FAIRPORT, PAINESVILLE & EASTERN

DIESEL ROSTER

 

 

Diesel Era

 

            The "diesel era" for the FP&E began in October 1945, and by the end of 1950 the railroad was completely dieselized.  Here is a chart showing the "transition era" (this information came from the FP&E's Annual Reports):

Locomotive

As of

As of

As of

As of

As of

As of

As of

Type

12/31/44

12/31/45

12/31/46

12/31/47

12/31/48

12/31/49

12/31/50

Steam

8

7

4

2

1

1

0

Diesel

0

1

3

4

4

4

4

 

 

Diesel Data

 

Below is a chart I created with detailed information about each of the diesels the FP&E owned during its existence.  The sources for the data are coded in the brackets, and the key to the source codes follows the chart.  To see a picture of the locomotive just click on its road number.

ROAD
NUMBER

MAKE /
MODEL

SERIAL
NUMBER

BUILD /
SHIP DATE

ACQUIRED

PRIOR
OWNER

DISPOSITION

101
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

ALCO S-2
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

74336
[A,F,1,3,5,6]

10/10/1945
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

10/10/1945

None 

 N&W traded to General Electric in Dec 1984; [8]

 sold to Ohi-Rail in Jan 1985; [6,9,10,11,12]
 sold to Age of Steam Roundhouse circa 2011; [W1]

 sold to unknown party between July 2019 and Aug 2020; [W2]

 presumed scrapped.

102
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

ALCO S-2
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

74482
[A,F,1,5,6]

6/20/1946
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

6/20/1946

None

 N&W traded to General Electric in Dec 1984; [8]

 sold to Ohi-Rail in Jan 1985; [6,9,10,11,12]
 traded to Steam Railroad Museum in July 2009; [13]

 sold to Age of Steam Roundhouse on 10/15/2009. [14]

 sold to unknown party between July 2019 and Aug 2020; [W2]

 presumed scrapped.

103
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

ALCO S-2
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

74798
[A,F,1,3,5,6]

9/30/1946
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

9/30/1946

None

 Sold to Ft. Howard Paper at Green Bay, WI

    in Oct 1978; [5,6,15,16]
 repainted and renumbered 63-180 in 1979; [P1]
 donated to National Railroad Museum on 9/23/2006. [17]

104
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

ALCO S-2
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

75387
[A,F,1,3,5,6]

9/30/1947
[A,F,2,3,4,5,6]

9/30/1947

None

 Sold to North Star Steel at Wilton, IA in Sept 1978; [6]
 repainted in Oct 1980; [P2]
 sold to Scoular-Welsh Grain at Omaha, NE in 1983; [P3,18,19]
 sold to Consolidated Grain & Barge at Henning, IL
    in 1995; [18,20]

 conveyed to Fall Grain when that firm purchased
    Henning facility from CG&B in 2002; [21,22,23,24]
 scrapped at Fall Grain in 2008. [24]

105
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

ALCO S-4
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

79225
[A,F,1,3,5,6]

10/22/1951
[A,F,1,2,3,4,5,6]

10/22/1951

None

 N&W traded to General Electric in Dec 1984; [8]

 sold to Indiana Hi-Rail in Jan 1985; [6,9,10,11]
 sold to Cargill at Evansville, IN in 1989; [25,26]
 repainted sometime after 1989; [P4,P5]
 moved to Cargill at Cynthiana, IN in Feb 2000; [27,28,29]

 conveyed to JRB Grain when that firm purchased
    Cynthiana facility from Cargill in 2005; [30,31]
 scrapped at JRB Grain in Oct or Nov 2008. [31]

106
[F,2,3,4,5,6,7]

ALCO S-2
[F,2,4,5,6,7]

78015
[A,F,3,5,6,7]

6/19/1950
[A,F,2,3,4,5,6,7]

Feb 1968
[3,4,7]

NKP 44,
N&W 2044
[A,N,2,3,4,5,6,7]

 Cannibalized for parts since at least May 1978; [7]
 sold to GE-Cleveland in May 1980 and subsequently
    converted to a mine motor. [7]

107
[F,2,3,4,5,6,7,W]

ALCO S-2
[F,2,4,5,6,7,W]

78016
[A,F,3,5,6,7,W]

6/19/1950
[A,F,2,3,4,5,6,7,W]

Feb 1968
[3,4,7]

NKP 45,
N&W 2045
[A,N,2,3,4,5,6,7]

 Sold to AC&J in June 1984; [5,7]
 currently still on railroad property. [E1]

108
[3,4,5,6,7]

ALCO S-4
[3,4,5,6,7]

78710
[A,3,5,6,7]

3/28/1951
[A,3,4,5,6,7]

Apr 1971
[3,4,5]

NKP 59,
N&W 2059
[A,N,3,4,5,6,7]

 N&W traded to General Electric in Dec 1984; [8]

 sold to Indiana Hi-Rail in Jan 1985; [6,7,9,10,11]
 sold to Cargill at Cincinnati, OH in 1990; [26,32,33]
 removed from service in 1995; [34]
 presumed scrapped.

