Detroit Edison locomotives pulling coal trains were once a common sight in Northeast Ohio. Shown is U30C No. 020 leading a westbound on the Chessie System in Clinton in August 1984. The unit was built by GE in July 1975. The units wore an attractive blue and gray livery and had reporting marks DEEX.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
Sometimes the wayback machine turns up a photograph made by an unidentified photographer. Nonetheless, many of you will remember a time when Detroit Edison had a fleet of locomotives that pulled the coal trains feeding its power plants. They were still common sights in Northeast Ohio into the early 1990s.
This image of DEEX No. 011, a GE U40C built in 1972, was made in May 1974 in Cleveland at what appears to be Collinwood Yard. Partly visible is Penn Central F7A No. 1787, a former New York Central locomotive.
Collection of Robert Farkas
A Detroit Edison coal train is westbound in Easton on the former Baltimore & Ohio mainline on Aug. 28, 1986. The locomotives pulling the train include SD40 Nos. 015, 016, and 001. The latter was built by EMD in 1970 while Nos. 015 and 016 were built two years later.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
Detroit Edison U30C No. 007 is on the Penn Central mainline in Alliance on July 9, 1972. DE locomotives were a common sight in Northeast Ohio into the early 1990s.
DE was one of four utility companies to acquire its own fleet of locomotives to haul coal trains to their power plants.
In the case of DE, it purchased U30C and SD40 locomotives. In all, DE has 22 locomotives, which wore a blue and silver livery.
The fleet lasted for more than 30 years with several of the units acquired by locomotive leasing companies after DE retired them.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
Back in the day Detroit Edison had its own fleet of locomotives that were used to pull coal trains serving its power generating stations.
Most of the road units were GE 30Cs such as the three shown here, including Nos. 007, 008 and 012, in Alliance on a westbound train on July 9, 1972, on Conrail in the top photograph.
In the bottom photograph, DEEX No. 002 leads a train through Danbury, Ohio, on Conrail’s Chicago Line on May 24, 1987.
Five pretty clean Detroit Edison units hustle the empties back to the mines along Conrail’s Cleveland Line a few miles west of Alliance in April 1988.
The empty moves were good for catching all the power up front as the loaded trains would have two “slave” units cut in back in the train.
The lead U30C has the newer colors applied where a light gray replaced the metallic silver.
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