spring produced eight SW1001s, 100–107, order 766042, and twenty-three MP15ACs, 150–172, order 766043. Several of the switchers later worked for the New York & Atlantic. The GP38-2s themselves mostly went on to leasing companies and to that freight operator after the dual-modes arrived. One FL9, No. 302, serial 21993, built in October 1960 as New Haven 2047, came off Conrail 5047 and is the railroad’s only example of that model.

The present locomotive was designed for a tunnel rule. Diesels do not lead trains through the East River tunnels into Penn Station. EMD built twenty-three DE30ACs, 400–422, order 936423, serials 936423-1 through 936423-23, in 1998, and twenty-three DM30ACs, 500–522, order 956623, serials 956623-1 through 956623-23, in 1999, assembling them at the former Super Steel plant in Schenectady. Both use a 12-710G3B-EC rated at 3,000 horsepower. The DM30AC can take third-rail power, which is how a diesel-territory train from Port Jefferson, Oyster Bay, Montauk, or Greenport reaches Penn Station. No. 503 burned in October 2000 and was retired. No. 511 was retired after a derailment in May 2019. No. 507’s electrical cabinet failed, and the unit was rebuilt as straight-diesel DE30AC 423, keeping serial 956623-8, about 2013. The fleet that remains is 24 DE30ACs, 400–423, and 20 DM30ACs.

They replaced the GP38-2s in passenger service, and they replaced the power cars. With them came 134 Kawasaki C3 bilevels, in 1997 and 1998, including 23 cab cars. The C3s are coaches. They are not in this table.

Cab units that no longer pulled

From 1971 the railroad ran push-pull trains with a GP38-2, or earlier a C-420, on one end and a converted cab unit on the other. General Electric’s apparatus shop in North Bergen gutted Alco FA-1s and FA-2s: traction motors out, the generator rewired for head-end power, the cab left so the engineer could run from that end. Edward M. Koehler’s account of the fleet puts the first one, No. 601, former Louisville & Nashville FA-2 317, on train 600 to Port Jefferson on the morning of May 25, 1971. Former New York Central FA-2 1102 became No. 600. Former Pennsylvania, New Haven, Spokane, Portland & Seattle, and Western Maryland cabs filled out 602–618. Four EMD F-units, 619–622, were converted later, at Morris Park. A fifth, which would have been 623, was parted out and never entered service. No. 608 was cut down again into power car 3100. The whole idea lasted until the DE30ACs, the DM30ACs, and the C3 cab cars made a separate power car unnecessary.

Long Island Rail Road power car 601, rebuilt from Louisville and Nashville FA-2 317, at St. James, New York, on June 18, 1971

Power car #601 at St. James, New York, on June 18, 1971. Ed Conklin III photo. She was built in June 1956 as Louisville & Nashville FA-2 317, serial 81964, and rebuilt by GE at North Bergen. The traction motors were gone. The cab was not.

East Ender

The railroad bought two Budd rail diesel cars for the East End. RDC-2 3121, serial 6015, was completed in March 1955. RDC-1 3101, serial 6219, followed in August 1955. They ran as a pair, lettered East Ender for a time, on the scoot services beyond the electric territory. No. 3101 was wrecked, her front end crushed, and was scrapped at Corona Yard in December 1971. No. 3121 was traded to the Baltimore & Ohio in July 1968 for the closed-end observation Napannee.

Long Island Rail Road Budd RDC-1 3101 and RDC-2 3121 in scoot service at Oakdale, New York, about 1957

RDC-1 #3101 and RDC-2 #3121 in scoot service at Oakdale, New York, about 1957. Meyer Pearlman photo. American-Rails.com collection. Budd serials 6219 and 6015.

All-time roster

Road numbers are the Long Island’s. “Order” is the builder’s order, specification, or contract when the source gives one. A construction number that is not an order-unit serial is in the Serial column, and the Order cell is left blank. Later owners are noted only where the account is clean.

Boxcabs, Baldwins, and General Electric

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
401	Boxcab, 600 hp	Alco–GE–IR	66085	S1494	Nov. 1925	GE serial 9740. Class AA-2. Scrapped June 1951. The first diesel
402 (1st)	Boxcab, gasoline	Brill	22315	—	Jan. 1926	Gasoline engines, for comparison with 401. Failed its tests
402 (2nd)	Boxcab, 600 hp	Alco–GE–IR	67330	S1582	Sep. 1928	Class AA-2. Scrapped in the early 1950s
403A, 403B	Boxcab pair	Baldwin	60185, 60186	—	Jan. 1928	Married pair, later separated. Replaced in September 1945
403 (2nd)	VO-660	Baldwin	71578	—	Oct. 1945	Class BS-6. Replaced 403A and 403B
409–412	DS-4-4-660	Baldwin	73628–73631	—	May 1948	Class BS-6a
450	DS-4-4-1000	Baldwin	73612	—	Apr. 1948	The number 450 was not used on an S-2
397	25-ton	GE	32628	—	Mar. 1956	Ex-Long Island Lighting. To the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum
398	25-ton	GE	33030	—	May 1958	To the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum
399	25-ton	GE	33375	—	Aug. 1958	To the Railroad Museum of Long Island
400 (1st)	44-ton	GE	30854	—	Dec. 1950	Class GS-4. To Black River & Western 400, then the Valley Railroad. See the 44-tonner page

