Railroad Forums 

Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.

Moderator: Liquidcamphor

 #1522097  by newkirk
 
While on vacation photographing SEPTA and the Red Arrow Lines, I stumbled onto a fenced in siding with three ex-LIRR FA Cabs. Can anyone add any information on these three units ?
Attachments:
October 26, 1989
October 26, 1989
Norristown, PA (1).JPG (315.76 KiB) Viewed 2456 times
October 26, 1989
October 26, 1989
Noristown, PA (2).JPG (334.02 KiB) Viewed 2456 times
 #1522280  by newkirk
 
I juts found out that #596 is ex-Long Island #603. It has been moved to the Delaware-Lackawanna shop in Scranton.

It appears the other two FA's are #601 & #602.
 #1522547  by RGlueck
 
The FA's in New Jersey are actively being rebuilt for operation. I was graciously allowed to tour former LIRR 601, 611, and 614, while their owner told me about 602, which I did not get to see. 601 and 602 are very near ready to run, 602 is in a better place and nearly operating, while 601 needs a truck swap. 611 and 614 are being worked on, but will require prime mover and generator swap-outs. The two FA1' have donor locomotives to get the necessary parts from.
The locomotive occasionally appear on Facebook and Youtube as "abandoned locomotives", which they are anything but! Even as restoration plugs forward, vandals just break into them and do damage because "that's what we do with locomotives in preservation and other people's property".
Incidentally, there are "FB" units to go with each set.
For a private restoration relying on just the owner and few dedicated friends, this is on the level of Doyle McCormack's PA1.

Dick
 #1522678  by newkirk
 
RGlueck wrote: The FA's in New Jersey are actively being rebuilt for operation. I was graciously allowed to tour former LIRR 601, 611, and 614, while their owner told me about 602, which I did not get to see. 601 and 602 are very near ready to run, 602 is in a better place and nearly operating, while 601 needs a truck swap. 611 and 614 are being worked on, but will require prime mover and generator swap-outs. The two FA1' have donor locomotives to get the necessary parts from.
Thanks for the update
 #1522691  by mirrodie
 
Thanks for the update, Dick. Once these are up and running or they looking to run them on a particular railroad?
 #1522694  by RGlueck
 
I really think the FA's will run wherever they're invited. Speaking for myself and only myself, the FA2's will be powered and will have an unpowered FB1 sandwiched between, provided the damned vandals and kids stop breaking into them. The FA1's are gutted and ready to have work begun, once a place and equipment can be scheduled for a PM swap and truck swap. It's amazing what the owner and colleagues have been able to accomplish. There is some body work still required, and windshields need replacement on 601 and the FA1's. The roofs inside the FA1's are blistered from the paint being cooked off while in power car service.

Some railfans have been posting the specific address of the units, including lat/long coordinates, then claiming the units are abandoned. They are not abandoned, and if people would leave them alone, the restorations would get completed in fairly short order. The thefts have been everything from cables to heavier, large, bulky items that nobody else can possibly use. Okay, I've vented.

Expect 602 to be running independently in 2020. She's inside a locked compound and guard precautions are taken.