U.S. Air Force 7467

About the U.S. Air Force 7467 Locomotive

The U.S. Air Force 7467 is a robust switching locomotive constructed by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA, in August of 1943 for the U.S. War Department.  Classified as a VO-1000, it boasts a powerful six-cylinder De La Vergne prime mover and Westinghouse electrical gear, producing an impressive (at the time) 1,000 horsepower. Originally one of twenty-six VO-1000 locomotives built by Baldwin for the U.S. War Department, locomotive 7467 later passed to the U.S. Air Force where it served at the Arnold Engineering Development Facility in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

It was eventually deemed surplus at AEDC in Tullahoma when a newer model locomotive from another Air Force rail operation replaced it, and in 1982, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM) acquired the 7467. During the spring of 1991 the locomotive was repainted into the colors of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway (NC&St.L), bearing the number “36”. The NC&St.L had a series of similar VO-1000 locomotives, with the highest numbered as 35. When it came time for a repaint, it made sense to designate this locomotive as number 36, continuing the sequence as if the N&C had procured an additional unit. As “36”, the locomotive had a brief operational stint at TVRM, but complications with its aging Westinghouse main generator led to its retirement from active service in the mid-1990s, after which point it became a static display, before being placed in storage awaiting restoration work.

In late 2024 the museum began work to restore the “36” to its 1950s-60s condition as USAF 7467, which culminated with the unveiling of the cosmetically restored unit in September of 2025.

One other intact example of the twenty-six War Department Baldwin VO-1000s can be found, 7143, at the West Virginia Railroad Museum. Interestingly 7143 is the sequential sibling to 7467, being Baldwin Serial 67739. A number of the forty VO-1000s built for the U.S. Navy survive, including examples rebuilt and repowered with EMD prime movers, with some of these examples still serving U.S. Navy rail operations.