I'm trying to fill in some holes in the history of some DOD GE centercabs. Is there a central archive or online roster available or any other means of searching?

dave

I leave momentarily for an archive that has, among other things, six shelf feet of hand-assembled/updated rosters of every imaginable type of loco out there in North America. Let me add this to the "to do" list.

Thanks Sandy - if you hit the mother lode I'll gladly forward you the particulars I have.

dave

Ummmmmmmmm....... it's a lode, but not THE "mother lode."

It's partial lists of numbers, matching c/n's, assignments, dispositions, etc.

Basically Army 1200s were 44-tonners, 1400s 65-tonners, and 1600s 80-tonners; Air Force 1200-1215 and 8500s were GE 45-tonners, 1216-1235 Davenport 45-tonners, 1250 and up RS4TC's, 1400s GE 65-tonners and 1600s Davenport and GE 80-tonners. The Navy lists are all over the place, with everything fro 12-to 80-ton Davenports, Vulcans, GEs, Whitcombs, etc.

Let me throw a monkey wrench in the numbering here.

PLA has two former DOD GE locomotives:

Our GE 80-tonner was built for the Navy and numbered 65-00298, now operating as Niles Canyon Railway #298 and sees regular service hauling passengers.

Our GE 65-tonner was originally Army Corp of Engineers 7348, then Navy 65-00600, now operating as Army #7348. The #7348 is generally used for switching in the yard, but sees a few miles out on the railroad regularly.

Even more confusing is some locomotives were renumbered as part of a DoD restructuring program. Most of the steam #s were left alone, but at least a few diesels were re-numbered through their lifetime...

To my knowledge there is no consolidated listing of DOD (Army, Navy, Army Air Corps, Corps of Engineers, Air Force, Marine Coprs etc.) locomotives. Builder's records are also not always completely accurate, especially during WW2. As an example, one of the 45-ton Whitcombs at the Hawaiian Railway Society started life as District Rail Transporation Coordinator (DRTC) No. 8. Shortly following VJ Day it became Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD) No. 6, 7, 8 or 9. We don't know which. Her number was changed again ca. 1949 to 65-00423. Somewhere, some pork chop had a list of all the Navy locomotives ca. 1949, their duty assignments and local numbers. New 65-XXXXX were assigned in some order which escapes us. For the Navy at least, locating this or these documents would answer a lot of questions.

Jeff Livingston
Historian
Hawaiian Railway Society

Cool. Just in case, here follows what I have been told and any additional information is most welcome:

#71 - GE March 1945 80 ton CN 27994, USMC Port Chicago CA
#67 - GE 1941 45 ton CN 15260, St Julians Creek / Hampton Roads, VA
#70 - Whitcomb 45 ton CN 60298 April 1941, ended up at Le Jeune
#1686 - GE March 1953 80 ton CN 31818, Seymour Johnson
#399 - GE March 1943 65 ton CN unknown, USN number 65-00399 Theodore AL, USMC number 289330 Le Jeune

Any blanks in history that can be filled in on any of them welcome.

dave