Published: October 28, 2026
By: Adam Burns
The Katy dieselized a light-rail railroad and then spent forty years rebuilding what it had bought. Baldwin switchers came first, in 1946. Alco and Electro-Motive cab units followed, lettered A and C on a great many of the pairs, and the road switchers that replaced them were often the same frames with a 567C under a Geep hood.
Katy AS-16M 133 lays over at Parsons, Kansas, circa 1967. This unit was built as AS-16 1578 in October 1950. During the late 1950s it was sent to Electro-Motive and given a 567C in place of the Baldwin 608A, which required a Geep hood. Mac Owen photo. American-Rails.com collection.
On this page: At a glance · Switchers · Cab units · Road switchers · Roster
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Railroad | Missouri-Kansas-Texas. Company history |
| This table | Diesels the railroad owned. Each frame once |
| Alco | 48. Fourteen PAs, nineteen FAs, fifteen RS-3s |
| Baldwin | 44. Switchers and eighteen AS-16s |
| Electro-Motive | 299. Cab units, Geeps, and 37 SD40-2s built new |
| Fairbanks-Morse | 5. H-16-44s |
| General Electric | 8. Three U23Bs and five small switchers |
| Whitcomb | 2. A 12-ton and a 25-ton |
| Total | 406 |
| First delivery | Baldwin DS-4-4-1000s, beginning August 14, 1946 |
| Same frame, not added | SD40-2 637, rebuilt from GP38-2 316 in September 1979 |
An F3 demonstrator, No. 291, came through in early 1946 with one of the four units shut down. It was a sales call. The Katy did not buy it. What the railroad did buy, beginning August 14, 1946, were eleven Baldwin DS-4-4-1000s, 1000–1010, delivered through March 10, 1947. Five NW2s, 1026–1030, arrived from Electro-Motive in January 1947. Those sixteen engines, plus the later Baldwin S-12s and SW9s, retired the 0-6-0s and the 0-8-0s.
The S-12s were 1201–1215, fifteen of them, September 29, 1951 through June 16, 1952. The SW9s were 1226–1235, ten engines, February through April 1952. After 1960 the DS-4-4-1000s were 22–32, the S-12s were 33–47, the NW2s were 7–11, and the SW9s were 12–21. Six SW1200s, 1–6, came in December 1957 and kept those numbers. Six SW1500s, 50–55, came in 1967 and 1968. The last switchers were four MP15ACs, 56–59, October 1980.
The small industrial engines were a separate handful and stayed in the count. General Electric 25-ton No. 400, later 94, and four 70-tonners, 1651–1654, were 1950 deliveries. Two Whitcombs, a 12-ton and a 25-ton, arrived in 1949 and later carried 92 and 93. The 70-tonners were not given numbers in the 1960 scheme on this list.
RS-3m 143 at the shops in Parsons, Kansas, circa 1983. Electro-Motive rebuilt it with a 567C in 1959, and the new engine went under a Geep hood. Mike Bledsoe photo. American-Rails.com collection.
The Katy lettered many of its cab pairs A and C, not A and B. Both letters are cabs. A B is a booster. The first Electro-Motive passenger cabs were two E7As, 101A and 101C, in March 1947. Four E8As followed in March 1950, 106A–107A and 106C–107C, and five more in May 1951, odd numbers 131, 133, and 135 and even numbers 132 and 134. Eight FP7s, 121A–124A and 121C–124C, arrived in January and February 1952 with four matching F7B boosters, 121B–124B.
Freight cabs started with fourteen F3As and seven F3Bs in June 1947, the 201–207 series. Sixteen F7As came in June 1949, in four groups of four, with four F7B boosters, 208B–211B. Four F9B boosters, 226B–229B, followed in March 1955. Alco’s contribution was fourteen PAs, six PA-1s in 1949 and eight PA-2s in 1950 and 1951, and nineteen FAs, eighteen FA-1s in 1948 and 1949 and a single FA-2, 331A, the second engine to carry that number, in December 1950. There were no FB boosters.
After 1960 the E7As were 51A and 51C. The E8As were 52A–56A and 52C–55C. The FP7s were 78A–81A and 78C–81C. The F3As were 64A–70A and 64C–70C, and the F3Bs were 64B, 64D–64H, and 65B. The F7As were 71A–74A, 75A, 76A, 65H, 77A, and the matching C-cab numbers 71C–74C, 75C, 76C, 70C, and 77C. The boosters took 78B and 78D–78F, 65D–65G, and 75B and 75D–75F.
An American Locomotive Company builder’s photo of new PA-1 152-A, circa 1949.
F3A 69-C at Parsons, Kansas, circa 1968. Mac Owen photo. American-Rails.com collection.
F3A 70-A and a Geep at Austin, Texas, circa 1978. Mike Bledsoe photo. American-Rails.com collection.
