by airman00
I also know that line is an active freight line, so you could run the trips on sundays maybe?
Railroad Forums
Moderators: GOLDEN-ARM, NJ Vike
Steve F45 wrote:i thought i had read it was a small fire inside the engine compartment?Do you know where I might be able to find out more info on this?
cjvrr wrote:airman,
I appreciate your tenacity on this subject. Just out of curiosity were you in the railfan hobby when the engine was rebuilt and run in the 1980's?
Railroads regularly traded units, even units ready for scrapping, to GE for dollars toward new units. Just because other units were scrapped onsite doesn't mean their scrap value wasn't used toward the purchase of new units or toward some other need of the company. What year(s) were the other S-2s scrapped. Could have been long before the DO or before their expansion plans came into being.
This unit was traded in after its failure and then donated by GE to the URHS. It was only a relatively short time after it was rebuilt and repainted. If it still ran at that time, it would have been used. The NYS&W was short on motive power in the mid 1980s and was leasing CF7s to make up the shortage. They had their C430s but didn't get the SD45s until 1986 or 87. The GEs didn't come on the property until 1988. The 206 had its failure in 1986 and wasn't officially retired until 1988. So if it had been economically viable to rebuild the unit it probably would have been rebuilt. In addition, the RS-1 #252 was still on the property and still operating until it too was scrapped in 1988. Not sure if it was used as trade in value against the GEs but it could have been.
Also note, if the unit could run with minor repairs, the URHS would have leased it out to one of the local short lines as they have done with most of the other operating units.
My best suggestion would be that you contact Ed at the Maywood Station and ask for information or an inspection of the unit. I am sure Ed can tell you / show you exactly what is damaged in it.