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Maine Central Diesel Roster: All-Time

Last revised: September 22, 2026

By: Adam Burns

Maine Central dieselization was a late, tidy job. A diesel railcar and a joint streamliner arrived in 1935. Two Alco high-hood switchers came in 1939. The railroad did not begin buying road freight diesels in earnest until the F3s of 1947, and steam did not leave until Pacific 470’s excursion on June 13, 1954. What followed was a small roster that fit the Pine Tree Route: maroon-and-gold Geeps and Alcos while the Boston & Maine years lasted, forest green and gold after 1953, and thirteen yellow GP38s in 1966 that finally retired the covered wagons. The last new locomotives the company bought for itself were ten GE U18Bs in 1975, named for the Revolution.

The tables are the diesel-electrics the Maine Central owned or numbered through the June 1981 sale to Guilford, one row per builder order, with serial and order in their own columns. Gasoline switchers are in the narrative. Locomotives Guilford and Pan Am later assigned, and stenciled MEC, belong to that later fleet.

Maine Central RS11 801 at Rigby Yard in South Portland Maine in the early 1970s

RS-11 #801 at Rigby Yard, South Portland, in the early 1970s. American-Rails.com collection. Alco 81616, June 1956, class DRS-1f. One of two, bought after steam was gone because the first diesel fleet was not quite enough. The 801 was painted yellow in 1977.

On this page: At a glance · Before the road diesels · Paint · Switchers · E7s and F3s · Road switchers · All-time roster

At a glance

ItemDetail
RailroadMaine Central. Mark MEC
This pageDiesel-electrics acquired by the Maine Central through the June 1981 sale
First diesel-electricIngersoll-Rand railcar 901, in 1935. Demonstrator OE-600 of 1933
Joint streamlinerFlying Yankee, 1935, with the Boston & Maine. Carried as Boston & Maine 6000
First road freightF3s 671 and 672, December 1947, with steam generators
Last steamJune 13, 1954. Pacific 470
Last new powerU18Bs 400–409, May and June 1975. Class name Independence
PaintBlack switchers; maroon and gold with the Boston & Maine; forest green and gold from 1953; yellow with green lettering from the 1966 GP38s
Steam rosterPost-1900 steam roster

Before the road diesels

The first internal-combustion experiments were not diesel-electrics. J. G. Brill built a 68-horsepower Model 55 gasoline baggage-mail car, number 700, in 1922. It was scrapped in 1930. Whitcomb 1, works number 12981, was built in 1929, acquired in 1932, and sold to National Fireworks in 1941. Plymouth 2, works number 3957, was built in 1938 and sold to New England Shipbuilding in 1942. Both were gasoline switchers, tried during the Depression and gone by the middle of the war.

The first machine the railroad owned that was a diesel-electric was an Ingersoll-Rand 600-horsepower railcar, built as demonstrator OE-600 in 1933 and numbered Maine Central 901 in 1935. The rear of the car was a railway post office and a baggage compartment. It pulled a coach or two on the Eastern Division, Bangor to Vanceboro, until 1947, then spent two years on the Rumford branch passenger train. In 1949 it was stripped of its machinery and became maintenance-of-way tool car 950.

The same year, 1935, the Maine Central and the Boston & Maine jointly bought the Budd Flying Yankee, a shovel-nose near-sister of Burlington Zephyr 9900. It ran Boston–Bangor as Boston & Maine 6000. Its later life, including the last run on May 7, 1957, is the train’s own page.

Portland Terminal, the 1911 switching company, had Alco high-hood switchers in Portland before the Maine Central bought any. After watching them, the Maine Central took HH660s 951 and 952 in September 1939. They lacked multiple-unit control and lasted until 1967 and 1968.

Paint

Yard switchers through the war were black with white lettering. Road engines built while the 1933 joint-management agreement was in force wore the Boston & Maine’s maroon and gold, the scheme first applied to Boston & Maine FTs. Only the lettering and the herald changed. After the Boston & Maine bought an Alco RS-2 demonstrator in May 1948 in a red-nosed switcher scheme, Maine Central black Alcos and the 44-tonners picked up the same horizontal nose stripes.