Alco switchers and road-switchers

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
404–406	S-1	Alco	74434–74436	—	June 1946	Class AS-6. 660 hp
407	S-1	Alco	73906	—	June 1946	Later Staten Island 407
408	S-1	Alco	73911	—	July 1946	Class AS-6m
413–420	S-1	Alco	76738–76745	—	June–July 1949	415 and 416 were the speed-control pair
421	S-1	Alco	76327	—	July 1949	Class AS-6
439	S-2	Alco	76514	—	Dec. 1948	Ex-D&H 3025
440	S-2	Alco	76199	—	Nov. 1948	Ex-D&H 3020
441	S-2	Alco	77516	—	Dec. 1948	Ex-D&H 3027
442	S-2	Alco	77820	—	Nov. 1949	Ex-D&H 3030
443	S-2	Alco	75551	—	Dec. 1947	Ex-D&H 3013
444	S-2	Alco	72749	—	Sep. 1944	Ex-D&H 3001
445	S-2	Alco	73359	—	May 1945	Ex-D&H 3003
446–449	S-2	Alco	77831–77834	—	Dec. 1949	New. Class AS-10
451	S-2	Alco	76519	—	Dec. 1948	New. The serial sits apart from 452–460
452–460	S-2	Alco	76572–76580	—	Dec. 1948	New. Class AS-10c
461	RS-1	Alco	76220	—	Dec. 1948	Class AGP-10sc
462	RS-1	Alco	76222	—	1949	Serials skip 76221 and 76223–76225
463–465	RS-1	Alco	76226–76228	—	Feb.–Mar. 1949	465 later Green Mountain 465
466–469	RS-1	Alco	77475–77478	—	Apr. 1950	Class AGP-10msc. 467 later to other short lines
1519	RS-2	Alco	77570	20390	Nov. 1949	Built as D&H 4019. To the LIRR in 1962. Class AGP-15msc
1520	RS-2	Alco	77571	20390	Nov. 1949	Built as D&H 4020. Later Detroit & Mackinac 977
1551	RS-3	Alco	81351	E1662	Aug. 1955	Class AGP-16msc. Steam-generator short hood
1552–1560	RS-3	Alco	81352–81360	E1662	Sep. 1955	1556 is at the Railroad Museum of Long Island. 1553 later D&M 1077
200–207	C-420	Alco	84722–84729	—	Dec. 1963–Feb. 1964	200–211 leased to the Delaware & Hudson in 1977
208–220	C-420	Alco	84779–84791	—	Feb.–May 1964	208–211 were in the D&H lease with 200–207
221	C-420	Alco	384-01	384	July 1965	Single-unit order. The Greenport photograph
222–229	C-420	Alco	6006-1–6006-8	6006	Aug. 1968	Last new Alcos

Fairbanks-Morse

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
1503	H15-44	FM	15L14	—	Feb. 1949	Ex-demonstrator. Upgraded to 1,600 hp and classed with the H16-44s
1501, 1502	H16-44	FM	16L373, 16L407	—	Oct. 1951	Class FGP-16sc
1504–1509	H16-44	FM	16L408–16L413	—	Oct. 1951	Class FGP-16msc. 1506 is the Hillside photograph
2001–2008	CPA20-5	FM	21L331–21L338	—	June–Aug. 1950	Class FP-20sc. Eight units, the entire production of the model
2401–2404	CPA24-5	FM	24L497–24L500	—	Sep. 1951	Class FP-24sc. 2,400 hp, B-A1A

EMD road power and switchers

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
250–271	GP38-2	EMD	756091-1–756091-22	756091	Jan.–Feb. 1976	22 units. Many later to LLPX and the New York & Atlantic
272–277	GP38-2	EMD	766041-1–766041-6	766041	Mar.–Apr. 1977	6 units
100–107	SW1001	EMD	766042-1–766042-8	766042	Mar.–Apr. 1977	101, 105, and 106 later New York & Atlantic
150–172	MP15AC	EMD	766043-1–766043-23	766043	Mar. 1977	23 units. 154, 162, 169, and 170 scrapped. 151, 155, 156, and 159 to the New York & Atlantic
302	FL9	EMD	21993	—	Oct. 1960	Ex-Conrail 5047, nee New Haven 2047. The only FL9
400–422 (2nd)	DE30AC	EMD	936423-1–936423-23	936423	1998	23 units, 3,000 hp. Assembled at Schenectady. Straight diesel
423	DE30AC	EMD	956623-8	956623	1999	Built as DM30AC 507. Rebuilt as a DE30AC about 2013
500–522	DM30AC	EMD	956623-1–956623-23	956623	1999	23 units as built. 503 retired after an October 2000 fire. 507 became 423. 511 retired after a May 2019 derailment. Twenty remain

