Original Norfolk Southern Diesel Roster (All-Time)

Published: October 14, 2026

The original Norfolk Southern bought 59 diesel locomotives, all of them new. Baldwin built the first 32: three DS-4-4-660s, two DS-4-4-1000s, ten DRS-6-4-1500s, and seventeen AS-416s. General Electric added three 70-tonners. Electro-Motive closed the roster with seventeen GP18s and seven GP38s. The company story, from the Elizabeth City & Norfolk of 1870 to the Southern Railway merger of January 1, 1974, is the original Norfolk Southern page.

At the end of 1948 the railroad counted 18 diesels and 31 steam locomotives. In 1951 the diesels were ahead, 23 to 21. On January 29, 1954, after AS-416s 1611–1613 arrived, the steam roster was cleared and the diesel count stood at 31. The four later AS-416s, the GP18s, and the GP38s are the locomotives that raised the all-time total to 59.

Roster view of original Norfolk Southern AS-416 No. 1617 at Raleigh about 1965

AS-416 No. 1617 at Raleigh, North Carolina, about 1965. Warren Calloway photograph. Baldwin construction number 76114, completed December 6, 1955.

On this page: At a glance · Switchers · DRS-6-4-1500s · AS-416s · GP18s and GP38s

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Original Norfolk Southern. Mark NS. Company original Norfolk Southern
Fleet in these tables	59 locomotives, every one bought new
Baldwin switchers	3 DS-4-4-660s and 2 DS-4-4-1000s, 1947
GE	3 seventy-tonners, June 1948
Baldwin road switchers	10 DRS-6-4-1500s, 1947–1948. 17 AS-416s, 1951–1955
Electro-Motive	17 GP18s, 1963. 7 GP38s, 1966–1967
To the Southern	GP18s became 180–196. GP38s became 2880–2886. Both groups received high short hoods

Switchers

The first diesels were Baldwin yard switchers. DS-4-4-660s 661 and 662 were completed in January 1947, and 663 on May 5, 1947. Construction numbers 73363 and 73364, between 662 and 663, were Wabash locomotives. The two DS-4-4-1000s followed on January 21 and 22, 1947. The DS-4-4-660 is a 660-horsepower B-B switcher, 48 feet between coupler pulling faces. The DS-4-4-1000 is the 1,000-horsepower companion. Three GE 70-tonners, 701–703, builder numbers 30013–30015, were completed in June 1948. Those five Baldwin switchers, the three 70-tonners, and the ten DRS-6-4-1500s are the 18 diesels counted at the end of 1948.

No. 702 was sold to the Montpelier & Barre in June 1967 and became No. 30. Nos. 701 and 703 passed to the Southern with the 1974 merger. No. 701 was renumbered Southern 70, sold to Naporano Iron & Metal in May 1978, and became LRS 110 in June 1979. No. 703 kept its number on the Southern, moved the same month to Naporano and then to Lake Ontario Steel, and later ran on the South Simcoe Railway in Ontario. The Baldwin switchers were retired in the 1960s.

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
DS-4-4-660	661	1	73361	—	January 3, 1947	Retired in the 1960s
DS-4-4-660	662	1	73362	—	January 30, 1947	Retired in the 1960s
DS-4-4-660	663	1	73365	—	May 5, 1947	Retired in the 1960s. Construction numbers 73363–73364 were Wabash locomotives
DS-4-4-1000	1001	1	72832	—	January 21, 1947	Retired in the 1960s
DS-4-4-1000	1002	1	72833	—	January 22, 1947	Retired in the 1960s
70-ton	701	1	30013	—	June 1948	To the Southern as 70. Naporano Iron & Metal, May 1978. LRS 110, June 1979
70-ton	702	1	30014	—	June 1948	Sold June 1967 to the Montpelier & Barre as 30
70-ton	703	1	30015	—	June 1948	To the Southern as 703. Naporano and Lake Ontario Steel, May 1978. Later South Simcoe

DRS-6-4-1500s

The DRS-6-4-1500 is a 1,500-horsepower road switcher on A1A-A1A trucks, with Baldwin’s 608SC engine. Norfolk Southern 1501–1510 were completed between October 7, 1947, and March 31, 1948. They were retired in the 1960s. No. 1504 later ran as Durham & Southern 363.

