Seaboard Air Line Diesel Roster (All-Time)

Published: October 15, 2026

The Seaboard Air Line owned 734 diesel locomotives. One hundred forty-seven were cab units, from the E4s of 1938 through a single E9 in 1963, including fourteen Baldwin Centipedes. Four hundred ninety-two were road locomotives, from the Alco road switchers and the first GP7s to GP40s delivered in January and February 1967. Ninety-five were yard switchers. The E4s took the Florida passenger trains in 1938. SW1 No. 1200, an Electro-Motive demonstrator, arrived in March 1939.

Seaboard Air Line Baldwin DR-6-4-1500 No. 2702 at Tampa, Florida, on February 21, 1962

Baldwin DR-6-4-1500 No. 2702 at Tampa, Florida, on February 21, 1962. Warren Calloway collection. Nos. 2700–2702 are the railroad’s three Baby Face units, Baldwin 73396–73398.

On this page: At a glance · Cab units · Road power · Yard switchers

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Seaboard Air Line. Mark SAL. Company history
Fleet in these tables	734 locomotives
Cab units	147. E4, E6, E7, E8, E9, FT, F3, FA1, FB1, three DR-6-4-1500s, 14 Centipedes
Road power	492. Alco road switchers and Centuries, GP7 through GP40, U30B, SDP35
Yard	95. SW1, S1, S2, S4, NW2, VO-1000, DS-4-4-1000, S12, RS12
First road diesels	E4A and E4B, October 1938
Last new power in this list	GP40s 630–650, January–February 1967
Seaboard Coast Line	July 1, 1967. SCL numbers below are the same locomotives, not a second fleet

Cab units

Electro-Motive built the passenger cabs. The first fourteen E4As and five E4Bs arrived in 1938 and 1939 and took the Florida trains, including the Silver Meteor of 1939. No. 3013 was a demonstrator. Nos. 3003 and 3013 were wrecked at Hypoluxo, Florida, on February 19, 1942, and scrapped. No. 3012 was wrecked at Ryan, Virginia, on May 28, 1942, and returned to service. E7s carried the trains through the late 1940s. E8s followed in 1950 and 1952, and E9A No. 3060, serial 28524, was built in December 1963. Several of the E8s and that E9 went to Amtrak.

Freight cabs began with the FT, twenty-two A units and twenty-two B units delivered from June 1942 through 1944. Eleven F3As followed in March 1948. Alco’s contribution was three FA1s and three FB1s, also in 1948. Baldwin’s three Baby Face units, model DR-6-4-1500, are 2700–2702. No. 2702 is the Tampa photograph above.

The fourteen Centipedes are model DR-12-8-1500/2, also written DR-12-8-3000. No. 4500 was completed on December 3, 1945, construction number 71579, the rebuilt 1943 demonstrator 6000, and it entered Jacksonville–St. Petersburg service on December 13, 1945. The thirteen production units were completed from March 15, 1947, to January 4, 1948. Construction numbers and dates below follow the Centipede page. The specification sheet stays there.

