Kennecott Nevada Mines Division Locomotives

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Electric and Diesel Locomotive Roster

This page was last updated on March 6, 2023.

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Overview

At the Nevada Mines Division during the early 1970s, the 100 class locomotives were used in pairs to power the ore trains from the mine at Ruth, 22 miles to the mill at McGill. The two 800's (801 and 802) alternated as the McGill yard switcher. Number 310 was used for any small switching jobs around the McGill plant. Electrics 80 and 81 served as the car dumper locomotives at McGill with GE 70 tonner on standby for that service. RSD-4 no. 201 was leased to the Nevada Northern Railway as an alternate and standby for their SD7 no. 401, reportedly they ran together when the tonnage warranted. The Nevada Northern was the Nevada Mines Division's link to the outside world. It ran from Ely north to Shafter on the Western Pacific and Cobre on the Southern Pacific on a one day up and one day back schedule. (see July 1961 Trains, p.33)

See also:

Roster Listing

GE 70-ton diesel-electric -- 6 locomotives
B-B; 600 horsepower; 140,000 pounds operating weight

Road
Number
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
Date
To Utah
Date
Retired
Notes
NMD 61 Sep 1949 30374 1978   1
NMD 62 Sep 1949 30375 Jun 1966   2
NMD 63 Sep 1949 30376   Apr 1964 3
NMD 64 Sep 1949 30377   Nov 1959 4
NMD 65 Sep 1949 30378   Nov 1959 5
NMD 66 Sep 1949 30379 Dec 1966   6

General Notes:

  1. During late 1972, KCC 61 was being used on a standby basis at the crusher dumper in McGill. (Letter from Robert Alkire, KCC Nevada public relations, October 4, 1972)

Notes:

  1. KCC-Nevada 61 was transferred to KCC-Utah 775 in 1978; retired by Kennecott in February 1982 and donated to NRHS-Promontory Chapter, Salt Lake City, Utah; offered for sale via Ozark Mountain Railcar in July 2008, not sold; scrapped by NRHS-Promontory Chapter in July 2010. (2008 and 2010 update from Ron Sims via email dated December 26, 2010)
  2. KCC-Nevada 62 was transferred to KCC-Utah on December 22, 1965; renumbered to KCC-Utah 776 in June 1966; retired by Kennecott in August 1982 and donated to NRHS-Promontory Chapter (Salt Lake City, Utah) on May 10, 1983. (Read more about KCC-Nevada 62's service in Utah)
  3. KCC-Nevada 63 was sold to Hudson Bay Mining Company no. 4 in March 1964; shipped in April 1964
  4. KCC-Nevada 64 was sold to Hudson Bay Mining Company no. 2 in January 1960, shipped in April 1960
  5. KCC-Nevada 65 was sold to Hudson Bay Mining Company no. 3 in January 1960, shipped in April 1960
  6. KCC-Nevada 66 was transferred to KCC-Utah on December 22, 1965; renumbered to KCC-Utah 777 in December 1966; retired by Kennecott in August 1982; further disposition unknown, but likely scrapped by Kennecott. (previously reported in error as being donated to NRHS-Promontory Chapter, update from Ron Sims via email dated December 26, 2010)

 

GE 75-ton electric -- 1 locomotive
B-B; 750 VDC; 900 horsepower

Road
Number
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
NMD 80 Sep 1937 12233

General Notes:

  1. KCC-Nevada 80 was built at the same time as KCC-Utah 755-757 in August and September 1937.
  2. In his history of Kennecott's Nevada Mines Division, completed in 1956, Russell Elliott states that this new locomotive was assigned to the new crushing plant, and went into service on September 27, 1937.
  3. During late 1972, KCC 80 was in service at the crusher dumper in McGill. (Letter from Robert Alkire, KCC Nevada public relations, October 4, 1972)
  4. KCC-Nevada 80 is displayed at the White Pine Public Museum, Ely, Nevada.