Separate Portland headquarters returned in 1953, and the road-engine scheme kept the gold stripes on a forest-green ground. Only a handful of units were delivered that way: RS-3s 556 and 557, RS-11s 801 and 802, SW9 335, and GP7s 566–569. Most of the E7s and F3s, and many of the earlier Geeps, were repainted into it. The S-4s of 1954 came in a simpler green with yellow letters and fewer stripes. RS-11s 801 and 802 went to yellow in 1977 and 1981. Many Alco switcher noses were painted yellow while the cab and hood stayed black.

The GP38s of 1966 introduced the safety-yellow scheme, yellow with green lettering, that the U18Bs and the secondhand road switchers also wore. Most GP7s were repainted yellow beginning in 1972. GP7 572 was put back into the original maroon and gold in December 1978. GP7 580 was the last Geep still in its as-delivered maroon in 1980.

Switchers

Seven GE 44-tonners, class DS-1, worked Augusta, Brunswick, Livermore Falls, Vanceboro, Eastport, and the disconnected upper and lower yards at Lewiston between 1941 and 1947. Brunswick was too much railroad for one. Everywhere else they let the company drop the fireman and the 0-6-0 hostler. They would sit in an unheated enginehouse in January without freezing, which an Alco switcher of the same era would not, so the 660-horsepower Alcos covered for them in summer and the 44-tonners kept the winter assignments. Number 11 was the only one of the seven painted green. Number 15 went to the Conway Scenic Railroad. Number 16 went to the Aroostook Valley as its 14 and lasted until 1985. Eastport’s light rail kept a 44-tonner until service there ended in 1978.

Eight S-1s and two S-3s, class DS-3, and three S-2s, class DS-4b, handled the heavier yards and replaced Ten-Wheelers on the Harmony branch. The S-2s also worked Bangor, Waterville, Rockland, and Rumford, the same job Portland Terminal’s S-2s were doing at Rigby. Seven S-4s, class DS-4d, were the branch-line version, equipped to multiple. Number 311, serial 78008, August 1950, was the first S-4 Alco built. It was sold to the chemical plant at Orrington. The EMD switchers, three SW7s and two SW9s, class DS-5, worked as helpers and local freight engines on the Mountain Division until 1958, then as Portland locals, and from 1966 as the Bucksport branch engines out of Bangor.

Five S-1s and S-3 961 were traded to GE against the U18Bs in 1975. S-1s 957, 958, and 960, and S-3 962, were still on the property into the Guilford sale.

E7s and F3s

Seven E7s, class DP, were bought in 1946 and 1948 to pool with Boston & Maine E7s on passenger trains south and north of Portland. The first four, 705–708, were a cancelled Rock Island order. They ran for a few months in Rock Island paint with Maine Central lettering, then went into maroon and gold. When the last passenger train ran on September 5, 1960, E7s 710 and 711 were scrapped. The other five kept mail and express on the old Gull schedule. Number 709 went to the Kansas City Southern in September 1962. Numbers 705–708 followed in October 1963, as KCS 6, 7, 11, and 12.

Maine Central F3A 681 laying over at St. Johnsbury Vermont in August 1964

F3A #681 at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in August 1964. Richard Wallin photo. Order E917A, serial 5695, November 1948, class DF-4. The 681–686 set had the later grilles and were sometimes called F5s (this was railfan nomenclature only, as EMD never cataloged a standalone F5 model). All but wrecked 686 were traded for GP38s in 1966.

Eight F3As and two F3Bs were the first diesel freight locomotives, delivered in 1947 and 1948 for the main line and the Mountain Division. Class DF-3, the 671 and 672 sets, had the early “chicken wire” grilles and steam generators, in case they were needed on passenger trains. Class DF-4, 681–686, had the later F7-style grilles. Number 686 was wrecked and scrapped in November 1965. The other nine F3s, with three RS-2s, went back to EMD in 1966 against GP38s 251–262.

Road switchers

Five maroon-and-gold RS-2s, 551–555, arrived in 1949 and were based at Bangor for the Eastern Division. Three of them, 551, 552, and 555, were in the 1966 GP38 trade. Number 553 went to the Providence & Worcester in 1975 as 1501. Number 554 was repainted with a yellow cab and green hoods and was scrapped in 1977. Two RS-3s, 556 and 557, came in November 1953 in green and gold, with steam generators. Both were gone in April 1975, 556 to scrap and 557 to the Wolfeboro Railroad as 101. Rock Island RS-3 469 was bought in November 1965, relettered and not repainted, and traded for GP38 263. The two RS-11s of 1956, 801 and 802, were the last new Alco road switchers. Number 802 had been Portland Terminal 1082 for a few months. They were bought because the first diesel fleet, once steam was gone, did not cover the shop time.