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Order	Built	SCL	Notes
DR-6-4-1500	2700–2702	3	73396–73398	—	November 1947 and January 1948	—	Baldwin Baby Face. 2702 is the Tampa photograph
E4A	3000–3005	6	832–837	—	October–December 1938	—	3003 wrecked at Hypoluxo, Florida, February 19, 1942, and scrapped
E4A	3006	1	907	—	January 1939	—
E4A	3007–3013	7	960–965	—	November–December 1939	—	3013 is the former EMC demonstrator. 3013 wrecked at Hypoluxo, Florida, February 19, 1942, and scrapped. 3012 wrecked at Ryan, Virginia, May 28, 1942, and was repaired. 3007 is the Ivy City photograph on the company page
E6A	3014	1	974	—	November 1939	—	Former EMC demonstrator
E6A	3015–3016	2	1593–1594	—	December 1941	—
E7A	3017–3020	4	1929–1932	—	March 1945	544–547
E7A	3021–3030	10	2875–2884	—	August–September 1945	548–553, 554–556	One unit did not receive a Seaboard Coast Line number. 3026 leads the 1965 Raleigh photograph on the company page
E7A	3031–3035	5	3611–3614, 4444	—	September 1946	557–561
E7A	3036–3040	5	6028–6032	—	February 1948	562–566
E7A	3041–3044	4	6149–6152	—	July 1948	567, 568–569	One unit did not receive a Seaboard Coast Line number
E7A	3045–3048	4	8259–8262	—	March 1949	570–573
E8A	3049–3054	6	13274–13279	—	October 1950	588–593	To Amtrak 246–250
E8A	3055–3057	3	17339–17341	—	November and December 1952	594–596	To Amtrak 251–253
E8A	3058–3059	2	17342–17343	—	December 1952	597–598	One unit to Amtrak 254
E9A	3060	1	28524	—	December 1963	599	To Amtrak 404
E4B	3100–3102	3	838–840	—	October–November 1938	—
E4B	3103–3104	2	966, 852	—	December 1939 and November 1939	—	3104 is the former EMC demonstrator 1939B
E7B	3105–3107	3	6153–6155	—	July 1948	667B–669B
FTA	4000–4005	6	1570–1575	—	June 1942	—
FTA	4006–4009, 4010–4011	6	1865–1868, 2156–2157	—	June and November 1943	—
FTA	4012–4021	10	2318–2327	—	January, February, July, and September 1944	—
F3A	4022–4027	6	4737–4742	—	March 1948	—	4024 is the builder photograph on the company page. 4026 is the Alexandria photograph
F3A	4028–4032	5	5657–5661	—	March 1948	—
FTB	4100–4105	6	1576–1581	—	June 1942	—
FTB	4106–4109, 4110–4111	6	1869–1871, 2158–2159	—	June and October 1943	—
FTB	4112–4121	10	2328–2337	—	January, February, September, and October 1944	—
FA1	4200–4202	3	75974–75976	—	May 1948	—
FB1	4300–4302	3	75772–75774	—	May 1948	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4500	1	71579	—	December 3, 1945	—	Rebuilt demonstrator 6000. In service December 13, 1945, Jacksonville–St. Petersburg
DR-12-8-1500/2	4501	1	73141	—	March 15, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4502	1	73142	—	April 9, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4503	1	73143	—	April 22, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4504	1	73144	—	May 11, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4505	1	73145	—	May 18, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4506	1	73146	—	June 10, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4507	1	73147	—	July 26, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4508	1	73390	—	September 25, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4509	1	73391	—	September 28, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4510	1	73392	—	November 22, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4511	1	73393	—	December 4, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4512	1	73394	—	December 28, 1947	—
DR-12-8-1500/2	4513	1	73395	—	January 4, 1948	—

Road power

Alco’s six-motor road switchers began with RSC2s in October 1947 and ran through RSC3s in 1951. The four-motor RS2s and RS3s followed from December 1949, including five units inherited from the Macon, Dublin & Savannah and numbered 1685–1691. Ten RS11s arrived in June 1960. Twenty-six C420s, numbers 110–135, were built from May through August 1965 on order 3418. No. 126 was wrecked. The others were sold to the Louisville & Nashville as 1351–1375.

Electro-Motive’s hood fleet is the largest block on the railroad: 123 GP7s, numbered 1700–1822, built from April 1950 through September 1952, and 56 GP9s. Ten GP18s came in 1960. Thirty-five GP30s include No. 534, serial 27462, built in March 1962 as EMD demonstrator 5639 and numbered at the end of the series. Ten GP35s came in June 1965. Fifty-one GP40s came in two groups, 600–629 in May 1966 and 630–650 in January and February 1967. Twenty SDP35s, 1100–1119, were built from July through November 1964 for the passenger and mail trains that still needed steam generators. Fifteen General Electric U30Bs, 800–814, were built in December 1966 and January 1967. The GP40s of early 1967 are the last new locomotives in this list. The merger into the Seaboard Coast Line took effect on July 1, 1967.

