Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Diesel Roster (All-Time)

Published: October 12, 2026

The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis dieselized from the yard outward, and it did the job in a dozen years. Alco and Baldwin switchers arrived in 1941. EMD F3s took the Nashville–Atlanta freight in 1948 and 1949. Thirty-seven GP7s and a fleet of F7s finished the main line. On January 4, 1953, Consolidation No. 406 made the last steam run. The Louisville & Nashville merger of August 30, 1957, put Dixie Line numbers onto L&N boards: switchers from 2101, GP7s from 1700, and the cab units from 1800 and 1900.

The quantity column on this page totals 132 locomotives. Each machine is one row, or one row with the sisters of the same builder order. Later NC&StL numbers, and the L&N numbers that followed the merger, are in the notes.

The Georgian on the NC&StL at Atlanta GA in 1956

The L&N's "Georgian" is running over the NC&StL departing Atlanta, Georgia in 1956. Howard Robbins photo.

On this page: At a glance · Yards, then the main line · Switchers · GP7s · Cab units

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis. Mark NCSTL. Company page: Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis
This roster	All-time diesel fleet. The quantity column totals 132 locomotives
Switchers	43. Alco S1 and S2, Baldwin VO-660 and VO-1000, EMD SW1, NW2, SW7, and SW9, and four GE 44-tonners
Road switchers	37 GP7s, numbers 700–731 and 750–754, built 1950–1952
Cab units	52. Nine F3A, twelve F3B, twenty-three F7A, and eight F7B
First diesels	1941. S1s 1 and 2, VO-660 No. 10, VO-1000 No. 15, SW1 No. 20, and NW2 No. 25
After the merger	L&N numbers from August 30, 1957. Switchers 2101–2169, GP7s 1700–1731 and 1750–1754, cab units 1800–1831 and 1900–1919, 44-tonners 3100–3103

Information compiled October 12, 2026.

Yards in 1941, Nashville to Atlanta by 1951

The first diesels were yard engines. Alco S1s 1 and 2 came in July 1941. Baldwin VO-660 No. 10 and VO-1000 No. 15 came that October. EMD SW1 No. 20 and NW2 No. 25 came in December, serials 1537 and 1538, one construction number apart. Those two EMD switchers were soon renumbered 15 and 19, which is why an early roster can look as if an SW1 and a Baldwin shared the number 15. They did, in sequence. The Baldwin had already moved on to 35.

Five more Baldwin VO-1000s, serials 69644–69648, arrived in August 1943 and took 30–34. Alco S2s filled 5–9 in 1942 and, after the first No. 10 had become a Baldwin memory, 10 and 11 in 1945 and 1946. Four EMD NW2s, 20–23, came in October 1949. Ten SW7s came in the summer of 1950, and five SW9s in February 1951. Four GE 44-tonners, 100–103, arrived in June and July 1950 and later ran as L&N 3100–3103.

Road freight began with the F3s. Nine F3As, 800–808, and twelve F3Bs, 900–911, were delivered from March 1948 into January 1949, one serial block, 5772–5792, split between cabs and boosters. Twenty-three F7As and eight F7Bs followed through March 1951. The F3B, F7A, and F7B units were delivered with steam generators. F7s ran through on the St. Louis–Atlanta Georgian with L&N E7s. The GP7s, 37 engines in 700–731 and 750–754, arrived from January 1950 to September 1952 and took over the work the 4-8-4s had held. On the Nashville–Atlanta line the new power nearly doubled the tonnage a steam crew had been allowed.

Several of the cab units and one GP7 outlived the Dixie Line on neighboring railroads. F7A 814, serial 5798, became L&N 1814 and then Clinchfield 821. F7A 822, serial 11953, became L&N 1822 and then Clinchfield 822. F7B 918, serial 11957, became L&N 1918 and then Clinchfield 869. GP7 753, serial 11982, became L&N 1753 and then Clinchfield 919. Those four are on the Clinchfield diesel roster. GP7 710, serial 10551, became L&N 478, then Amtrak 772, and is at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.