One of the FA-1s rebuilt with an EMD 567C at Parsons, Kansas, circa 1968. Mac Owen photo. American-Rails.com collection.
F7A 75C, F9B 75B, FA-1 83C, and a Geep at Muskogee, Oklahoma, on June 13, 1968. Marty Bernard photo.
Fifteen Alco RS-3s, 1551–1563 and 1701–1702, arrived between September 1950 and September 1951. After 1960 they were 144–156 and 142–143. A number of them were rebuilt with a 567C and a Geep hood, the same treatment given to some of the FA-1s at Parsons. No. 143 was one of the 1959 rebuilds. No. 154 was still at North Enid in the last year of the railroad. They are the same fifteen frames.
Eighteen Baldwin AS-16s came between September 28, 1950 and November 14, 1953, numbers 1571–1586 and 1787–1788. The later-number list covers ten of them, 126–133 and 124–125. Some were rebuilt as AS-16Ms. No. 133, photographed at Parsons about 1967, had been AS-16 1578. The Baldwin prime mover came out. The frame did not.
Five Fairbanks-Morse H-16-44s, 1591 and 1731–1734, arrived in 1950 and 1951 and later ran as 157–161. They were the only road locomotives of that make.
The Geep fleet that replaced the cab units began with GP7s, 1501–1529 and 1761–1764, thirty-three locomotives delivered from March 1950 through December 1952. Later numbers were 91–119 and 120–123. Seventy-nine GP40s, 170–248, followed from June 1966 through October 1968 and became the red road engine of the Barriger years. One of them, No. 200, wore a bicentennial paint scheme into the late 1970s. Four GP38s, 300–303, came in December 1969. Eighteen GP38-2s, 304–321, came between December 1972 and June 1976. No. 316 was rebuilt in September 1979 as SD40-2 637. That is the same frame, and 637 is not a thirty-eighth SD40-2.
The six-axle freight engine, when it finally arrived, was the SD40-2. Thirty-seven were built new, 600–636, from August 1978 through September 1981. Nine GP39-2s, 380–388, came from Kennecott Copper in January 1977. Twenty more GP39-2s, 360–379, were built new in March through June 1984. Three General Electric U23Bs, 350–352, arrived in May 1973 and were the only GE road locomotives.
When the railroad was short of power it leased. Morrison-Knudsen SD40M-2 8301, built as Electro-Motive SD45X demonstrator 4203, and SD40R 8303, built as Southern Pacific SD40 8402, ran between Taylor and Elgin about 1984, and Conrail SD40-2 6506 was in the same pool. They were never Katy locomotives, and they are not on this roster.
RS-3m 154 and GP38 301 at North Enid Yard, Enid, Oklahoma, circa 1988. American-Rails.com collection.
GP40 178 and other power at Parsons, Kansas, in November 1969. The Geeps were a few years old. Rick Burn photo.
Parsons terminal in November 1969. GP7 139 and GP40 178 are in the lineup, with one of the AS-16M rebuilds. Rick Burn photo.
GP40 200, in the bicentennial livery, at Austin, Texas, in the summer of 1979. Mike Bledsoe photo. American-Rails.com collection.
GP40 200 at Granger, Texas, circa 1983. Mike Bledsoe photo. American-Rails.com collection.
SD40-2s at Fort Worth, Texas, circa 1984. Mike Bledsoe photo. American-Rails.com collection.
SD40-2s 616, 615, and 604 with a southbound freight at Granger, Texas, circa 1982. Mike Bledsoe photo. American-Rails.com collection.
SD40-2 624, Morrison-Knudsen SD40M-2 8301, and Conrail SD40-2 6506 near Bartlett, Texas, circa 1982. The leased engines are not Katy locomotives. Mike Bledsoe photo. American-Rails.com collection.
Morrison-Knudsen SD40M-2 8301, built as Electro-Motive SD45X demonstrator 4203, and SD40R 8303, built as Southern Pacific SD40 8402, with a Conrail unit, between Taylor and Elgin, Texas, circa 1984. The Katy was leasing a great deal of power. Mike Bledsoe photo. American-Rails.com collection.
The quantity column adds to 406. A blank builder number or order is empty. The date is the delivery date. Later road numbers are in the notes. On the cab units, A and C are cabs. A B is a booster. SD40-2 637 is GP38-2 316 rebuilt, and its quantity cell is left blank so the frame is not added twice. The eighteen AS-16s are counted once. The later numbers on that row cover ten of them.
