A couple of questions about the old B&A diesel-electric roster. 1) How long did the the F-3B units survive before being sold to the Pennsy? 2) Why did the road buy a slug of SW-9s in 1972? Half (five) of them were reportedly sold three years later. Was this an attempt to get into the rebuild/resale market?
None of the books in my library listed a date for the sale of the F3B's altho they all mention the sale
to the PRR. One photo of a line of F3A's at Northern Maine Junction dated September 1958 mentioned
the B's were all gone by that date. A PRR roster I found online claims the sale was in 1951 when the units
were 3 years old: http://pennsyrr.com/kc/data/diesels/detail.php?q=9530B" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
In the book "Bangor and Aroostook", by Angier and Cleaves, 1986, it is stated that the SW9's were
purchased in 1972 to release road units to be leased to other railroads which resulted in an annual
income of $300,000. It goes on to mention leases of GP7's to PC, CP, LIRR, LV and BCOL. It is curious
that 6 of the units were resold within 3 years. Hope this helps.