It served on the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (GM&O) until it was retired in 1966; it was scrapped the following year.

At the end of World War II, Ingalls Shipbuilding, based in Pascagoula, Mississippi, developed plans for a line of diesel-electric locomotives to serve the expected post-war market.

The design of the locomotive was considered advanced, including a "turret cab" arrangement, which improved the crew's vision.

[3] The 4-S demonstrator was tested by a number of railroads, including the Louisville and Nashville, Seaboard Air Line, Mississippi Export Railroad, Gulf, Mobile and Ohio, and the Southern Railway; however no orders materialized for the type, or for any other of Ingalls' proposed locomotives.

It was used in switching duty, earning a reputation for toughness;[1] it once derailed, landing inverted, but was repaired and returned to service in short order.