The GP7s split by assignment. Class DRS-3a, 561–569, had dynamic brakes for freight. Class DRS-3b, 571–580, had steam generators and no dynamic brake, and the first of them were passenger and milk engines as well as freight. Class DRS-3d was a single unit, 581, former Portland Terminal 1081, acquired in March 1957 after the Terminal had used it as a mileage equalizer on Boston commuter trains. Steam generators came off most of the Geeps once the timetable trains ended. Numbers 571–574 kept them and, through the 1960s, hauled extra trains of New Haven coaches full of children bound for Maine camps. Number 573 was the last steam-generator Geep on the roster. Four secondhand L&N GP7s, 590–593, arrived in December 1978 and were given chopped noses.

Maine Central GP7 564 at South Portland Maine on October 8 1975

GP7 #564 at South Portland on October 8, 1975. American-Rails.com collection. Order 6147, serial 12365, October 1950, class DRS-3a, one of the dynamic-brake freight Geeps. Guilford renumbered it 470 in December 1982.

Thirteen GP38s, class DRS-4, replaced the cab units. Numbers 251–262 came in November and December 1966. Number 263 followed in 1967 on the Rock Island RS-3 trade. They were yellow with green lettering, and they took over the main line and the Mountain Division. The GP7s moved east, onto the old Alco territory between Bangor and Vanceboro.

Maine Central GP38 252 at South Portland Maine on October 26 1979

GP38 #252 at South Portland on October 26, 1979. Phil Faudi photo. American-Rails.com collection. Order 7946, serial 32661, November 1966. The yellow-and-green scheme these units introduced in 1966 was the last Maine Central road paint before Guilford gray.

The U18Bs, 400–409, were delivered in May and June 1975 and named, as a class, Independence. Each unit carried a Revolutionary name: Henry Knox, Hannah Weston, John Stark, Peleg Wadsworth, Kenneth Roberts, Arundel, Colonel John Allen, Unity, Bagaduce, and Ethan Allen. The Maine Central was one of two American railroads that bought the model. They were traded against Alco switchers, they were light for a road unit, and they had a reputation for being hard to keep assigned. They did let the remaining GP7s replace Alco switchers in the yards.

After the Bicentennial the railroad bought used power instead of new. Fourteen Rock Island U25Bs, 225–238, same numbers, came in June 1980. Nine were put in service. Five, 227, 233, and 235–237, were kept for parts. In June 1981, the month of the Guilford sale, the company bought GMD GP9 450, former Algoma Central 171, works number A2018, August 1963, the last GP9 built. It carried a later main generator and later traction motors than a 1950s Geep, because GMD finished it so late.

Maine Central U25B 234, former Rock Island 234, passing under Starrucca Viaduct at Lanesboro Pennsylvania in November 1985

U25B #234, former Rock Island 234, on the Delaware & Hudson’s Penn Division under Starrucca Viaduct at Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, in November 1985. Karl Miller photo. Serial 35710, built September 1965, bought by the Maine Central in June 1980. By the time of this photograph the unit was Guilford power still carrying a Maine Central number.

All-time roster

Owned and lettered Maine Central diesel-electrics through June 1981, including secondhand units that took MEC numbers. One row per builder order. Later Guilford renumbers are in the notes. Where the builder list used here does not give a separate order code, that column is a dash. EMD orders are from the trainweb order list. Alco and GE works numbers are the serials.

