Converted F7s

To supplement and ultimately replace the aging Geeps as road power, in the mid 1980s the Columbus & Greenville began acquiring secondhand CF7 road switchers through National Railway Equipment. In the end, the line rostered 10 such units. Some retained their former Santa Fe yellow and blue colors to the end, with CAGY names and numbers added in stencils; some received the "John Deere green" color scheme adopted by Columbus forces in the 2000s. A couple of CF7s were exchanged back and forth between sister shortline Chattooga & Chickamauga in northwest Georgia. Although considered eyesores by many railfans — but not by HawkinsRails! — the CF7s proved to be dependable power for many Deep South shortlines, and the Delta Route was no exception. The boxy CF7s eventually bumped the early Geeps to switching duties in Greenville, Greenwood, and Columbus, and on most daily freights during their era one could find a pair or trio of the Cleburne rebuilds hard at work. However, by the mid 2000s, most had been sold or scrapped onsite.