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  • BUFFALO CREEK HH660 #43 On the Move

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.

Moderator: Otto Vondrak

 #1481215  by smph50
 
Hi Guys!

On Saturday July 28th, 2018, another milestone was crossed in getting BC #43 back onto the mainline. Although it took 12 years to put all the pieces back together we ran the engine back and forth on 100 feet of siding for over three hours. It took a bit of tinkering to get the traction motor relay to burn off years of oxidation on the traction motor brushes but when we felt the first little lurch, everyone's faces lit up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAl9PNt0eWc

The prime mover ran smooth and cool and with every move back and forth it ran even better. Of course a huge THANK YOU has to be given to Pat Conners of the BSOR for all his advice, loan of tools and batteries and for bringing BSOR #100 down to give us a jump over the years. The loaner batteries we have just don't have enough power to start the engine cold.

We hope to get some sort of fund raiser going to get a full set of 14 new batteries so we can keep the 78 year old guy limbered up. After a that we can schedule an FRA inspection to get our "Blue Card" and Pat can get it out on the mainline. :-D

You can always view the entire story on our website if you're interested.
Sincerely, Scott H.

http://www.trainweb.org/wnyrhs/bc43Frame1Source1.htm
 #1481262  by BR&P
 
Even if it was only a 1-time deal, it would be neat to have the unit perform at least one revenue move - spot a car somewhere, or such. Just to reward those who put in all the work, and to be able to say it's still doing useful work at this advanced age.
 #1481292  by smph50
 
Thank you for the compliments guys!

The WNYRHS is working on getting track rights on two sidings right behind the Heritage DiscoveRY Center on Lee Street in downtown Buffalo. That would be the beginning until more substantial track is laid. At least we could offer short runs with a number of cabooses or even a passenger car.

The BSOR would love to make more than a few moves once we get inspected, hopefully soon.

We are not done yet!

Scott
 #1481841  by NYCRRson
 
Congratulations are in order, well done. Nothing like the joy of bringing "old iron" back to life.....

First time I fired up a restored 1920's Plymouth Locomotive (not a car) with a Buda gasoline engine I admit I cracked a smile....

The one I restored (with lots of help) had not run since the 1950/1960's and was derelict in a field.

The engine we restored had trees growing up though the frame.

We started with chainsaws and ended up fabricating dozens of part to replace missing/rotten parts.

We had to make a new cab and engine "hood" from scratch.

Enjoy your success.
 #1481966  by smph50
 
Thank you NYCRRson and BR&P for your kind words!

According to “the dieselshop.us” and “ALCO’s HH Series” by Daniel Cupper, there are eight surviving HH600/HH660’s, one HH900 and one HH1000. The Diesel Shop has four as being active but further investigation reveals the two ex. RELCO lease units as not being used for over four years by their current owners.

https://www.thedieselshop.us/AlcoSurv-Yd.HTML

I made four calls to RELCO in 2015 inquiring about electrical appliances and got the same response from two different guys, “we got rid of those old units and have no parts.” In other words, stop bothering us, Ha!

It seems that Milwaukee Road #1603 at the Illinois Railway Museum has the only truly active HH660. RELCO #603 ex. DL&W might be getting work done.

Anyway, we’ll do everything we can to get #43 back on the BSOR mainline for now, once we get a fresh set of batteries and FRA inspection.

Sincerely, Scott