Railcar

NumbersModelClassBuilderSerialOrderBuiltNotes
901OE-600 railcar—Ingersoll-Rand——1933Demonstrator OE-600. Maine Central 901 in 1935. Bangor–Vanceboro, then the Rumford branch. Machinery removed in 1949; became tool car 950

Yard and branch switchers

NumbersModelClassBuilderSerialOrderBuiltNotes
1144-tonDS-1GE13095—9/1941Only 44-tonner painted green. Sold 3/1974
1244-tonDS-1GE15037—8/1942Sold 9/1975
13–1544-tonDS-1GE27973–27975—5/194515 sold 12/1974 as Conway Scenic 15
1644-tonDS-1GE28488—5/1946Sold as Aroostook Valley 14. Off the roster in 1985
1744-tonDS-1GE28348—6/1947Sold 4/1974
951, 952HH660DS-2Alco69087, 69088—9/1939No MU. Scrapped 3/1967 and 2/1968
953S-1DS-3Alco69411—1/1941Traded for a U18B, 1975
954S-1DS-3Alco73085—1/1945Traded for a U18B, 1975
955S-1DS-3Alco73589—10/1945Traded for a U18B, 1975
956S-1DS-3Alco75350—7/1947Traded for a U18B, 1975
957–960S-1DS-3Alco77107–77110—10/1949959 traded for a U18B and became North Stratford 959. 957, 958, and 960 still on hand in 1982
961, 962S-3DS-3Alco80290, 80291—3/1953961 traded for a U18B, 1975. 962 retired 4/1981
301–303S-2DS-4bAlco76593–76595—2/1949Bangor, Waterville, Rockland, Rumford. 301 retired 7/1978. 302 and 303 about 1980
311, 312S-4DS-4dAlco78008, 78020—8/1950311 is the first S-4 Alco built. MU on the cab end only. 311 sold to the Orrington chemical plant
313S-4DS-4dAlco79502—12/1951Later repainted in the simpler green
314–317S-4DS-4dAlco81096–81099—9/1954Delivered in simplified green with yellow lettering
331–333SW7DS-5EMD12370–1237261489/1950Maroon and gold. Mountain Division helpers and locals, then Bucksport from 1966
334SW9DS-5EMD1475463008/1951
335SW9DS-5EMD19044424812/1953Delivered green and gold

Cab units

NumbersModelClassBuilderSerialOrderBuiltNotes
705–708E7ADPEMD3366–3369E670A6/1946Cancelled Rock Island order. Briefly in Rock Island paint with MEC letters. Sold 10/1963 as KCS 6, 7, 11, and 12
709–711E7ADPEMD6647–6649E1071A7/1948710 and 711 scrapped when passenger service ended, 1960. 709 sold 9/1962 as KCS 20
671A, 672AF3ADF-3EMD4494, 4495E809A12/1947Steam generator. Early grilles. Traded for GP38s, 12/1966
671B, 672BF3BDF-3EMD4496, 4497E809B12/1947Traded 11/1966
681–686F3ADF-4EMD5695–5700E917A11/1948Later grilles. Sometimes called F5s. 686 wrecked and scrapped 11/1965. The others traded for GP38s in 1966

