D&H C628s & trying to find current photos of 610.

Just looking for some current photos of the 610 - the D&H C628 preserved in the museum in Meridia, Yucatan, Mexico. The latest pics I've seen date back to 2001! The story I heard when it was donated to the museum - back in mid 2000 - was that it would be cosmetically restored as D&H 610. It had been a parts unit for many years, and there was little or no hope that it would run again. Photos of it at the Museum show paint scraped off on the nose, exposing the original D&H herald - really cool to see! http://www.celorio.com/mfy/images/a_1383dh601.jpg
However I have not been able to locate a single photo of it after October 2001... just hoping that someone may have come across more recient pics - or have seen it in person - and could give a little update.

As for the info I've got, it's the last D&H C628 left, and probably was the only D&H unit to survive past 1999. I recall reading a little news article in Trains in mid '99 that basically said the Alco days in Mexico were over, and that the D&H C628s were being scrapped. Then I heard stories in the fall of '99 that at least one of the D&H C628s was left... After a little research, I learned of the confirmed existance of the 610, and no others. It would seem that the all the rest of the D&H units were gone by the summer of 1999, if not earlier. Does that seem like an accurate time frame?
BTW: Ironically, this unit is not the only C628 at the museum. Former FCP #606 is there as well, and though it carries a 600 series number, it was built new for the FCP.

Thanks!

There are three preserved C628's in the world, the two at the museum in Mexico,
and a third in Australia.
D&H 610 is the only one of the three that operated with a US railroad.

Here are some more photos of 610, two are dated 2001, and one is undated, but is probably also from the early 2000's:

http://www.celorio.com/mfy/images/a_1383dh601.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/sixriversrail/image/114514236
http://www.tamr.org/Andy_Inserra/mfy.htm

Here is the museum webpage:
http://www.celorio.com/mfy/restore.htm

they list 610 as being in their collection, but they only have that one photo on their page!
from 2001..weird..maybe nothing new has happened in the last 9 years?

further googling couldnt bring up anything else..
well, at least she is preserved! thats a good thing..

Scot

scottychaos wrote:There are three preserved C628's in the world... well, at least she is preserved! thats a good thing.. Scot

I am not sure that the ones in Mexico are "preserved" as opposed to "saved," but at least they still exist.

Benjamin Maggi wrote:

scottychaos wrote:There are three preserved C628's in the world... well, at least she is preserved! thats a good thing.. Scot

I am not sure that the ones in Mexico are "preserved" as opposed to "saved," but at least they still exist.

Well, they are in a museum..
and from what reading I could find, it seems to be one of the better railroad museums in Mexico..
and the Mexicans are very proud of their two remaining D&H Alco PA's, and take good care of them..
(they are re-painted and on display)
so I would consider the C628's preserved..but yes, "preservation" is very subjective!

unless we find recent photos of the C628's languishing out on a back lot or something..
but from what little we do know, they seem fairly well taken care of for now..

Scot

Not to take any credit away from the Mexicans for saving, or at least not scrapping a total of five D&H Alcos, but I wonder if a D&H C628 would ever fit into the DL operating fleet/collection.. If it's got good wheels, ya never know! :D

-Micah