Central Gateway Turtle Railroad

Central Gateway Turtle Railroad

CGTR #3723, a Hydrogold livery GE U25C in 1973 (enhanced).
Reporting mark	CGTR, GTLW, CGTZ, GTLX, TRTM
Dates of operation	1874 (1874)–Present (Present)
Predecessor	GAEA, TRLN
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Third Rail
Headquarters	Fort Worth, TX
Website	cgtr.com

The Central Gateway Turtle Railroad (Reporting mark CGTR, GTLW, CGTZ, GTLX, TRTM) is a Class I railroad located primarily in the Southern, Eastern, and Central regions of the United States, and headquarted in Fort Worth, Texas. The Central Gateway Turtle Railroad was founded in 1874 by the merger of Gateway Eastern and Turtle Northern, and has been operating since. In 1951, CGTR completely switched to diesel locomotives, ditching steam locomotives in favor of increasing profits. In recent years, CGTR has focused on cargo and shifted most passenger operations to TurtleTram, an experimental passenger/freight railway created by CGTR in 1989.

History

After the merger of Gateway Eastern and Turtle Northern in 1874, CGTR quickly placed the locomotives from both railways into service. These locomotives would be used until they were either replaced or retired. In 1940, CGTR would purchase their first diesel electric switching locomotive, an ALCO HH1000. CGTR would continue buying diesel-electric switchers after the HH1000, including EMD NW2s, Baldwin VO-660s, and many others. In 1948, CGTR would purchase 20 E7s and 6 Baldwin DR-12-8-1500/2s, marking the first non-switching diesel-electric locomotives purchased by CGTR. These would be unscheduled or leased out until mid-1951, when CGTR would ditch steam locomotives in favor of switching to diesel to increase profits. Some of the earliest diesel locomotives placed into operation on the CGTR would be the E7s, the DR-12-8-1500/2s, an FM Erie-Built and 2 B-Units purchased in 1949, and 9 EMD BL2s. These would be shortly followed by an expiremental diesel-hydraulic switcher built by EMD (the DH1), 3 ILW 17-As, and 57 EMD GP7s.

Incidents

Gulfport Runaway Incident

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  CGTR #3723 after derailing near Gulfport, MS

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  CGTR #3723's brakes glowing red after the locomotive derailed near Gulfport, MS

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  Some of the hopper cars being pulled by CGTR #3723 after derailing near Gulfport, MS

On the 21st of February, 1982, CGTR #3723 was hauling a 28 car iron ore train through the stormy weather near Gulfport, Mississippi. At around 4:38 AM, the locomotive was approaching a somewhat steep grade. The engineer increased the throttle, to keep the train going fast enough, and also applied the sander to account for the wet and slippery trackage. As the locomotive accelerated up the hill, the thunderstorm began to worsen. At about 4:45 AM, the thunderstorm would reach its most severe point, and the locomotive was struggling to continue to accelerate. The engineer would set the throttle to full, to attempt to overcome this. At approximately 4:56 AM, lightning would hit the locomotive, causing the cab to completely lose power. The locomotive by this time had reached the top of the hill, and was getting ready to go downhill. With the throttle being uncontrollable and already at max, the engineer attempted to stop the train by pulling the brakes. This slowed down the train momentarily, but because of the steep grade and high throttle, the train's brakes would eventually overheat and fail. The locomotive would barrel downhill, eventually going onto a relatively sharp curve in the tracks, causing the train to derail and fall into a lake. All members of the crew in the cab would be killed, however the crew members in the caboose would only experience some slight injuries.

Equipment

Locomotives

As of late 2023, CGTR rosters 3,510 locomotives.

Type	Quantity	Road Numbers	Notes	Image
EMD F125	74	1-3, 14-25, 42-50, 300-349
GE P32AC-DM	35	4-13, 6900-6924
EMD GP40FH-2	26	26-41, 6300-6309
EMD F59PHI	8	51-58
GE ET44AC	150	100-149, 9900-9999
EMD SD70ACe-T4	50	200-249
Wabtec FLXDrive	90	400-459, 500-529
GTLW GP20-GT	6	600-605	Ex. GRR GP20
GTLW SD40-GTHH	55	5000-5054	Rebuilt from SD40-2s
GTLW SD40-GTS	39	5064-5102	Rebuilt from SD40-2s
GTLW SD40-GT	64	5116-5179	Rebuilt from SD40-2s
EMD SW1504	24	5400-5423
EMD MP15AC	50	5500-5549
GE B23-7	36	5700-5735
EMD GP39-2	17	5800-5816
GE C30-7	22	5900-5921
GE B30-7	78	6000-6077
GE B39-8	20	6100-6119
EMD MP15T	20	6200-6219
GE C40-8	40	6400-6439
EMD F59PH	33	6500-6532
EMD SD60M	50	6600-6649
GE C40-8W	70	6700-6769
GE C44-9W	50	6800-6849
GE AC4400CW	645	7000-7644
GE P42DC	30	7700-7729
GE AC6000CW	50	7800-7849
EMD SD70MAC	30	7900-7929
EMD GP20D	35	8000-8034
EMD SD9043MAC	48	8100-8147
EMD SD70ACe	308	8200-8457
GE ES44DC	300	8500-8799
GE ES44AC	455	8800-9254
GE ES44C4	553	9300-9852

Liveries

Bluewashed

A Trainiax GE B36-7 in CGTR Bluewashed Scheme

The Bluewashed scheme was a CGTR scheme used on freight and switching locomotives that was first seen in the mid 1960s and 1970s, appearing on the new GE U25Bs, EMD SW1500s, ALCO C630s, EMD SD39s, GE U33Bs, GE B36-7s, EMD F45s, EMD SD40-2 and EMD SD40T-2s, and being repainted onto the older ALCO HH1000s, EMD NW2s, Baldwin VO-660s, EMD BL2s, EMD SW9s, Baldwin RF-16s

Bluelined

A Trainiax EMD FP45 in CGTR Bluelined scheme.

The Bluelined scheme was a CGTR scheme used on passenger locomotives that was first seen in the late 1960s to 1970s, appearing on the new EMD FP45 in 1967, the new EMD F40PH in 1976, and being repainted onto the older EMD E7s, ALCO PA-2s, and EMD E8s, in the early 1970s. The scheme would remain on most of its locomotives until their retirements, as many of them were becoming outdated. The scheme would be replaced in

Hydrogold

Phase I

The Hydrogold scheme was a CGTR scheme used on mixed service, road switching, and transfer locomotives that was first seen in the early 1970s to 1990s, appearing on the new EMD MP15ACs, and being repainted onto the older EMD FP9s, ALCO FPA-2s, EMD FP7s, Baldwin AS-616s, ALCO C420s, ALCO C415s, Baldwin DT-6-6-2000s, FM H-20-44s, EMD GP40-2s, EMD GP9s, EMD GP18s, EMD GP30s, EMD GP39-2s, ALCO RS-3s, Baldwin AS-16s, FM H-24-66s, ALCO RSC-3s, Baldwin RS-12s, ALCO RSD-12s, ALCO RSD-15s, ALCO RS-11s, ALCO RS-36s, EMD DD35s, GE U25Bs, and GE U33Bs.