TVA Locomotives: First Generation and Beyond
H16-66 #F3060 at Gallatin, Tennessee on 22 January 2000 | |||||
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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.
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Photo Gallery |
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 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 |
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 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. | ||||
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Reference Sources:
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| 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 * * *
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Credits:
Reference Sources:
Thanks to the following sources for updates and corrections: LocoNotes by Ken Ardinger (many issues), Eric Augatis and Lee Yoder |
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