Western Maryland Diesel Roster: All-Time

Published: September 26, 2026

Western Maryland diesels began with one Alco switcher at the docks in 1941 and ended, as Western Maryland power, with Chessie-ordered GP40-2s still carrying a WM subletter. Between those dates the railroad bought from every domestic builder, kept fourteen F7 boosters when other roads were trading covered wagons, and in June 1969 put red and white on new SD40s. The locomotives stayed on the Western Maryland’s books after the Chessie System paint arrived. The company history is the Western Maryland.

Western Maryland BL2s 82 and 81 at Highfield Maryland on July 15 1961

BL2s #82 and #81 at Highfield, Maryland, on July 15, 1961. Ralph Shockey photo. The pair, 81–82, arrived in October 1948 without m.u. or dynamic brakes. Highfield Junction, where this photograph was made, is the west end of the Hanover Subdivision, the Dutch Line.

On this page: At a glance · The first diesel · Covered wagons and two BL2s · Road switchers · Geeps, six-axle power, and Circus · All-time roster

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Western Maryland Railway. Mark WM. Company Western Maryland
First diesel	Alco S1 102, serial 69479, June 1941. Rebuilt as slug 138T in November 1962
Covered wagons	Two F3As, twenty F7As, fourteen F7Bs. The boosters were later WM 401–414, the same engines as Chessie 7135–7148
BL2	Two, 81–82, October 1948. Later Chessie 7171–7172. The type page is the BL2
Hammerheads	RS3s 192–194 and 197. Steam generator and dynamic brake in a high short hood, May 1953–September 1954
Second generation	GP35s, SD35s, SD40s, and five GP40s, through August 1971. GP40-2s of 1977–79 were Chessie orders with WM sublettering
Paint	Glossy black and a red-and-gold Fireball, then speed lettering in 1954. Circus red and white on new SD40s, June 1969
End	Into the Baltimore & Ohio May 1, 1983. The combined Chessie list is the Chessie diesel roster

Serials and builder order numbers follow the Electro-Motive order list for the Western Maryland, The Diesel Shop, and this site’s Chessie diesel table. Later road numbers sit in the notes. Information compiled September 25, 2026.

One switcher, then a yard full of them

Alco S1 102, outshopped in June 1941, was the first diesel on the property. A Baldwin VO-660 followed that September, numbered 101 and later 1201. John Kirkland’s completion date for it is October 6, 1941. Two General Electric 44-tonners, 75 and 76, arrived in the summer of 1943 for Port Covington and the Baltimore docks. No. 76 is the one that later went to Arkville. Alco S2s, S4s, and a pair of S6s, Baldwin VO-660s, VO-1000s, and DS-4-4-1000s filled out the yards through 1956.

Two of those switchers became slugs. S1 102 was rebuilt as 138T in November 1962, the same serial, 69479, and a second life in the yards rather than a second locomotive. Slug 139T dates from March 1955. Chesapeake & Ohio GP9s that later wore Western Maryland numbers were inherited power. The GP9 rows in the table are the twenty-one engines the Western Maryland bought, 25–45.

Covered wagons, and two BL2s that stayed

The first road freight diesels were two F3As, 51 and 52, in June 1947. They were upgraded in 1954, multiple-unit control included, and they later became Chessie 7149–7150. The F7s came in four batches of cabs. Numbers 53–60 arrived in March 1950. Numbers 61–62 followed in November 1950, and 63–66 in December. The last cabs, 231–242, were a single order in December 1952, twelve engines, serials 17539–17550. Chessie numbers for the cabs run 7151–7176.

The boosters are fourteen engines, odds only: 53B, 55B, 57B, 59B, 61B, 63B, 65B, then 231B, 233B, 235B, 237B, 239B, 241B, and 243B. The 243B is a booster paired with the 231–242 cabs. The fourteen were later renumbered WM 401–414, and those same engines became Chessie 7135–7148.

Western Maryland F7A 54 at Doe Gully, WV in the 1950s

A handsome set of Western Maryland F7s, led by #54, crosses the Potomac River at Doe Gully, West Virginia just west of Little Orleans, Maryland during the 1950s. Aubrey Bodine photo.

The two BL2s were a mainline purchase that arrived without m.u. and without dynamic brakes. Numbers 81–82, order E960, serials 5921–5922, October 1948. They later carried Chessie numbers 7171–7172. Four Alco FA-2s, 301–304, came in January 1951. No. 304 received Circus colors. Baldwin’s contribution to the road fleet was three DRS-4-4-1500s, 170–172, delivered in 1947 and 1948 without m.u. or dynamic brakes, both added later, and four AS16s, 173–176, in June 1951.

Four Western Maryland FA-2s and SD35 7434 at Williamsport Maryland on October 3 1970

Four FA-2s and SD35 #7434 at Williamsport, Maryland, on October 3, 1970. Roger Puta photo. The FA-2s, 301–304, were January 1951. The SD35s, 7432–7436, were December 1964.