 

GE 65-ton electric -- 1 locomotive
B-B; 750 VDC; 900 horsepower

Road
Number
Previous
Number
Date To
Nevada
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
NMD 81 CMD 58 1963 Apr 1941 13039

General Notes:

  1. KCC-Nevada 81 was built as KCC Chino Mines Division 58; transferred to KCC Nevada Mines Division 81 in 1963.
  2. During late 1972, KCC 81 was in service at the crusher dumper in McGill. (Letter from Robert Alkire, KCC Nevada public relations, October 4, 1972)

 

Alco RS-2 diesel-electric -- 7 locomotives
B-B; 1500 horsepower

Road
Number
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
Date Shipped
From Alco
Date In
Service
Date To
Utah
KCC-Utah
Number
Notes
NMD 101 Sep 1948 75951 28 Sep 1948 10 Oct 1948 1978 KCC 722 1
NMD 102 Apr 1949 76801     6 Jun 1978 KCC 742 2
NMD 103 Nov 1949 77564 16 Nov 1949 23 Jan 1950 Oct 1978 KCC 907 3
NMD 104 Dec 1949 77888 23 Dec 1949 2 Feb 1950 Oct 1978 KCC 908 4
NMD 105 Dec 1949 77889 23 Dec 1949 24 Jan 1950     5
NMD 106 Jan 1950 77890 20 Jan 1950 8 Aug 1948     6
NMD 107 Jan 1950 77891 23 Jan 1950 23 Aug 1953 1978 KCC 731 7

General Notes:

  1. Nevada Mines Division 101-107 shipping dates from Alco and in-service dates from Allen Copeland, letter dated July 19, 1973.
  2. KCC-Nevada no. 103 had Alco Order No. S-3118, and Alco Specification No. E-1661.

Notes:

  1. KCC-Nevada 101 was damaged in a wreck on September 5, 1971, repaired and returned to service; transferred to KCC Utah in 1978; renumbered to 722; retired by Kennecott on August 16, 1982; donated to Promontory Chapter NRHS, Salt Lake City, Utah; scrapped.
  2. KCC-Nevada 102 was transferred to KCC Utah on June 6, 1978; renumbered 742; retired by Kennecott on August 16, 1982; donated to Promontory Chapter NRHS, Salt Lake City, Utah; scrapped.
  3. KCC-Nevada 103 was transferred to Utah Copper Division in October 1978, renumbered to KCC 907 in May 1979; retired by Kennecott in June 1982; donated to Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, Campo, California on July 9, 1984, delivered to La Mesa, California in November 1984, moved to Campo on February 28, 1987.
  4. KCC-Nevada 104 was transferred to Utah Copper Division in October 1978, renumbered to KCC 908 in May 1979; removed from service during 1982; donated (along with Smelter RS-3s 2 and 3, and 125-ton mine electric 778) to Feather River Rail Society, Portola, California, in November 1985; still there as of January 2012, unserviceable.
  5. KCC-Nevada 105 was sold to Los Angeles Department of Water & Power; donated to Nevada Northern Railway museum at East Ely, Nevada.
  6. KCC-Nevada 106 was scrapped at McGill in 1983.
  7. KCC-Nevada 107 was transferred to KCC Utah in 1978; renumbered to 731; retired by Kennecott on August 16, 1982; donated to Promontory Chapter NRHS, Salt Lake City, Utah; scrapped.

 

Alco RS-2 diesel-electric -- 1 locomotive
B-B; 1500 horsepower

Road
Number
Previous
Number
Date To
Nevada
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
Date In
Service
Date To
Utah
KCC-Utah
Number
NMD 108 RMD 100 Jan 1971 June 1948 75950   12 Oct 1978 KCC 729

General Notes:

  1. KCC-Nevada 108 was built as KCC Ray Mines Division 100; transferred to KCC Nevada Mines Division, arrived at East Ely on January 18, 1971.
  2. KCC-Nevada 108 was transferred to KCC Utah on October 12, 1978; renumbered to 729; retired by Kennecott on August 16, 1982; donated to Promontory Chapter NRHS, Salt Lake City, Utah; scrapped.