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
DRS-6-4-1500	1501	1	73487	—	October 7, 1947	Retired in the 1960s
DRS-6-4-1500	1502	1	73488	—	February 7, 1948	Retired in the 1960s
DRS-6-4-1500	1503–1504	2	73489–73490	—	February 20, 1948	1504 later Durham & Southern 363
DRS-6-4-1500	1505–1506	2	73491–73492	—	February 28, 1948	Retired in the 1960s
DRS-6-4-1500	1507–1508	2	73493–73494	—	March 13, 1948	Retired in the 1960s
DRS-6-4-1500	1509–1510	2	73495–73496	—	March 31, 1948	Retired in the 1960s

AS-416s

The AS-416 replaced the DRS-6-4-1500 in Baldwin’s catalog. Norfolk Southern owned 17 of the 25 built. They are Baldwin class DRS-6-4-1600/1 SC: 1,600 horsepower, A1A-A1A, 58 feet between coupler pulling faces, with a De La Vergne 608A engine and Westinghouse electrical equipment. Nos. 1601–1605, completed in May, June, and July 1951, brought the diesel roster to 23. Nos. 1611–1613, completed in January 1954, were the three locomotives on hand when the steam roster was retired on January 29. No. 1604 was finished on July 14, 1951, and No. 1603 on July 19.

Nos. 1601–1605 were retired in the mid-1960s. Nos. 1606–1617 stayed in service through the Southern merger. No. 1616, construction number 76112, was sold after the merger. It was on Precision National’s roster by May 21, 1974, then went to Peabody Coal, still numbered 1616, and it is now at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer. Construction number 76113 sits between 76112 and 76114. Both 1616 and 1617 were completed on December 6, 1955.

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
AS-416	1601	1	75237	—	May 29, 1951	Retired in the mid-1960s
AS-416	1602	1	75238	—	June 14, 1951	Retired in the mid-1960s
AS-416	1603	1	75239	—	July 19, 1951	Retired in the mid-1960s. Completed after 1604
AS-416	1604	1	75240	—	July 14, 1951	Retired in the mid-1960s
AS-416	1605	1	75241	—	July 20, 1951	Retired in the mid-1960s
AS-416	1606	1	75699	—	September 27, 1952	Retired with the 1974 merger. The Raleigh terminal photograph
AS-416	1607–1608	2	75721–75722	—	September 30, 1952	Retired with the 1974 merger. 1607 is the Glenwood Yard photograph of January 1968
AS-416	1609	1	75723	—	October 9, 1952	Retired with the 1974 merger. At the Norfolk roundhouse, November 24, 1968
AS-416	1610	1	75724	—	October 10, 1952	Retired with the 1974 merger
AS-416	1611	1	75938	—	January 20, 1954	Retired with the 1974 merger. Left Carolina Yard on February 5, 1954, with six retired steam locomotives
AS-416	1612	1	75939	—	January 22, 1954	Retired with the 1974 merger
AS-416	1613	1	75940	—	January 26, 1954	Retired with the 1974 merger. With 1611 and 1612, the three locomotives received before the steam roster was cleared on January 29, 1954
AS-416	1614–1615	2	76037–76038	—	March 28, 1955	Retired with the 1974 merger
AS-416	1616	1	76112	—	December 6, 1955	Sold after the merger. Precision National by May 21, 1974, then Peabody Coal 1616. Preserved at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer
AS-416	1617	1	76114	—	December 6, 1955	Retired with the 1974 merger. The roster photograph. Construction number 76113 sits between 76112 and 76114

GP18s and GP38s

The seventeen GP18s are one Electro-Motive order, 5655. Nos. 1–16 are serials 27772–27787, completed in September and October 1963. No. 17 is serial 28353, completed in October 1963. They are 1,800-horsepower B-B road switchers, and they left La Grange with low short hoods. On the Southern they became 180–196, in order, and were rebuilt with high short hoods for long-hood-forward operation. No. 1 became 180 and No. 17 became 196. Southern 181, serial 27773, is the second locomotive of the series.

The seven GP38s were the last locomotives the railroad bought. They are 2,000-horsepower B-B road switchers, also delivered with low short hoods. The Southern rebuilt them the same way and numbered them 2880–2886. Southern 2880 is serial 31782, built in June 1966 as Norfolk Southern 2001.

