The December 5, 1949 issue of Live has a store about the GM&O becoming the first railroad to dieselize.

http://books.google.com/books?id=VkEEAA ... &q&f=false

Maybe the first MAJOR railroad, but I distinctly remember a couple contenders for other lines retiring the steamers (or other power) with diesels. I'm thinking Northampton & Bath, with those brutish Westinghouse locos?

The New York Susquehanna & Western always claimed to be the first Class 1 to completely dieselize, in 1947 I believe.

The Chesapeake Western dieselized in 1946 with Baldwins 661, 662, & 663 retiring their ex-N&W steamers. 662 & 663 have survived, 662 is property of VMT, and 663 is now part of our collection

http://wizzy.rrpicturearchives.net/show ... id=1763723

The Class One threshold was much lower in the 30s-40s-50s, with almost 100 railroads qualifying.

The Texas-Mexican claimed to be the first Class One to totally go diesel, in 1939, with a strange roster of Whitcombs and home-made boxcabs replacing all their steam power.

NYS&W, after going independent from the Erie in 1940, started ordering Alco diesels to replace the ancient steam power the Erie left behind. By 1946, all those engines were gone.

NYO&W was diesel by 1948.

Wasn't the M&StL also an early (1947-48?) convert to all-diesel?

Howard P.

Ironically, SRC surrendered to IC completely in 1926, with the purchase of our Plymouth. Fortunately we saw the light thirty-four years later and returned to steam.

For a short line, the Arcade and Attica purchased their first diesel in 1941. The back up steam locomotive was used only once in 1947 after the diesel suffered a derailment. A second diesel was purchased and the operation was fully diesel by 1947. The diesels, #110 and #111 were both purchased new from GE and are still on the property today.

Pat Connors

Didn't the Tex Mex go to petroleum with box cabs?

The Detroit & Mackinac dieselized in 1946-1947.

The Alexander Railroad, 20 miles between Statesville & Taylorsville, NC, dieselized completely in February, 1946 with the arrival of GE 45-tonner #1. Number One replaced the steam engines that had been rented from the Southern Railway in the month prior to her arrival.


The ARC still harbors a 44-tonner and 2 Alcos on her current roster,

www.thejunebugline.com


Matt Bumgarner

The Port Huron & Detroit Railroad Company dieselized in 1945 with two ALCO S-1 switchers, replacing Baldwin 0-6-0s that were second-hand from the Detroit, Toledo Shoreline that were originally ordered from Baldwin by the Cloverleaf.

The Chicago Great Western was another railroad to convert to diesel early, in the late 1940s. Because of this, all the steamers were scrapped before major preservation efforts began, and therefore no steam locomotives from this road survive today.

Midland Continental, 72 miles in North Dakota, is another early Dieselized operation with a 1934 built Westinghouse centercab, and a 1946 built Alco RS-1.
Alex Huff

Tom -

Considering their early dieselization date, it's rather amazing that we have two GM&O steamers still with us! Paulson Spence saved one of their Pacific's (GM&O #580) and a Ten-Wheeler (GM&O #72) was sold to a private industrial operation in 1948.

Les

Spence had a number of other GM&O locomotives, including 0-6-0s and 2-8-2s. All went to scrap after his death in 1961.

Howard P.