New York, Ontario & Western Diesel Roster: All-Time
Published: September 22, 2026
By: Adam Burns
The Ontario & Western’s diesel fleet fits on one page because the railroad bought it all at the end. Five GE 44-tonners in the winter of 1941–42, eighteen Electro-Motive FTs in May 1945, then seven F3s and twenty-one NW2s in 1948. Fifty-one units. Reconstruction Finance Corporation money helped pay for the FTs. By the summer of 1948 the steam was finished. On March 29, 1957, the railroad was finished too, and the diesels became someone else’s engines or trade-in scrap.
Ontario & Western FTs stored on the Erie in the summer of 1957. Most of the freight units stayed there until 1967, when the New York Central took them as trade-in material on new GP40s. An A-B-B-A set, 806, 807, 806B, and 807B, had already gone to the Baltimore & Ohio. Meyer Pearlman photo. American-Rails.com collection.
At a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Railroad | New York, Ontario & Western |
| First diesels | GE 44-tonners 101–105, December 1941–January 1942, serials 15028–15032 |
| Road freight | FT order E654, May 1945: 801–808, 801B–808B, and 601/601B. F3 order E825: 501–503 and 821/822 with two boosters |
| Switchers | NW2 111–131, twenty-one units, order E824, 1948, serials 3164–3180 and 6160–6163 |
| Total | 51 units. No second generation. The railroad was liquidated March 29, 1957 |
| Steam | Steam roster. Finished in the summer of 1948 |
Dispositions are Bob Van Derveer’s Diesel Shop list, revised December 16, 2014. Order numbers are the FT, F3, and NW2 production tables. Information compiled September 22, 2026.
44-tonners
The first internal-combustion locomotives on the O&W were five GE 44-tonners, 101–105, serials 15028–15032. The first three were finished in December 1941 and the last two in January 1942. They were yard engines, not a substitute for the Bull Moose 2-10-2s. After 1957 they scattered. No. 104 is the one that came home to a museum number: Great Northern Paper 5, then the Hartwell, and now the Southeastern Railroad Museum, lettered NYOW 104. No. 105 went to the St. Louis & General Warehouse, then the Adirondack, and later the Southern Railroad of New Jersey.
FTs
Eighteen FTs arrived in May 1945 on order E654: eight A-B sets numbered 801–808, and one extra set, 601 and 601B, assigned to Standard Oil for laboratory testing. The 801-series A units are serials 3123–3130. Their boosters are 3131–3138. The 601 is 3139 and the 601B is 3141. A units and B units share that order number on the FT production roster.
FTs led by #807 under the Middletown coaling tower, late fall 1947. The steam facilities were still standing. The FTs no longer needed them. Marvin Cohen photo. American-Rails.com collection.
After the shutdown, 806, 807, 806B, and 807B went to the Baltimore & Ohio as 4412, 4413, 5412, and 5413. The rest of the freight FTs remained stored on the Erie until 1967, when the New York Central took them in trade on GP40s.
F3s and NW2s
The F3s are one order, E825. 821–822 and boosters 821B–822B, serials 3142–3145, were finished in March 1948. 501–503, serials 3146–3148, are dated January through March 1948 on the same order. Nos. 501 and 502 went to the Sacramento Northern as 301A and 301D, then Western Pacific 301 and 302. No. 503 became Sacramento Northern 303, then Western Pacific 801D and, later, 926A. The 821 set went to the Erie as 714A, 714B, 714C, and 714D, and on the Erie Lackawanna as 7141–7144.
F3A #502 with an inspection train at Middletown, March 1957, the railroad’s last month. Marvin Cohen photo. American-Rails.com collection.
The twenty-one NW2s, 111–131, are order E824. Serials 3164–3180 cover 111–127. Serials 6160–6163 cover 128–131. Nos. 111–113 went to the Rock Island as 795–797. No. 115 went to the Northern Pacific as second 99, later Burlington Northern 586. The other seventeen went to the New York Central’s 9500 series and were renumbered into the 8600s and, on the Penn Central and Conrail, into the 9100s and 9200s. No. 116 is the one enthusiasts still meet: New York Central 9501, later 8684, Penn Central 8684, Conrail 9264, and then Susquehanna 116, restored in Ontario & Western paint.