RS2s, RS3s, and four hammerheads

Five Alco RS2s, 180–184, arrived between July 1947 and April 1950. Fourteen RS3s followed in 1953 and 1954, numbers 185–198. Four of them were the hammerheads: 192, 193, and 194 in May 1953, and 197 in September 1954. The steam generator and the dynamic brake sat in a high short hood, which is the profile in the Parsons photograph. They were the passenger-capable road switchers after the Pacifics, and they stayed in freight service long after the Durbin mixed train had quit.

Western Maryland RS3 196 at Parsons West Virginia about 1973

RS3 #196 at Parsons, West Virginia, about 1973. Wade Massie photo. No. 196 is serial 80650, December 1953. The hammerheads were 192–194 and 197; 196 kept the ordinary short hood.

Geeps, six-axle power, and the Circus

Four GP7s, 20–23, arrived in April 1950. All but 22 later received Circus paint. Twenty-one GP9s, 25–45, followed from May 1954 through June 1957. No. 33 was Electro-Motive demonstrator 7257, serial 20664, placed in service in April 1955. The block later became 6400–6420. Five GP35s, 501–505, came in November 1963 and were repainted Circus in 1973, by then numbered 3576–3580. Five GP40s, 3795–3799, arrived in August 1971 already in Circus colors. They were the last locomotives the Western Maryland ordered in its own name.

Six-axle power was the same builder. Five SD35s, 7432–7436, December 1964, received Circus paint in 1973. Twelve SD40s came in three lots: 7470–7474 in August 1966, 7495–7496 in November 1968, and 7445–7449 in June and July 1969, the last of those delivered in the red-and-white scheme that started on them. The new SD40s of June 1969 are the fan-trip engines near Smithsburg on the company page.

Western Maryland GP9 40, formerly 6415, at Hagerstown Maryland on November 17 1973

GP9 #40, formerly 6415, at Hagerstown, Maryland, on November 17, 1973. Robert Gayer photo. The twenty-one GP9s, 25–45, were renumbered 6400–6420 and then, some of them, back into the original series.

The GP40-2s are on this roster because they were sublettered Western Maryland, and because the railroad was still a separate company when they arrived. They were Chessie orders: 4257–4261 in February 1977, 4312–4321 in November 1978, and 4352–4371 in January through March 1979, thirty-five locomotives. On May 1, 1983, the Western Maryland went into the Baltimore & Ohio. What those engines did under Chessie yellow, and under CSX, is the Chessie diesel roster.

All-time roster

One row is one builder batch. A renumber is in the notes, on the same engines. Slugs rebuilt from switchers already in the table are listed once as slugs and once as the original locomotive, with the note that they are the same machine.

Electro-Motive

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
51–52	F3A	EMD	5145–5146	E871	6/1947	Later 7149–7150. Upgraded 1954, including m.u.
81–82	BL2	EMD	5921–5922	E960	10/1948	Later Chessie 7171–7172. No m.u. or dynamic brake as built. Photo: Highfield, 7/15/1961
53–60	F7A	EMD	11100–11107	6071A	3/1950	Later 7151–7158
53B, 55B, 57B, 59B	F7B	EMD	11108–11111	6071B	3/1950	Four of the fourteen boosters. Later inside 401–414 and Chessie 7135–7148
20–23	GP7	EMD	11228–11231	6084	4/1950	Later Chessie 5632–5635. Circus on all except 22
61–62	F7A	EMD	13157–13158	6186A	11/1950	Later 7159–7160. The order sheet’s model column reads F3A
63–66	F7A	EMD	13554–13557	6186A	12/1950	Later 7161–7164
61B	F7B	EMD	13558	6186B	12/1950	Later inside 401–414 / 7135–7148
231–242	F7A	EMD	17539–17550	3068A	12/1952	One block of twelve. Later 7165–7176. Photo: #234 at Highfield, 9/23/1961
63B, 65B	F7B	EMD	17551–17552	3068B	12/1952	Later inside 401–414 / 7135–7148
231B, 233B	F7B	EMD	17553–17554	3068B	12/1952	Later inside 401–414 / 7135–7148
235B, 237B, 239B, 241B, 243B	F7B	EMD	19026–19030	3177B	12/1953	243B is the extra booster. Later inside 401–414 / 7135–7148
25–28	GP9	EMD	19548–19551	5344	5/1954	Later inside 6400–6420
29–30	GP9	EMD	20355–20356	5387	2/1955	Later inside 6400–6420
33	GP9	EMD	20664	5451	4/1955	Ex-EMD demonstrator 7257. Later inside 6400–6420
31–32	GP9	EMD	20887–20888	5414	9/1955	Later inside 6400–6420
34–35	GP9	EMD	21619–21620	5468	6/1956	Later inside 6400–6420
36	GP9	EMD	22067	5468	9/1956	Later inside 6400–6420
37–38	GP9	EMD	22425–22426	5468	9/1956	Later inside 6400–6420
39–40	GP9	EMD	23270–23271	5537	4/1957	40 later 6415, and back to 40. Photo: Hagerstown, 11/17/1973
41–45	GP9	EMD	23906–23910	5554	6/1957	Later inside 6400–6420
501–505	GP35	EMD	28849–28853	5660	11/1963	Later 3576–3580. Circus 1973
7432–7436	SD35	EMD	29890–29894	5675	12/1964	Circus 1973. Photo: #7434 at Williamsport, 10/3/1970
7470–7474	SD40	EMD	32134–32138	5714	8/1966	Later Chessie 7570–7574
7495–7496	SD40	EMD	34104–34105	7131	11/1968	Later Chessie 7595–7596
7445–7449	SD40	EMD	34967–34971	7172	6–7/1969	Delivered in Circus. Later Chessie 7545–7549
3795–3799	GP40	EMD	37886–37890	5791	8/1971	Delivered in Circus. Last order in the Western Maryland’s own name
4257–4261	GP40-2	EMD	767049-1–767049-5	767049	2/1977	Chessie order, WM subletter
4312–4321	GP40-2	EMD	786158-1–786158-10	786158	11/1978	Chessie order, WM subletter
4352–4371	GP40-2	EMD	787172-1–787172-20	787172	1–3/1979	Chessie order, WM subletter. Twenty engines