Head-end-power cabs

Traction motors had been removed. The diesel and the cab stayed, so the engineer could run from that end while a locomotive on the other end did the pulling. No. 603 was later renumbered 598, on the same serial. A fifth EMD cab, which would have been 623, was parted out before it entered service.

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
600	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	79301	—	Oct. 1951	Ex-PC 1302, nee NYC 1102. In service from 1974
601	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	81964	—	June 1956	Ex-L&N 317. First of the conversions, May 25, 1971. The St. James photograph
602	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	80903	—	May 1956	Ex-L&N 309
603	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	81087	—	June 1956	Ex-L&N 315. Later renumbered 598
604	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	81086	—	June 1956	Ex-L&N 314
605	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	80904	—	May 1956	Ex-L&N 310
606	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	81968	—	June 1956	Ex-L&N 321
607	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	78606	—	Jan. 1951	Ex-Western Maryland 303
608	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	78607	—	Jan. 1951	Ex-Western Maryland 304. Later cut down as power car 3100
609	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	78494	—	Jan. 1951	Ex-Western Maryland 301
610	Power car, ex-FA-2	Alco	78495	—	Jan. 1951	Ex-Western Maryland 302
611	Power car, ex-FA-1	Alco	76672	—	Feb. 1949	Ex-BN 4102, nee SP&S 857
612	Power car, ex-FA-1	Alco	76671	—	Feb. 1949	Ex-BN 4100, nee SP&S 856
613	Power car, ex-FA-1	Alco	78286	—	Dec. 1950	Ex-BN 4120, nee SP&S 866
614	Power car, ex-FA-1	Alco	76673	—	Feb. 1949	Ex-BN 4104, nee SP&S 858
615	Power car, ex-FA-1	Alco	76838	—	Apr. 1949	Ex-BN 4116, nee SP&S 864, nee GN 442A
616	Power car, ex-FA-1	Alco	76674	—	Feb. 1949	Ex-BN 4108, nee SP&S 859
617	Power car, ex-FA-1	Alco	75425	—	Oct. 1947	Ex-PC 1333, nee New Haven 0428
618	Power car, ex-FA-1	Alco	75276	—	May 1947	Ex-PC 1330, nee New Haven 0401
619	Power car, ex-F9	EMD	18756	—	1954	Ex-Milwaukee 126A. Converted at Morris Park
620	Power car, ex-FP7	EMD	10349	—	Dec. 1950	Ex-Milwaukee 85A
621	Power car, ex-F7A	EMD	16651	—	Aug. 1952	Ex-B&O 4599
622	Power car, ex-F7A	EMD	12626	6161	Nov. 1950	Ex-B&O 4524, also carried B&O 265

Budd rail diesel cars

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
3121	RDC-2	Budd	6015	—	Mar. 1955	Baggage compartment. Traded to the B&O, July 1968, for the observation Napannee
3101	RDC-1	Budd	6219	—	Aug. 1955	Wrecked. Scrapped at Corona Yard, December 1971

Sources

The Diesel Shop, Long Island Rail Road roster, rebuilt February 11, 2026. Road numbers, EMD order-unit serials, the C-420 blocks, the DE30AC and DM30AC orders, and the power-car tables.
Dave Keller, Long Island motive-power review, trainsarefun.com. Alco S-1 and S-2 serials, RS-1 and RS-2 serials, FM classes, the 25-tonners, and the RDC dispositions.
Edward M. Koehler Jr., early-diesel notes, including the Semaphore for June 2026 (boxcabs 401 and 402) and the January 2026 reprint of his 1977 power-car article (No. 601 on May 25, 1971).
Koehler, RS-3 note in the Semaphore for April 2025. Serials 81351 and 81352–81360, and Alco specification E1662.
Fairbanks-Morse H16-44 production roster, The Diesel Shop. Serials 16L408–16L413 for 1504–1509.
Railroad Museum of Long Island, note on G5s 39. RS-3 1556 is in the Riverhead collection with the Ten-Wheeler.
Railroad Picture Archives builder cards for RS-2 1519 and 1520 (serials 77570 and 77571, order 20390) and CPA20-5 2008 (serial 21L338).

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