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Southern Railway - SOU

Southern Railroads

Railroads of the Southern Railway, Yesterday and Today

Locomotives of the Southern Railway

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  • Predecessors | SCC&RR | LC&C | ET&V | ET&G | V&T | ETV&G | VT&G Air Line | R&D | M&C | CNO&TP | V&K | BC&ING | SA&O | V&SW | BE&NC | HRR
  • Passenger Trains | Asheville Special | Birmingham Special | Carolina Special | Crescent | Peach Queen | Pelican | Piedmont Limited | Ponce de Leon | Royal Palm | Southerner | Tennessean
  • Cities: Bristol TN/VA
  • Related Lines: Embreeville Branch | Johnson City & Carolina | Johnson City Southern
  • Key Leaders | J. P. Morgan | Samuel Spencer | W. Graham Claytor, Jr. | Dr. Samuel B. Cunningham
  • Today: Norfolk Southern
  • Railfan Guides: Virginia & Southwestern
  • Resources & Sources: Books | Scholars-Authors | Museums | Associations | Website Editor | Site Map
  • Related Websites:  Rails Across the Appalachians | Clinchfield.org

Table of Contents

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  • Southern Railway Locomotives
    • Multiple Railroads, Single Locomotive Paint Scheme
    • Southern Railway Diesel Roster
    • Links for More Information
    • Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources
    • Contact Us
        • Your message has been sent
    • 3Cs Websites

Southern Railway Locomotives

Multiple Railroads, Single Locomotive Paint Scheme

The Southern Railway owned and managed quite a collection of railroads that made up its entire 10,209 miles. The largest Southern operating units were the:

  • Central of Georgia
  • Cincinnati, New Orleans, & Texas Pacific
  • Alabama Great Southern
  • Georgia Southern & Florida

The locomotives were painted in the Southern black-and-white or green-and-white design, but they also carried smaller letters that signified which operating unit to which they belonged or were assigned.

Southern Railway Diesel Roster

In order to better understand the stable of Southern Railway diesels over the years, I’ve grouped this roster by year of purchase and by type of locomotive (e.g. 4 axle cab unit, 6 axle freight hood, etc.).

YearUnitsMakeModelHPRoad Numbers
Six Axle Passenger
19414EMDE6A2,0002800, 2802, 2900-2903
19414EMDE6B2,0002950-2953
19412AlcoDL1092,0006400-6401
19412AlcoDL1102,0006425-6426
1946-194928EMDE7A2,000801-810, 2905-2922
1951-195319EMDE8A2,2506900-6916, 811-812
19536AlcoPA-22,2506900-6905
Four Axle Car Body
1942-194642EMDFTA1,3504100-4127, 400-401, 6100-6105, 6700-6701, 6800-6803
1939-194530EMDFTB1,3506150-6155, 4300-4319, 6825-6828
1946-1949103EMDF3A1,500901-902, 905, 909, 4128-4206, 6106-6113, 6702-6712, 6804-6806
1946-194975EMDF3B1,5004320-4384, 6156-6159, 6750-6755, 6829
1949-195179EMDF7A1,5004207-4269, 6114-6120, 6714-6719, 6756-6758,
1949-195268EMDF7B1,5004386-4429, 6160-6183
195020EMDFP-71,5006130-6149
Four Axle Freight Hood
1948-19498AlcoRS21,5001-2, 1-4, 6206-6207
1950-1956104AlcoRS31,6001-2, 5-10, 30-39, 110-159, 6210-6239, 6875-6882
19504EMDGP71,5006200-6201, 6542, 6544
19511AlcoRS11,000405
1955-195725EMDGP91,7506246-6268, 6898-6899
1950-195511FMH16-441,6006300-6304, 6545-6550
19561AlcoRS111,80011
1960-196323EMDGP181,800171-176, 179-196
1963120EMDGP302,2502525-2644
1963-196576EMDGP352,5002645-2715, 210-214
1966-1970115EMDGP382,0002716-2822
2879-2886
1968257EMDGP38-22,0005000-5256
197155EMDGP38AC2,0002823-2878
19806EMDGP39X2,6004600-4605
Six Axle Freight Hood
19531EMDSD71,500197
19556EMDSD91,750198-199, 203-206
1959-196048EMDSD242,4002502-2524, 6305-6325, 6344-6347
1965-1966110EMDSD352,5003000-3099, 215-224
1967-197070EMDSD453,6003100-3169
1971-197228EMDSD403,0003172-3200
1972-1979127EMDSD40-23,0003201-3328
Switchers
1969-197065EMDSW15001,50067-83, 2300-2347
1977-198288EMDMP1515002348-2435

More Southern Railway information will be added to this page and others in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any edits that should be made or any content you are willing to share by utilizing the comment form below. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in the railroads, the region, or model railroading.

Links for More Information

For those who want more detail, I highly recommend these sources and resources:

https://www.thedieselshop.us/SouRy.HTML

http://southern.railfan.net/images/archive/southern/diesel.html

https://hawkinsrails.net/mainlines/sou/sou_mp_cabs.htm


Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources

The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the Southern Railway and its predecessors. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Southern-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.

  • Associations:
    • Southern Railway Historical Association
    • Norfolk & Western Historical Society
  • Archives:
    • The Center for Southeastern Railroad Research, Chattanooga TN
    • Norfolk & Western Historical Society Archives, Roanoke VA
    • Archives of Appalachia, Johnson City TN
  • Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
  • Books
    • Davis: The Southern Railway, Road of the Innovators
    • Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
    • Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
    • Grant: The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road
    • Graybeal: The Railroads of Johnson City
    • Harshaw: Trains Trestles & Tunnels, Railroads of the Southern Appalachians
    • Lindsey: Norfolk Southern 1995 Review
    • Poole: A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina
    • Reisweber: Southern Railway Power
    • Scales: Natural Tunnel, Nature’s Marvel in Stone
    • Stout: Southern Railway: Through Passenger Service
    • Ward: Southern Railway Varnish 1964-1979
    • Webb: The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History
    • Wiley & Wallace: The Southern Railway Handbook
    • Withers & Sink: Southern: A Motive Power Pictorial
    • Wolfe: The Interstate Railroad
    • Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
    • Young: Appalachian Coal Mines & Railroads, Volume 2, Virginia
  • Magazines – Trains, Classic Trains
  • Websites:
    • American Rails
    • Britannica
    • Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
    • Encyclopedia.com
    • Hawkinsrails.net
    • History.com
    • Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net
    • Multimodalways.org: Norfolk Southern Track Charts
    • Newspapers.com
    • NewYorkTimes.com
    • ProgressiveRailroading.com
    • RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
    • SteamLocomotive.com
    • TheDieselShop.us
    • VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia
    • WashingtonPost.com
    • Wikipedia.org

Contact Us

Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the Southern or Model Railroads.

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