Road switchers

NumbersModelClassBuilderSerialOrderBuiltNotes
551–555RS-2DRS-1bAlco76634–76638—1/1949–2/1949Maroon and gold. Bangor, Eastern Division. 551, 552, and 555 traded for GP38s in 1966. 553 to P&W 1501 in 1975. 554 scrapped 1977
556, 557RS-3DRS-1dAlco80566, 80567—11/1953Green and gold. Steam generators. 556 scrapped 4/1975. 557 sold as Wolfeboro 101
469RS-3—Alco78291—9/1950Ex-Rock Island 469, bought 11/1965, relettered, not repainted. Traded 6/1967 for GP38 263
801RS-11DRS-1fAlco81616—6/1956Green and gold as delivered. Yellow in 1977. Scrapped 1984
802RS-11DRS-1fAlco81617—6/1956Ex-Portland Terminal 1082, to MEC 11/1956. Yellow in 1981
561–565GP7DRS-3aEMD12362–12366614710/1950Dynamic brakes. Maroon and gold. 564 renumbered 470 in 12/1982
566, 567GP7DRS-3aEMD19041, 19042531911/1953Dynamic brakes. Delivered green and gold
568, 569GP7DRS-3aEMD19302, 19303531912/1953Dynamic brakes. Delivered green and gold
571–573GP7DRS-3bEMD12367–1236961529/1950Steam generator, no dynamic brake. 571 rebuilt with a crew cab in 12/1985 as 471. 572 repainted maroon and gold in 12/1978. 573 was the last steam-generator Geep
574GP7DRS-3bEMD14755630110/1951Steam generator. Chopped nose and yellow paint, 8/1972
575–580GP7DRS-3bEMD17416–17421519310/1952Steam generator as built. 578 chopped nose 1/1972. 579 chopped nose 10/1980. 580 was the last as-delivered maroon GP7 in 1980
581GP7DRS-3dEMD13533—12/1950Ex-Portland Terminal 1081, acquired 3/1957. Steam generator, no MU as received
590GP7—EMD1777051322/1953Ex-L&N 439. Bought 12/1978. Chopped nose 9/1979
591GP7—EMD1776451322/1953Ex-L&N 433. Bought 12/1978. Chopped nose 1/1980
592GP7—EMD887250103/1950Ex-L&N 388. Bought 12/1978. Chopped nose 12/1980
593GP7—EMD8878501012/1950Ex-L&N 393. Bought 12/1978. Chopped nose 7/1980
251–262GP38DRS-4EMD32660–32671794611/1966–12/1966Yellow with green lettering. Traded against nine F3s and RS-2s 551, 552, and 555
263GP38DRS-4EMD33280706510/1967Traded against Rock Island RS-3 469
400–409U18BIndependenceGE40720–40729—5/1975–6/1975Named Knox, Hannah Weston, Stark, Wadsworth, Kenneth Roberts, Arundel, John Allen, Unity, Bagaduce, and Ethan Allen, in order. Traded against Alco switchers
225–238U25B—GE35701–35714—9/1965Ex-Rock Island, same numbers, bought 6/1980. Nine operated: 225, 226, 228–232, 234, 238. Parts units: 227, 233, 235–237. 231 wrecked 1/1987
450GP9—GMDA2018—8/1963Last GP9 built. Ex-Algoma Central 171, bought 6/1981

Related reading

Sources

  • Extra 2200 South, issue 86, “All-Time Maine Central Diesel Roster,” as compiled on the Maine Central diesel locomotive record: classes, works numbers, builders’ dates, and dispositions.
  • EMD order list, trainweb.us/emdloco/mec.htm, for GP7, GP38, SW, F3, and E7 order numbers and serials.
  • Edwin B. Robertson, Maine Central Diesel Locomotives (1978), and the 470 Railroad Club, Meet the Maine Central (1981), for assignments and paint.
  • GE 44-ton production record as used on the 44-tonner page, for serials of 11–15 and 17. Number 16’s month follows the Extra 2200 South list.
  • Jeremy F. Plant and George F. Melvin, Maine Central in Color, for the yellow repaints, the U18B names, and the secondhand Geeps.

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  31. Design Contract Awarded for the Forest Park Branch

    Nov 04, 26 11:09 AM

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    The Chicago Transit Board approved a design contract for about 13 miles of Blue Line track from the Illinois Medical District to the I-290 Bridge. The release summary calls it a $17 million contract…

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  32. Kanawha River Railroad: The Norfolk Southern Lease Is Renewed

    Nov 04, 26 10:51 AM

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    Kanawha River Railroad filed to keep leasing 309.45 miles from Norfolk Southern in West Virginia and Ohio. The second amendment is dated August 17, 2026. The Board has not set the date the exemption t…

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  33. Short Line Center Awarded a $5.625 Million Grant

    Nov 04, 26 10:35 AM

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    The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association received a $5.625 million CRISI grant on October 20, 2026, for the Short Line Training Center. A 25 percent match brings the project to $7.5 m…

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  34. Palestine and Rusk Track Rebuild Finishes Its First Phase

    Nov 04, 26 09:13 AM

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    The Texas & Eastern Railroad has finished the first phase of a roughly $30 million track project between Palestine and Rusk. Phase I used a $13.4 million CRISI grant. Phase II, at $8.54 million, adds…

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  35. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx Get Subway Power Design

    Nov 04, 26 09:12 AM

    STV said on November 2, 2026, that MTA Construction and Development selected the firm to manage design of 10 subway substations and 12 circuit breaker houses in four New York boroughs. No contract pri…

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  36. Chicago's Regional Transit Budget Goes Out for Comment