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Order	Built	SCL	Notes
RS11	100–106	7	83588–83594	—	June 1960	1202–1208	Later Louisville & Nashville 950–956
RS11	107–109	3	883681–883683	—	June 1960	1209–1211	Later Louisville & Nashville 957–959
C420	110–135	26	3418-01–3418-26	3418	May–August 1965	1212–1235	126 wrecked. The others sold to Louisville & Nashville 1351–1375
GP18	400–409	10	26114–26123	—	August–September 1960	1056–1065
GP30	500–533	34	27928–27961	—	November 1962–January 1963	1309–1342	SCL 1309 to Burlington Northern 2805. SCL 1325 to Louisville & Nashville 1070
GP30	534	1	27462	—	March 1962	1343	Ex-EMD demonstrator 5639
GP35	535	1	30431	—	June 1965	1406
GP35	536–544	9	30629–30637	—	June 1965	1407–1415	SCL 1411 later Seaboard System 2247
GP40	600–629	30	31767–31781, 31784–31798	—	May 1966	1515–1544	606 and 627 did not go to the Seaboard System. The rest became Seaboard System and CSX 6672–6699. 613 leads the June 24, 1967, Raleigh photograph
GP40	630–650	21	32609–32623, 958–963	—	January–February 1967	1545–1565	Later Seaboard System and CSX 6700–6720. The Hermitage Yard photograph on the company page
U30B	800–814	15	36121–36135	—	December 1966–January 1967	1704–1718
SDP35	1100–1119	20	29339–29358	—	July–November 1964	601–620
RSC2	1500–1501	2	75397–75398	—	October 1947	—
RSC2	1502–1503	2	75399–75400	—	October 1947	—
RSC2	1504–1516	13	76806–76818	—	April–May 1949	—	1513 later SCL 1102, then Mid-Valley Construction 1102, Florida Power & Light 38723, and LVAL 1192
RSC2	1517–1525	9	77176–77184	—	August 1949	—	1524 later SCL 1103
RSC2	1526–1530	5	77408–77412	—	1949	—	1526 later SCL 1104
RSC2	1531	1	77413	—	April 1950	1105	Later Mid-Valley Construction 1105, Florida Power & Light 38508, and ADIR 25
RSC2	1532–1536	5	77967–77970, 77966	—	April 1950	—
RSC3	1537–1540	4	78427–78430	—	November 1950	1111–1114
RSC3	1541–1543	3	78539–78541	—	January 1951	1115–1117
RS2	1600–1604	5	77869–77872, 77887	—	December 1949	—
RS2	1605–1628	24	77922–77925, 77946–77965	—	December 1949 and March 1950	1119–1141	1628 left the roster before the Seaboard Coast Line merger
RS3	1629–1656	28	78431–78449, 78467–78475	—	November 1950	1142–1169
RS3	1657–1664	8	78531–78538	—	December 1950	1170–1177	1662 built January 1951. 1657 and 1662 later SCL 3226–3227 (3401–3402)
RS3	1665–1674	10	79419–79426, 79592–79593	—	December 1951	1178–1187
RS3	1675–1684	10	80214–80218, 79825–79829	—	October 1952	1188–1197	1197 later SCL 3404
RS2	1685–1687	3	77538–77540	—	October 1949	—	Ex-Macon, Dublin & Savannah 1700–1702
RS3	1688	1	79361	—	November 1951	1198	Ex-Macon, Dublin & Savannah 1705
RS3	1689–1690	2	78360–78361	—	October 1951	1199–1200	Ex-Macon, Dublin & Savannah 1703–1704
RS3	1691	1	81850	—	February 1956	1201	Ex-Macon, Dublin & Savannah 1706. Later SCL 3225 (3400)
GP7	1700–1703	4	11503–11506	—	May 1950	880–883
GP7	1704–1711	8	11495–11502	—	April 1950	884–891
GP7	1712–1729	18	11588–11605	—	April–June 1950	892–909
GP7	1730–1744	15	12088–12102	—	November 1950	910–924
GP7	1745–1752	8	11341–11348	—	November 1950	925–932
GP7	1753–1782	30	13366–13395	—	December 1950–March 1951	933–962
GP7	1783–1797	15	15527–15541	—	January–February 1952	963–977
GP7	1798–1801	4	17370–17373	—	September 1952	978–981
GP7	1802–1822	21	17374–17394	—	September 1952	982–1002
GP9	1900–1902	3	21069–21071	—	November 1955	1053–1055
GP9	1903–1909	7	21072–21078	—	November 1955	1003–1009
GP9	1910–1921	12	21512–21523	—	November 1955	—	Seaboard Coast Line numbers in this block fell in 1010–1020
GP9	1922–1925	4	23095–23098	—	September 1956	1021–1024
GP9	1926–1929	4	23778–23781	—	November 1957	—	1927 was not in the Seaboard Coast Line merger. The other three took numbers in 1025–1027
GP9	1954–1978	25	22625–22649	—	October 1956	—	Seaboard Coast Line numbers fell in 1028–1050. 1972 is the Hialeah photograph on the company page
GP9	1979	1	25717	—	December 1959	—