American Locomotive

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
102	S1	Alco	69479	—	6/1941	First diesel. Rebuilt as slug 138T, November 1962
125	S2	Alco	70227	—	5/1943
126	S2	Alco	70237	—	5/1943
127	S2	Alco	70238	—	10/1943
140–141	S2	Alco	72002–72003	—	1/1944
142	S2	Alco	70198	—	3/1944
143–144	S2	Alco	73896–73897	—	12/1946
180	RS2	Alco	75258	—	7/1947
181–184	RS2	Alco	77971–77974	—	4/1950
301–302	FA-2	Alco	78493, 78495	—	1/1951	Serials skip 78494. Photo: Williamsport, 10/3/1970
303–304	FA-2	Alco	78606, 78608	—	1/1951	Serials skip 78607. Circus on 304
145–146	S4	Alco	78681–78682	—	11/1950
185	RS3	Alco	80275	—	5/1953
186–188	RS3	Alco	80281–80283	—	5/1953
189–194	RS3	Alco	80472–80477	—	5/1953	192–194 are hammerheads: steam generator and dynamic brake in a high short hood
195	RS3	Alco	80659	—	12/1953
196	RS3	Alco	80650	—	12/1953	Photo: Parsons, about 1973
197–198	RS3	Alco	80743–80744	—	9/1954	197 is the fourth hammerhead
151–152	S6	Alco	81722–81723	—	3/1956

Baldwin

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
1201	VO-660	Baldwin	64191	—	9/1941	Ex-101. Kirkland’s completion date is October 6, 1941
103–105	VO-660	Baldwin	—	—	7/1942, 7/1942, 9/1942	Construction numbers sit inside 64388–64400, a span that also covers other builders’ engines
128–129	VO-1000	Baldwin	69660–69661	—	9/1943	Kirkland lists September 24 and September 25, 1943, for 128
130–131	VO-1000	Baldwin	69786–69787	—	11/1943
132	VO-1000	Baldwin	70150	—	1944
133–134	DS-4-4-1000	Baldwin	72810–72811	—	12/1946
170	DRS-4-4-1500	Baldwin	73399	—	6/1947	No m.u. or dynamic brake as built; both added later
171–172	DRS-4-4-1500	Baldwin	73643–73644	—	7/1948	Same equipment story as 170
173–176	AS16	Baldwin	74899–74902	—	6/1951	Kirkland’s span is May 13–June 22, 1951

General Electric, and the slugs

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
75	44-ton	GE	17930	—	7/1943	Port Covington and the Baltimore docks. Type page: 44-tonner
76	44-ton	GE	17935	—	8/1943	Later at Arkville
138T	Slug	Alco	69479	—	11/1962	Rebuilt from S1 102. Same serial. Later given AAR Type A trucks from VO-1000 130
139T	Slug	—	—	—	3/1955	Yard slug

Sources

Electro-Motive order list, Western Maryland, trainweb.us/emdloco/wm.htm. Order numbers and serials for the EMD rows
The Diesel Shop, Western Maryland all-time roster, drawn from Extra 2200 South No. 38 (January–February 1973) and No. 55 (January–February 1976)
Jahn, Richard W., and John D. L. Johnson. Western Maryland Diesels
Stakem, Patrick H., and Patrick E. Stakem. Western Maryland Diesel Locomotives
Kirkland, John F. The Diesel Builders, Vol. 3, Baldwin. Completion dates on the VO-660, the DRS-4-4-1500s, and the AS16s
Rutherford, R. Craig. Alco FA coverage used for the FA-2 serial pairs 78493/78495 and 78606/78608
American-Rails.com, Chessie diesel roster. BL2s 81–82 as Chessie 7171–7172, serials 5921–5922. Slug 138T

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