The Santa Fe CF7 is a remanufactured EMD F-unit locomotive whose original streamlined carbody was replaced with a versatile, custom-built body for switching duties. Converted at the Cleburne, Texas workshops by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway from 1970 to 1978, 233 CF7 units were created to address the need for over 200 additional four-axle road switchers on branch lines and secondary main lines. These locomotives extended the service life of Santa Fe’s aging F7 fleet, were used extensively for about a decade, and many remained in operation on short lines as late as 2003.
In service
The CF7s worked within all segments of the Santa Fe system. While most saw action switching cars and transporting local freight, others could be found in multiple unit consists hauling mainline drags. The units distinguished themselves working on potash trains between Clovis and Carlsbad, New Mexico; Nos. 2612–2625, all equipped with remote control equipment (RCE), were typically "mated" to road slugs (converted cabless F-units). CF7s also powered grain trains across the Plains Division.
The Santa Fe had planned in the mid-1980s to renumber its CF7 fleet from 2649–2417 to 1131–1000 and repaint the units in the new Kodachrome paint scheme, all in preparation for the planned Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad merger. However, the Interstate Commerce Commission subsequently denied the merger application, and no CF7s were decorated in the new livery. Amtrak used some of them, with mixed results.
Secondary roles
Changing philosophies regarding motive power expenditures led the Santa Fe to begin trimming its CF7 roster in 1984. The majority of the locomotives were sold for as little as $20,000 to short-line and regional railroads such as the Rail Link, Inc., the York Railway, and the Maryland & Delaware Railroad (6 were involved in wrecks and 3 others sent directly to the scrap yards), though Amtrak and GE Transportation were among the major initial purchasers. As of 2017, any CF7s still in service are over 60 years old.
Preservation
Several CF7s are preserved and operational on many tourist and local trains. Among them are:
- 2546 at the Kentucky Railway Museum5
- 2571 at the Oklahoma Railway Museum6
- IMC 204 at the Florida Railroad Museum7
See also
- "Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe CF7". QStation. Retrieved December 6, 2005. Includes background and modeling information, equipment rosters, and a photo gallery.
- "CF7: The Ugly Duckling?". Locomotive Rebuilding Programs. Archived from the original on December 17, 2005. Retrieved December 6, 2005.
- "The History of EMD Diesel Engines". Pacific Southwest Railway Museum. Archived from the original on January 13, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2005.
- Duke, Donald (1997). Santa Fe: The Railroad Gateway to the American West, Volume Two. San Marino, CA: Golden West Books. ISBN 0-87095-110-6.
- Middleton, Keel (2005). "Wheat Harvest on the Plains Division". The Warbonnet. 12 (4): 6–23.
- Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Co. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.
Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to EMD CF7 locomotives.- Poole, Cary F. (1997). CF7 Locomotives: From Cleburne to Everywhere. The Railroad Press, Hanover, PA. ISBN 0-9657709-0-7.
References
Is rebuilding the answer? Railway Age June 8, 1970 pages 29/30 /wiki/Railway_Age ↩
Glischinski, Steve. (1997). "p121". Santa Fe Railway. Osceola, WI, USA: Motorbooks International. p. 121. ISBN 0-7603-0380-0. OCLC 37567382. 0-7603-0380-0 ↩
Santa Fe's born-again road-switchers Railway Age September 14, 1981 pages 40-44, 106 ↩
Solomon, Brian (2003). Santa Fe Railway. Voyageur Press. p. 48. ISBN 1610606728. 1610606728 ↩
"Equipment". Kentucky Railway Museum. Retrieved 2020-03-27. https://www.kyrail.org/equipment/ ↩
"Equipment". Oklahoma Railway Museum. Retrieved 2020-03-29. https://www.oklahomarailwaymuseum.org/plan-your-visit/exhibits-grounds/equipment/ ↩
"Equipment". Florida Railroad Museum. Retrieved 2025-05-29. https://www.frrm.org/locomotives/ ↩