Switchers

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Built	Notes
S1	1–2	2	69470, 69478	July 1941	Alco. Later L&N 2101–2102, then 30–31. No. 30 became 2376
S1	3–4	2	74362, 74432	April 1946	Later L&N 2103–2104, then 32–33
S2	5–9	5	69944–69948	June–August 1942	Later L&N 2105–2109, then 2305–2309
S2	10 (2nd), 11	2	74338, 74459	November 1945 and January 1946	Later L&N 2110–2111, then 2310–2311. The first No. 10 was the VO-660
VO-660	10	1	64197	October 1941	Baldwin. Renumbered 40, repowered with an EMD 567, renumbered 69, later L&N 2169
VO-1000	15	1	64210	October 1941	Later 35 and 55, then L&N 2155. Repowered with an EMD 567
VO-1000	30–31	2	69644, 69645	August 1943	Later 50 and 51, then L&N 2150 and 2151. No. 2150 went to the Naval Ammunition Depot at Crane
VO-1000	32–34	3	69646–69648	August 1943	Later 52–54 and 60–62, then L&N 2160–2162. EMD-repowered. Nos. 2160 and 2161 went to Clean Coal Terminal as 1001 and 1000
SW1	20	1	1537	December 1941	EMD. Renumbered 15. Later L&N 2115, then 11 (2nd)
NW2	25	1	1538	December 1941	Renumbered 19. Later L&N 2119, then 2210
NW2	20–23	4	7429–7432	October 1949	Later L&N 2120–2123, then 2211–2214
SW7	24–29	6	7433–7438	July 1950	Later L&N 2124–2129, then 2224–2229
SW7	30–33	4	11924–11927	August 1950	31–33 were second occupants of those numbers, after the Baldwins moved. Later L&N 2130–2133, then 2230–2233
SW9	34–38	5	11233–11237	February 1951	Later L&N 2134–2138, then 2234–2238
44-ton	100–103	4	30460–30463	June–July 1950	GE. Later L&N 3100–3103

GP7s

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Built	Notes
GP7	700–704	5	7439–7443	January 1950	Later L&N 1700–1704, then 490–494. Nos. 491 and 492 became 2241 and 2242. No. 493 went to Amtrak 781
GP7	705	1	10546	February 1950	Later L&N 1705, then 495
GP7	706–715	10	10547–10556	September 1950	Later L&N 1706–1715, then 474–483. No. 710, later L&N 478, went to Amtrak 772 and is at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
GP7	716–718	3	11962–11964	September 1950	Later L&N 1716–1718, then 484–486
GP7	719–723	5	11238–11242	February 1951	Later L&N 1719–1723, then 456–460
GP7	724–728	5	11243–11247	March 1951	Later L&N 1724–1728, then 461–465
GP7	729–731	3	17367–17369	August–September 1952	Later L&N 1729–1731, then 470–472
GP7	750–752	3	11959–11961	September 1950	Later L&N 1750–1752, then 487–489
GP7	753	1	11982	August 1950	Later L&N 1753, then Clinchfield 919
GP7	754	1	15321	November 1951	Later L&N 1754, then 466 and 2354

Cab units

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Built	Notes
F3A	800–803	4	5772–5775	March, July, and December 1948	Later L&N 1800–1803
F3A	804–808	5	5786–5790	January 1949	Later L&N 1804–1808
F3B	900–909	10	5776–5785	March, July, August, and December 1948	Steam-generator equipped. Later L&N 1900–1909. No. 907 was rebuilt as L&N F7B 702
F3B	910–911	2	5791, 5792	January 1949	Steam-generator equipped. Later L&N 1910–1911
F7A	809–815	7	5793–5799	April 1949	Steam-generator equipped. Later L&N 1809–1815. No. 814, serial 5798, became Clinchfield 821
F7A	816–820	5	9877–9881	June 1950	Steam-generator equipped. Later L&N 1816–1820
F7A	821–825	5	11952–11956	June 1950	Steam-generator equipped. Later L&N 1821–1825. No. 822, serial 11953, became Clinchfield 822
F7A	826–831	6	13861–13866	March 1951	Steam-generator equipped. Later L&N 1826–1831, then 858–863
F7B	912–913	2	5800, 5801	April 1949	Steam-generator equipped. Later L&N 1912–1913, then 700 and 701, then 724 and 725
F7B	914–917	4	9882–9885	June 1950	Steam-generator equipped. Later L&N 1914–1917. No. 916 was traded to EMD
F7B	918–919	2	11957, 11958	June 1950	Steam-generator equipped. Later L&N 1918 and 1919. No. 918 became Clinchfield 869. No. 919 became L&N 723

Sources

The Diesel Shop, Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis roster, revised March 24, 2012, builder data from John Komanesky. The same compiler’s Louisville & Nashville roster, revised July 21, 2024, supplied the later L&N numbers used here. Corrections long credited to Andre Kristopans and Bob Van Derveer sit behind both lists. Extra 2200 South, Diesel Era, and Charles B. Castner, Ron Flanary, and Lee Gordon, Louisville & Nashville Diesel Locomotives, are the works those lists name.
Clinchfield diesel roster on this site, for serials 5798, 11953, 11957, and 11982 and the road numbers those four engines carried after they left the L&N.

Facebook X Pinterest Tumblr Reddit WhatsApp Messenger