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Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Diesel Roster: All-Time List

Published: March 16, 2025

By: Adam Burns

The Pennsylvania Railroad was not immediately sold on diesels, continuing to stick with the proven steam locomotive well into the 1940s. The PRR was always slow to change and this stubbornness to change or adapt ultimately doomed the company when it merged with the New York Central

In their book, "Pennsylvania Railroad," authors Mike Schafer and Brian Solomon note the company's very first diesel was an Electro-Motive model SW switcher, #3908, which it acquired in June, 1937.

This 600 horsepower engine obviously didn't sell the railroad on diesel technology, and it even avoided purchasing EMD's first main line model, the FT. However, by the 1940s, specifically by 1947, the diesel's economies could not be ignored and the PRR began purchasing large batches from all of the major builders.

Photos

Pennsylvania FA-2 #9628 at Enola, Pennsylvania, circa 1962. Fred Byerly photo. American-Rails.com collection.

Overview

Perhaps the railroad had a change of heart or simply wanted to try everything the market had to offer. Whatever the case, the PRR bought so many diesels it had an interesting, eclectic roster by the mid-1950s.

In some cases the railroad simply prchased models from builders with which it had had a longstanding relationship, such as Baldwin, although the Eddystone manufacturer's products are not generally considered on par with EMD's designs.

Interestingly, when General Electric later entered the market in 1960, PRR purchased its early U-boats and Penn Central continued buying GE products into the 1970s. The information presented here covers all of the PRR's known diesels, including original and later road numbers.