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
GP18	1–16	16	27772–27787	5655	September–October 1963	Low short hood as built. Southern 180–195, high short hood, long hood forward. No. 4 and No. 5 are the Plymouth and Pinehurst photographs
GP18	17	1	28353	5655	October 1963	Low short hood as built. Southern 196, high short hood, long hood forward
GP38	2001–2002	2	31782–31783	7895	June 1966	Low short hood as built. Southern 2880–2881, high short hood, long hood forward
GP38	2003–2004	2	32308–32309	7925	October 1966	Low short hood as built. Southern 2882–2883, high short hood, long hood forward
GP38	2005–2007	3	32491–32493	7937	June–July 1967	Low short hood as built. Southern 2884–2886, high short hood, long hood forward

The quantity column totals 59: eight switchers in the first table, ten DRS-6-4-1500s, seventeen AS-416s, and twenty-four Electro-Motive units.

Sources

Baldwin production rosters on this site. DS-4-4-660: Norfolk Southern 661, construction number 73361, January 3, 1947; 662, 73362, January 30, 1947; 663, 73365, May 5, 1947. DS-4-4-1000: 1001, 72832, January 21, 1947; 1002, 72833, January 22, 1947. DRS-6-4-1500: 1501, 73487, October 7, 1947; 1502, 73488, February 7, 1948; 1503–1504, 73489–73490, February 20, 1948; 1505–1506, 73491–73492, February 28, 1948; 1507–1508, 73493–73494, March 13, 1948; 1509–1510, 73495–73496, March 31, 1948. AS-416: the seventeen completion dates in the table above, construction numbers 75237–75241, 75699, 75721–75724, 75938–75940, 76037–76038, 76112, and 76114. Baldwin class for the AS-416 is DRS-6-4-1600/1 SC. Horsepower, wheel arrangement, and length are the figures on the model pages.
Electro-Motive production rosters on this site. GP18: Norfolk Southern 1–16, serials 27772–27787, order 5655, September–October 1963; No. 17, serial 28353, order 5655, October 1963. The GP18 compilation records these units as low-hood locomotives. GP38: 2001–2002, serials 31782–31783, order 7895, June 1966; 2003–2004, serials 32308–32309, order 7925, October 1966; 2005–2007, serials 32491–32493, order 7937, June–July 1967.
The Diesel Shop, original Norfolk Southern motive power, revised June 15, 2019, data from R. Craig. The same road numbers and construction numbers. GP18s conveyed to the Southern as 180–195 and 196 and given high short hoods. GP38s conveyed as 2880–2886 and given high short hoods. GP38s 2001–2007 left the factory with low short hoods. Sources named there: Gary and Stephen Dolzall, Baldwin Diesel Locomotives; Diesel Era, on the GP18; Extra 2200 South, March 1968.
Norfolk & Southern Railway Historical Society, diesel roster posted from John F. Sullivan, “Norfolk Southern Railway,” Railfan & Railroad, August 1996. Southern numbers 180–196 for the GP18s. Retirement of the Baldwin switchers, the DRS-6-4-1500s, and AS-416s 1601–1605 in the mid-1960s. AS-416s 1606–1617 retired with the Southern merger, 1616 preserved at Spencer. No. 702 to Montpelier & Barre 30 in June 1967. Nos. 701 and 703 retired by the Southern in 1978. The society’s equipment list supplies the later owners of 701, 703, and 1616 used above. The chronology supplies the fleet counts: 18 diesels and 31 steam locomotives at the end of 1948; 23 diesels and 21 steam locomotives in 1951; 31 diesels on January 29, 1954, after 1611–1613.
Railroad Picture Archives. Southern GP38 2880, serial 31782, order 7895, built June 1966 as Norfolk Southern 2001, later Luxapalila Valley 2880. Southern 2881, serial 31783, built as Norfolk Southern 2002. Precision National 1616, photographed May 21, 1974, formerly Norfolk Southern 1616, later Peabody Coal 1616. DLCX 181, GP18, serial 27773, order 5655, formerly Norfolk Southern and Southern 181.
Durham & Southern page on this site. DRS-4-4-1500 No. 363, built as Norfolk Southern DRS-6-4-1500 No. 1504 in 1948.

Facebook X Pinterest Tumblr Reddit WhatsApp Messenger