| Model | Road Number | Qty | Date | Builder Number | Order | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA-1 | 151A–153A, 151C–153C | 6 | 4/1949–11/1949 | — | — | Cabs. Later 57A–59A, 57C–59C |
| PA-2 | 154A–157A, 154C–157C | 8 | 11/1950–3/1951 | — | — | Cabs. Later 60A–63A, 60C–63C |
| FA-1 | 326A–334A, 326C–334C | 18 | 11/1948–3/1949 | — | — | Cabs. Later 82A–90A, 82C–90C. Some rebuilt with a 567C |
| FA-2 | 331A (2nd) | 1 | 12/1950 | — | — | Later 87A (2nd) |
| RS-3 | 1551–1563, 1701–1702 | 15 | 9/1950–9/1951 | — | — | Later 144–156, 142–143. Some rebuilt as RS-3m |
| Model | Road Number | Qty | Date | Builder Number | Order | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DS-4-4-1000 | 1000–1010 | 11 | 8/14/1946–3/10/1947 | — | — | Later 22–32 |
| S-12 | 1201–1215 | 15 | 9/29/1951–6/16/1952 | — | — | Later 33–47 |
| AS-16 | 1571–1586, 1787–1788 | 18 | 9/28/1950–11/14/1953 | — | — | Later numbers cover 10 of the 18: 126–133, 124–125. Some rebuilt as AS-16M |
| Model | Road Number | Qty | Date | Builder Number | Order | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SW1200 | 1–6 | 6 | 12/1957 | — | — | |
| SW1500 | 50–55 | 6 | 11/1967–9/1968 | — | — | |
| MP15AC | 56–59 | 4 | 10/1980 | 806026-1 through 806026-4 | 806026 | |
| E7A | 101A, 101C | 2 | 3/1947 | — | — | Cabs. Later 51A, 51C |
| E8A | 106A–107A, 106C–107C | 4 | 3/1950 | — | — | Cabs. Later 52A–53A, 52C–53C |
| E8A | 131, 133, 135 | 3 | 5/1951 | — | — | Cabs. Later 54A–56A |
| E8A | 132, 134 | 2 | 5/1951 | — | — | Cabs. Later 54C–55C |
| FP7 | 121A–124A, 121C–124C | 8 | 1/1952–2/1952 | — | — | Cabs. Later 78A–81A, 78C–81C |
| F3A | 201A–207A, 201C–207C | 14 | 6/1947 | — | — | Cabs. Later 64A–70A, 64C–70C |
| F3B | 201B–207B | 7 | 6/1947 | — | — | Boosters. Later 64B, 64D–64H, 65B |
| F7A | 208A–211A | 4 | 6/1949 | — | — | Cabs. Later 71A–74A |
| F7A | 226A–229A | 4 | 6/1949 | — | — | Cabs. Later 75A, 76A, 65H, 77A |
| F7A | 208C–211C | 4 | 6/1949 | — | — | Cabs. Later 71C–74C |
| F7A | 226C–229C | 4 | 6/1949 | — | — | Cabs. Later 75C, 76C, 70C, 77C |
| F7B | 121B–124B | 4 | 1/1952–2/1952 | — | — | Boosters. Later 78B, 78D–78F |
| F7B | 208B–211B | 4 | 6/1949 | — | — | Boosters. Later 65D–65G |
| F9B | 226B–229B | 4 | 3/1955 | — | — | Boosters. Later 75B, 75D–75F |
| GP7 | 1501–1529, 1761–1764 | 33 | 3/1950–12/1952 | — | — | Later 91–119, 120–123 |
| GP40 | 170–248 | 79 | 6/1966–10/1968 | — | — | |
| GP38 | 300–303 | 4 | 12/1969 | — | — | |
| GP38-2 | 304–321 | 18 | 12/1972–6/1976 | — | — | 316 later rebuilt as SD40-2 637 |
| GP39-2 | 360–379 | 20 | 3/1984–6/1984 | — | — | |
| GP39-2 | 380–388 | 9 | 1/1977 | — | — | Ex-Kennecott Copper |
| SD40-2 | 600–636 | 37 | 8/1978–9/1981 | — | — | |
| SD40-2 | 637 | — | 9/1979 | — | — | Rebuilt from GP38-2 316. Same frame |
| NW2 | 1026–1030 | 5 | 1/1947 | — | — | Later 7–11 |
| SW9 | 1226–1235 | 10 | 2/1952–4/1952 | — | — | Later 12–21 |
| Model | Road Number | Qty | Date | Builder Number | Order | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-16-44 | 1591 | 1 | 9/1950 | — | — | Later 157 |
| H-16-44 | 1731–1734 | 4 | 9/1951–10/1951 | — | — | Later 158–161 |
| Model | Road Number | Qty | Date | Builder Number | Order | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U23B | 350–352 | 3 | 5/1973 | — | — | |
| 25-ton | 400 | 1 | 1950 | — | — | Later 94 |
| 70-ton | 1651–1654 | 4 | 1950 | — | — |
| Model | Road Number | Qty | Date | Builder Number | Order | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-ton | 1655 | 1 | 1949 | — | — | Later 92 |
| 25-ton | 1656 | 1 | 1949 | — | — | Later 93 |
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