 

 

Sources

 

 A

ALCO-GE Locomotive List (ALCO document K-8823125)

 N

N&W Locomotive Directory, 1964 (revised to 1969)

 F

FP&E, letter to Stephen Timko, Oct 1970

 1

Extra 2200 South, Oct 1968

 2

Railroad, Dec 1969

 3

Extra 2200 South, #38 (Jan-Feb 1973)

 4

Railroad, Oct 1977

 5

The Short Line, #68 (Mar-Apr 1984, pub Aug 1984)

 6

The Short Line, #75 (May-June 1985, pub Nov 1985)

 7

Extra 2200 South, #87 (Apr-June 1988)

 8

Norfolk Southern, letter to Steve Kovacs, 1985

 9

General Electric, letter to Steve Kovacs, 1986

10

Steve Kovacs, 1988 correspondence with Ohi-Rail

11

The Short Line, #71 (Sept-Oct 1984, pub Feb 1985)

12

The Short Line, #73 (Jan-Feb 1985, pub June 1985)

13

Bill Schnierle & Emerson Roth of Steam Railroad Museum, 2009 interviews

14

CantonRep.com (The Canton Repository), 10/15/2009

15

The Short Line, #38 (Mar-Apr 1979)

16

The Short Line, #45 (May-June 1980, pub Aug 1980)

17

Dan Litke, Curator at National Railroad Museum, 2009 interview

18

Timothy F. Vana, 2006 correspondence with Ron Stafford

19

The Short Line, #70 (July-Aug 1984, pub Dec 1984)

20

The Short Line, #128 (Mar-Apr 1994, pub July 1995)

21

Surface Transportation Board, Docket AB-55 Sub 642X

22

Illinois Commerce Commission, Docket T06-0105

23

Locomotive Notes II, #253 (TRP #79: Oct/Nov/Dec 2008)

24

Ellen Walker, co-owner of Fall Grain, 2009 interview

25

The Short Line, #98 (Mar-Apr 1989, pub May 1989)

26

The Short Line, #104 (Mar-Apr 1990, pub Aug 1990)

27

Chris Brown, former employee of Evansville Terminal, 2009 internet forum post

28

Locomotive Notes II, #224 (TRP #57: Apr/May/June 2003)

29

Locomotive Notes II, #227 (TRP #59: Oct/Nov/Dec 2003)

30

Posey County Recorders Office

31

Jim Bender, owner of JRB Grain, 2009 interview

32

The Short Line, #105 (May-June 1990, pub Oct 1990)

33

Locomotive Notes II, #139 (October 1990)

34

Railpace, August 1995

E1

Jeff Troutman, July 2020 email

P1

Photo of Ft. Howard Paper #63-180, July 1979

P2

Photo of ex-FP&E #104 being repainted at North Star Steel, 10/18/1980

P3

Photo of ex-NSS unit at Scoular-Welsh Grain, 9/19/1983

P4

Photo of Cargill #105 with IHRC/ex-FP&E patch job, 5/28/1989

P5

Photo of Cargill #105 painted in Cargill scheme, 7/4/1997

W1

Various posts and photos on www.trainorders.com and www.rrpicturearchives.net

W2

Age Of Steam Roundhouse website (www.ageofsteamroundhouse.com)

 

 

Notes and Observations

 

            I have seen one other diesel roster for the FP&E on the internet: on the "The Diesel Shop" website (located at here).  On that roster, there is a reference to unit #105 becoming RELCO #1053 before becoming IHRC #105.  I have found no evidence for this (in fact, some of the sources I have collected could be used to make a strong case against this).

During my research I've come across some materials that mention unit #104 was renumbered #2801 after North Star Steel purchased it.  On the photos I have obtained of the unit when it was owned by Scoular-Welsh, CG&B, and Fall Grain, it looks like when North Star Steel repainted the unit, they left it unnumbered.  Ron Stafford, a railfan who specializes in following ALCO switchers, sent me a message to help clear up where "2801" came from:  "As for the number '2801' ... it's in (or was in) small white lettering, perhaps three or four inches tall, just under the window to the left of the rear cab door. I've been stuck as to whether to term this as a renumbering or not. If the number were more prominent, there would be no doubt. This way, it's almost hidden, and may be there for other reasons."

            Two other pieces of information that I've come across during my research for which I have found no evidence to support are: 1) unit #104 was at some point used at North Star Steel's Monroe, MI plant, and 2) unit #108 was sold by Indiana Hi-Rail to Consolidated Grain & Barge's North Bend, OH facility.  Not only do the sources I have not support either of these pieces of information, but in addition, as with the RELCO case I mentioned above, I have found materials and sources that could be used to make strong arguments against these assertions.

 

 

 

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Created by Scott Nixon

July 2009

Updated: September 2009, October 2010, November 2012, September 2021