 

Alco RS-3 diesel-electric -- 1 locomotive
B-B; 1600 horsepower

Road
Number
Previous
Number
Date To
Nevada
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
NMD 109 RMD 109 20 Nov 1970 Nov 1950 78426

General Notes:

  1. KCC-Nevada 109 was built as KCC Ray Mines Division 109; transferred to KCC Nevada Mines Division, arrived at East Ely on November 20, 1970.
  2. KCC-Nevada 109 was sold to Los Angeles Department of Water & Power; donated to Nevada Northern Railway museum at East Ely, Nevada.

 

Alco RSD-4 diesel-electric -- 1 locomotive
C-C; 1500 horsepower

Road
Number
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
Date Shipped
From Alco
Date In
Service
Date To
Utah
KCC-Utah
Number
NMD 201 May 1951 78217 14 May 1951 6 Jun 1951 1978 KCC 909

General Notes:

  1. Built as KCC-Nevada Mines Division 201; used occasionally by Nevada Northern Railway as stand-by motive power for their SD7.
  2. Kennecott records show that KCC 201 was transferred to Nevada Northern ownership in September 1972. (Letter from Robert Alkire, KCC Nevada public relations, October 4, 1972)
  3. KCC-Nevada no. 201 had Alco Order No. S-3150, and Alco Specification No. E-1663.
  4. KCC-Nevada 201 was transferred to KCC-Utah in 1978; renumbered to KCC-Utah 909; returned briefly to Nevada and used by Nevada Northern from November 2, 1979 to May 5, 1980; returned to Utah and stored out of service; retired by Kennecott in 1982; donated to Puget Sound Railway Historical Society (Snoqualmie, Washington), shipped from Bingham mine on January 12, 1984; many air brake problems en route; delivered to Snoqualmie on July 11, 1984.
  5. KCC-Nevada 201 was moved by truck to Ely, Nevada, beginning November 6, 2021, with delays en route due to weather; arrived in Ely on November 15, 2021; placed on rails on its own trucks on November 16, 2021.
  6. "November 16, 2021 -- Touchdown! -- After a 41 year absence, ex-Kennecott Copper RSD-4 #201, the sole survivor of 36 built, rests on its trucks in East Ely for the first time since leaving in 1980. After the mines closed in Ruth, the locomotive was deemed surplus and transferred to Kennecott's Utah operation where it was used until it was retired in 1982. It was subsequently donated to the Puget Sound Railway Museum (now known as the Northwest Railway Museum) where it was used in excursion service until it developed a leaky cylinder at least ten years ago. It was parked, the exhaust stack was capped and placed on static display until this year when it was given to the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. Once shop crews have had a chance to look the locomotive over in the spring, work will begin to restore the locomotive to operation." -- Matt Liverani

 

GE 25-ton diesel-electric -- 1 locomotive

Road
Number
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
NMD 310 Feb 1950 30588

General Notes:

  1. During late 1972, KCC 310 was in service at the reduction plant in McGill. (Letter from Robert Alkire, KCC Nevada public relations, October 4, 1972)

 

Alco S-2 diesel-electric -- 1 locomotive
B-B; 1000 horsepower; 228,300 pounds operating weight

Road
Number
Previous
Number
Date To
Nevada
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
NMD 800 B&G 800 1944
1949
Jul 1942 69908

General Notes:

  1. KCC-Nevada 800 was built as Bingham & Garfield Railway 800; used as yard switcher at Magna, Utah from 1942 until transferred to Nevada in 1944 (or 1949).
  2. During late 1972, KCC 800 was still in service. (Letter from Robert Alkire, KCC Nevada public relations, October 4, 1972)
  3. Other source material suggests that B&G no. 800, an Alco S-2, may have been assigned to Chino from 1944 to 1949, and was replaced at Chino by B&G 801 in 1949, at which time the ex B&G 800 was sent to Nevada. Keith Albrandt's Nevada data, gleaned from Nevada records, shows that no. 800 arrived in Nevada in 1949.
  4. KCC-Nevada 800 was retired by Kennecott after 1972.