All-time roster
| Road no. | Model | Builder | Serial | Order | Built | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101–103 | 44-ton | GE | 15028–15030 | — | 12/1941 | 3 | 101 to St. Louis & General Warehouse DS-1. 102 (15029) to Mississippi Export 47, later a chain of industrial owners ending at IREX 502. 103 to Florida Construction & Gypsum D5, later IREX 503 |
| 104–105 | 44-ton | GE | 15031–15032 | — | 1/1942 | 2 | 104 to Great Northern Paper 5; preserved at the Southeastern Railroad Museum as NYOW 104. 105 to SLGW DS-2, then Adirondack DS-2, then Southern Railroad of New Jersey |
| 601 | FTA | EMD | 3139 | E654 | 5/1945 | 1 | Assigned to Standard Oil for laboratory testing |
| 601B | FTB | EMD | 3141 | E654 | 5/1945 | 1 | Same laboratory assignment as 601 |
| 801–808 | FTA | EMD | 3123–3130 | E654 | 5/1945 | 8 | 806 and 807 to B&O 4412 and 4413. The others stored on the Erie and taken by the NYC in 1967 as GP40 trade-ins |
| 801B–808B | FTB | EMD | 3131–3138 | E654 | 5/1945 | 8 | 806B and 807B to B&O 5412 and 5413. Same storage and trade-in path for the rest |
| 821–822 | F3A | EMD | 3142–3143 | E825 | 3/1948 | 2 | To Erie 714A and 714D, then EL 7141 and 7144 |
| 821B–822B | F3B | EMD | 3144–3145 | E825 | 3/1948 | 2 | To Erie 714B and 714C, then EL 7142 and 7143 |
| 501–503 | F3A | EMD | 3146–3148 | E825 | 1/1948–3/1948 | 3 | 501–502 to Sacramento Northern 301A and 301D, then Western Pacific 301 and 302. 503 to Sacramento Northern 303, then WP 801D, later WP 926A |
| 111–113 | NW2 | EMD | 3164–3166 | E824 | 3/1948 | 3 | To Rock Island 795–797 |
| 114 | NW2 | EMD | 3167 | E824 | 6/1948 | 1 | To NYC 9500, later 8683, PC 8683, CR 9263 |
| 115 | NW2 | EMD | 3168 | E824 | 6/1948 | 1 | To Northern Pacific 99 (2nd), BN 586 |
| 116–126 | NW2 | EMD | 3169–3179 | E824 | 6/1948 | 11 | To NYC 9501–9511. 116 is the unit later Susquehanna 116, restored in O&W paint |
| 127 | NW2 | EMD | 3180 | E824 | 7/1948 | 1 | To NYC 9512, later 8695; eventually Cook & Sons Mining 2 |
| 128 | NW2 | EMD | 6160 | E824 | 7/1948 | 1 | To NYC 9513, later 8696, and a Conrail 9100-series number |
| 129–131 | NW2 | EMD | 6161–6163 | E824 | 7/1948 | 3 | To NYC 9514–9516, later 8697–8699, then Conrail 9273–9275 |
Fifty-one units. The 44-ton serials match the production list of 101–105 as 15028–15032. FT order E654 and F3 order E825 are the production rosters.
Related reading on American-Rails.com
Sources
- The Diesel Shop. New York, Ontario & Western diesel roster, Bob Van Derveer, revised December 16, 2014. Construction numbers, dates, and dispositions for the FTs, F3s, NW2s, and 44-tonners
- American-Rails.com, GE 44-ton production roster. NYO&W 101–105, serials 15028–15032, December 1941–January 1942
- American-Rails.com, EMD FT production roster. Order E654: 801–808 as 3123–3130, 801B–808B as 3131–3138, 601 as 3139, 601B as 3141, all May 1945
- American-Rails.com, EMD F3 production roster. Order E825: 821–822 as 3142–3143 and 821B–822B as 3144–3145, March 1948; 501–503 as 3146–3148, January–March 1948
- American-Rails.com, EMD NW2 production roster. Order E824: 111–115 as 3164–3168, 116–127 as 3169–3180, 128–131 as 6160–6163
- Classic Trains, “Remembering the New York, Ontario & Western,” October 29, 2020. Steam out of service by the summer of 1948
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