Yard switchers

The yard fleet mixes all three builders. SW1 No. 1200, serial 802, was built in March 1939 as an Electro-Motive demonstrator. Alco S1 No. 1201 followed in January 1941. Baldwin VO-1000s and Alco S2s arrived during the war, and seven NW2s came in March 1942. After the war Baldwin’s DS-4-4-1000, thirty-five units in the 1400s, became the standard heavy switcher, with S12s and road-switcher-framed RS12s added in 1952 and 1953. The last new yard engines were ten Alco S4s in April 1953, numbers 1482–1491. VO-1000 No. 1492, built in December 1941, came from the Macon, Dublin & Savannah as that road’s No. 1000.

Model	Numbers	Qty	Serial	Order	Built	SCL	Notes
SW1	1200	1	802	—	March 1939	—	Ex-EMC demonstrator 802
S1	1201	1	69406	—	January 1941	26
VO-1000	1400–1402	3	64209, 64256–64257	—	September and November 1941	28–30
S2	1403–1405	3	69657–69659	—	February 1942	—
NW2	1406–1412	7	1595–1596, 1873–1877	—	March 1942	31–36	1408 was not in the Seaboard Coast Line merger
VO-1000	1413–1416	4	71979–71982	—	December 1944 and January 1945	37–40
DS-4-4-1000	1417–1419	3	72233, 72791–72792	—	June–July 1946	—
DS-4-4-1000	1420–1424	5	72803–72807	—	June–July 1946	—
S2	1425–1428	4	74659–74661, 74665	—	August 1946	41–44
S2	1429–1431	3	74786, 74791–74792	—	August–September 1946	45–47
S2	1432–1434	3	75907–75909	—	June 1948	48–50
DS-4-4-1000	1435–1437	3	74760–74762	—	February 1950	—
DS-4-4-1000	1438	1	74793	—	August 1950	—
DS-4-4-1000	1439–1443	5	74794–74798	—	August 1950	51–55	51 and 52 sold to Nucor Steel 51 and 52
DS-4-4-1000	1444–1451	8	74883–74890	—	August 1950	56–63	56, 57, and 62 sold to the North Carolina State Ports Authority as 8, to Nucor Steel as 57, and to Benson-Quinn Terminals as 606
DS-4-4-1000	1452–1461	10	75098–75107	—	August 1950	64–73	66 sold to Nucor Steel 01
S12	1462–1465	4	75142–75145	—	January 1952	203–206	205 later SCL 3009
RS12	1466–1471	6	75475–75480	—	May 1952	207–212	Later short-line owners included the Escanaba & Lake Superior
RS12	1472–1475	4	75765–75768	—	January 1953	213–216	Later short-line owners included the Escanaba & Lake Superior
RS12	1476–1481	6	75759–75764	—	January 1953	217–222	221 later SCL 3010
S4	1482–1486	5	79820–79824	—	April 1953	74–78
S4	1487–1491	5	80457–80461	—	April 1953	79–83
VO-1000	1492	1	764275	—	December 1941	84	Ex-Macon, Dublin & Savannah 1000

The quantity columns total 734: 147 cab units in the first table, 492 road locomotives in the second, and 95 yard switchers in the third. A unit renumbered for the Seaboard Coast Line, and anything it became after that, is the same locomotive.

Sources

The Diesel Shop, Seaboard Air Line motive power, revised June 5, 2022, roster by Bob Van Derveer. Road numbers, models, builder serials, and Seaboard Coast Line numbers in the tables above, from DR-6-4-1500 2700–2702 through VO-1000 1492. Sources named there: Extra 2200 South (April 1962), Diesel Era, Railfan & Railroad, and Trains. Original upload December 30, 2001. Contributors named there include Marty Bernard and Andre Kristopans.
Baldwin Centipede page on this site, for Seaboard 4500–4513. Construction number 71579 on December 3, 1945, for the rebuilt demonstrator. Production units 73141–73147 and 73390–73395, completed from March 15, 1947, through January 4, 1948. In service December 13, 1945, Jacksonville to St. Petersburg. The model name DR-12-8-1500/2, also written DR-12-8-3000, is that page’s catalog name.
Company page on this site, for the E4s of 1938 on the Florida passenger trains, the Silver Meteor of 1939, the merger of July 1, 1967, and the 1963 equipment count of 531 diesel locomotives, which is that year’s fleet and not the 734 locomotives in these tables.

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