 

Baldwin VO1000 diesel-electric -- 1 locomotive
B-B; 1000 horsepower; 236,000 pounds operating weight

Road
Number
First
Number
Second
Number
Date To
Nevada
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
NMD 801 B&G 801 CMD 80 23 Sep 1963 Oct 1942
Dec 1942
64731

General Notes:

  1. KCC-Nevada 801 was built as Bingham & Garfield Railway 801 (in service on January 31, 1943); used as yard switcher at Magna, Utah from 1943 until transferred in 1949 to Chino Mines Division in New Mexico as Chino Mines Division 80; transferred to Nevada Mines Division 801 in September 1963.
  2. KCC-Nevada 801 was used at the McGill smelter until the smelter closed in 1983; donated in 1987 by KCC to Nevada Northern Railway Museum, East Ely; stored out of service at East Ely; restored to operation, first operation in 39 years on July 1, 2022.

 

Baldwin S-12 diesel-electric -- 1 locomotive
B-B; 1200 horsepower

Road
Number
First
Number
Second
Number
Date To
Nevada
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
NMD 802 NYC 9313 PC 8097 Sep 1969 Jun 1952 75548

General Notes:

  1. KCC-Nevada 802 was built as New York Central 9313; to Penn Central 8097; sold to Chrome Crankshaft in January 1968; sold to Kennecott in August 1969; moved (as KCC #1) to SP's Taylor Shops in Los Angeles, California to be painted; shipped to KCC-Nevada on September 8, 1969.
  2. KCC-Nevada 802 was donated by KCC to Nevada Northern Railway Museum, East Ely; stored inside the East Ely enginehouse, as of October 2011.

 

Baldwin VO1000 diesel-electric -- 1 locomotive
B-B; 1000 horsepower; 236,000 pounds operating weight

Road
Number
Previous
Number
Date To
Nevada
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
NMD 803 B&G 803 9 Nov 1948 Feb 1943 64743

General Notes:

  1. KCC-Nevada 803 was built as Bingham & Garfield Railway 803 (in service on March 24, 1943); used as yard switcher at Magna, Utah from 1943 until transferred to Nevada in November 1948.
  2. KCC-Nevada 803 was removed from service in 1958 and used as a parts source during the early 1960s; scrapped in February 1969. (1969 data from a letter from Robert Alkire, KCC Nevada public relations, October 4, 1972)

Nevada Northern

EMD SD7 -- 1 locomotive
C-C; 1500 horsepower; 296,000 pounds operating weight

Road
Number
Builder
Date
Builder
Number
NN 401 Aug 1952 16824

General Notes:

  1. Nevada Northern 401 was the only diesel locomotive owned by the railroad until 1972. Other locomotives were leased regularly from Kennecott as traffic levels increased. Kennecott Alco RSD-4 number 201 was leased on a regular basis, until it was formally purchased in 1972.
  2. On April 22, 1987 the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power purchased the dormant Nevada Northern Railway from Cobre to McGill Junction (to preclude its abandonment) for proposed coal-fired power plant near Cherry Creek.
  3. In October 1988, Nevada Northern 401 was moved from Ely, Nevada, to the Intermountain Power Plant near Delta, Utah; shipped from Salt Lake City to Delta on October 20, 1988.
  4. In May 1993, in addition to its Nevada Northern lettering and number, the SD7 was also numbered as P-401, with a LADWP decal.
  5. As of January 2023, Nevada Northern 401 remains stored at the IPP power plant near Delta, Utah.

Sources

Letter from P. Allen Copeland, dated July 19, 1973, giving RS-2 ship and in-service dates.

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