TVA Locomotives: First Generation and Beyond

Somebody's Large Digital Image Here

H16-66 #F3060 at Gallatin, Tennessee on 22 January 2000

Tennessee Valley Authority has been the single biggest producer of electricity inside the United States since the company's founding in the early 1930s. The federally owned utility has power generating facilities in seven states, and coal has been essential to the operation of those facilities for decades. For that matter, so has the diesel-electric locomotive; the first to appear was a General Electric-built 65-tonner that arrived in the Spring of 1941 to work the xxxxxxxx plant in xxxxxxxxxxxx. (I don't think the 65-ton statement is correct -- oldest maybe, but not the first???)

To accomplish its mission, TVA relied initially heavily on a large number of first- generation locomotives from the assembly floors of Alco, Baldwin, Fairbanks-Morse and GE. Many were surplus military units that found work in public service after World War II; a few of those were notable because of the "USA-TVA" lettering on their flanks.

Today's TVA's roster is best described as a locomotive fleet driven by the Electro-Motive Division's popular 645 and rebuilt 567 engines. Another notable trend during the past dozen years, the government utility has increased the volume of coal received via river barge. The result has been a reduction in the number of locomotives that once sported the TVA banner.





Photo Gallery

TVA #14 & 28 (BLW S12 & VO-1000)

Gardiner Cross photo at Emory Gap, Tennessee in May 1986

TVA #17 (GE 80-Tonner)

Tom Smart photo at Gallatin, Tennessee on 31 May 1971

TVA #18 (GE 65-Tonner)

Robert E. Farkas photo at Muscle Shoals, Alabama on 9 April 1974

TVA #24 (FM H16-66)

R. Craig photo at Gallatin, Tennessee on 12 September 1993

TVA #F3061 (Alco S2)

Mark Loyd Sr. photo at Gallatin, Tennessee on 3 October 1992

TVA #4601 (EMD GP10)

Grady McKinley photo at Bostic, North Carolina on 6 June 1996

TVA #8678 (Alco RSD1)

Dan Dover photo at Gallatin, Tennessee on 3 October 1992

TVA #F94595 (SW1500)

HardhatMax photo at Paducah, Kentucky on 28 December 2016.

Relco Alco S2 #1012 (leased)

Robert E. Farkas photo

NREX GP50 #2924 (Leased)

Zach Pumphrey at Paducah, Kentucky on 28 December 2016.

Reference Sources:

  • Flickr.com
  • RR Pictures Archives. Net
  • TDS Rosters
  • Lee Yoder slide collection
New: 1 October 2021 Formatted by: R. Craig


* * * TVA Roster * * *



Road No. Bldr (& Date) Model Serial No. Notes
No # GE (1943) 25-tonner 15075 --
1 & 2 BLW (7/52) S-12 75601, 75602 --
2 Plymouth (--) 25/30-ton 4137 Assigned to Watts Bar Dam
3 GE (3/42) 45-Ton 15243 --
3(2nd) BLW (7/54) S-12 75937 --
4 GE (10/50) 80-tonner 30812 --
5 GE (4/41) 65-tonner 13001 --
6 GE (10/50) 80-tonner 30811 --
7 & 8 GE (3/52, 3/51) 80-tonner 31184, 31029 --
9 GE (5/52) 80-tonner 31188 --
11 GE (12/52) 80-tonner 31806 Assigned to Gallatin Steam Plant
13 GE (11/53) 80-tonner 32801 --
14 BLW (xxxxxx) S12 -- --
17 GE (4/53) 80-tonner 31840 --
18 GE (6/42) 65-tonner 15630 --
19 GE (4/53) 80-tonner 31844 McCloud, TN > PCS Phosphate 1988
20 GE (1/55) 80-tonner 32227 --
21 GE (4/53) 80-tonner 31842 --
22 FM (11/54) H12-44 12L778 --
23 GE (--) 44-tonner -- Assigned to Gallatin Steam Plant
24 FM (10/58) H16-66 16L1157 Re-#d to F3060; assigned to Gallatin Steam Plant
25 Alco (2/45) RSD1 72150 Ex-US Army 8657; assigned to Gallatin Steam Plant
26 GE (5/45) 80-tonner 27865 500-hp; assigned to Watts Barr
27 BLW (4/45) VO1000 71748 Ex-UN Navy #3 / 65-00049
27(2nd) EMD (xxxxxx) GP9 -- --
28 BLW (4/45) VO1000 71749 Ex-UN Navy #4 / 65-00048
28(2nd) EMD (11/55) GP10 20760 Ex-Illinois Central Gulf 8339
31 Alco (3/45) RSD1 72168- Ex-US Army 8675
32 GE (xxxxxx) 80-tonner -- --
34-37 Alco (xxxxxx) RSD1 -- --
42 Alco (--) RSD1 -- Ex-US Army --
45 Alco (2/45) RSD1 72147 Ex-US Army 8654
100 BLW (2/49) DS44-660 73900 To SMS Lines 100
200 BLW (1/52) S-12 75312 Assigned to Kingston Plant
300 BLW (3/43) VO-1000 6474 Ex-U.S. Army 7127
2924 EMD (6/80) GP50 786257-25 Leased loco; ex-NRE 2924 < FURX 2924 < UP 1628/5528 < C&NW 5074
4601 EMD GP10 (12/55) 20760 Ex-IC 8339; transferred to TVA 4601 > sold to Thermal Belt 4601
4602 EMD (3/63) GP10 28281 Transferred to TVA 4602; ex-ICG GP18 8418 < nee IC GP10 8418
8658 Alco (3/43) RSC1 72131 Ex-US Army -- assigned to Watts Barr Plant
F2021 GE (xxxxxx) 44-tonner xx --
F3060 FM (10/58) H16-66 16L1157 Re-#d from TVA 24; donated to Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in August 2021
F3061 Alco (xxxxxx) S2 -- Donated to Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in August 2021, along with #F3060
F6101 EMD (9/66) SW1500 31839 Ex-Chattahoochie Valley 101
F6102 EMD (7/71) SW1000 37389 Ex-New Orleans Public Belt
F7113 Alco (8/43) S2 70082 Ex-US Army 7113
F7459 Alco (1/41) S1 69408 Ex-US Army 7459
F94595 EMD (xxxxxx) SW1500 -- --
F229516 GE (4/53) 80-tonner 31833 Assigned to Watts Bar Dam

* * * Credits * * *



Credits:

Reference Sources:

  • Flickr.com
  • LocoNotes II (issue 250)
  • RRpicturesarchive.Net(website)
  • TrainOrders.net (website)
  • TDS rosters

Thanks to the following sources for updates and corrections: LocoNotes by Ken Ardinger (many issues), Eric Augatis and Lee Yoder

Back to Main Menu

Back to Remember When