    Nov 04, 26 09:07 AM

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    The Northern Illinois Transit Authority opened its first regional budget for comment through December 4, 2026. The proposal is $5.04 billion for 2027 operations and $9.73 billion in capital work throu…

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  37. VIA Rail Finishes the Toronto Maintenance Centre

    Nov 04, 26 09:05 AM

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    VIA Rail completed a four-year modernization of its Toronto Maintenance Centre on November 2, 2026. The Government of Canada invested $310 million. The shop supports 32 Corridor trainsets and will sus…

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  38. Brightline Suspends Orlando Service for High Water

    Nov 04, 26 09:02 AM

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    Brightline suspended trains between Orlando and West Palm Beach on November 2, 2026, because of high water in Brevard County. A later post the same day kept the suspension until 2:00 p.m. on November…

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  39. Hiawatha West Draws Federal Funding Toward Madison

    Nov 04, 26 08:58 AM

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    Amtrak welcomed a CRISI selection for Hiawatha West, extending Chicago-Milwaukee service toward Madison, Watertown, and Pewaukee. Wisconsin said on October 16 that the award is over $218 million.

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  40. Seattle's Train Maintenance Facility Opens for Airo Trains

    Nov 04, 26 08:56 AM

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    Amtrak cut the ribbon October 23, 2026, on a $250 million Seattle shop for Airo trains on the Cascades route. The building came in on time and $50 million under budget and opens in phases through the…

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  41. Aberdeen Carolina and Western Wins a $19.9 Million Grant

    Nov 04, 26 08:46 AM

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    The Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway won a $19.9 million CRISI grant for about 30 miles of welded rail in Montgomery and Stanly counties. The railroad and NCDOT are putting up a 52 percent match…

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  42. Alco "C628" Locomotives: Roster, Data Sheet, Specs

    Nov 03, 26 07:57 PM

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    Alco Century C628: 2,750 hp C-C road switcher, 186 built from December 1963 to December 1968. Production roster, specs, and where the high-hood Norfolk and Western units went.

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  43. Santa Fe Railroad (AT&SF): Diesel Roster (All-Time)

    Nov 03, 26 12:54 PM

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    Santa Fe diesel locomotives, each new frame once, with construction numbers and order numbers. The counted total is 3,964, from the 1935 boxcabs through the SD75Ms.

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  44. Metra Holiday Trains Return on Six Lines

    Nov 03, 26 11:40 AM

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    Metra holiday trains will run on six lines in December, with tickets on sale at noon November 16 for $10. The Chicago Transit Authority and Pace are fielding holiday buses in the same regional announc…

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  45. Amtrak Encourages Early Booking for Thanksgiving

    Nov 03, 26 11:39 AM

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    Amtrak is asking travelers to book Thanksgiving trips early. The railroad carried more than 1.2 million customer trips over the 2025 holiday and expects another record, with extra Northeast Regional s…

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  46. Channel Pacific Keeps Its West Sacramento Exemption

    Nov 03, 26 11:26 AM

    The Surface Transportation Board denied a West Sacramento challenge to Channel Pacific Railroad’s exemption to operate about 2,132 feet of terminal track. The exemption took effect in June 2026.

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  47. DART Marks One Year of the Silver Line

    Nov 03, 26 11:22 AM

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    DART marked one year of Silver Line service linking seven North Texas cities and DFW Airport. The 26-mile regional rail line opened October 25, 2025, as the agency’s first rail expansion in a decade.

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  48. Massachusetts Breaks Ground for the Berkshire Flyer

    Nov 03, 26 10:07 AM

    Massachusetts broke ground October 29 in Pittsfield on track work meant to support permanent seasonal Berkshire Flyer service. MassDOT has $31 million for the project in its 2027-2031 capital plan.

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  49. Cheraw Scrapyard Closed After a Search for CSX Rail

    Nov 03, 26 10:02 AM

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    Chesterfield County deputies, CSX police, and state agents searched Cheraw Iron and Metal on October 27 and closed the yard after finding CSX rail and telephone wire.

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  50. Union Pacific Urges the Board to Keep a Speech Video Confidential

    Nov 03, 26 09:53 AM

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    Union Pacific on October 30 asked the Surface Transportation Board to keep a recording of Jim Vena’s shipper speech confidential while it appeals. BNSF on November 2 asked the board to deny that…

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