S2 206 in its final resting place

[airman00]

I also know that line is an active freight line, so you could run the trips on sundays maybe?

[RS115]

Yes it's an active freight line - which works against you in most cases "We don't want your 'hobby' engine out on the line breaking down and blocking our real train." It's also trackage owned by the NYSW - which in turn is largely owned by NS and CSX - both varying degrees of rabid against any kind of passenger operation on their tracks.

Scotty's point above is very well taken - there are many equal or more interesting locomotives around the country which sit stuffed and mounted because they have no where to go. Being able to see and touch them is still better than shaving with one of them.

[airman00]

I see your point, still quite a shame though. I'm surprised that someone who is in charge at csx and ns aren't railfans themselves and would like to see this, but after all it is a business. And businesses are in business to make money. (Although it's all a bit ironic since this is a former Susquehanna engine we're talking about)

On a related note: what would it take to just get the lights...the bell...and the horn working? At least that would be something.

[lvrr325]

Change the lights to 12V, buy an automotive battery and go. As for the bell and horn, pick up a big air compressor and charge up the air tanks and you've got it.

[airman00]

I know the prime mover had a massive failure. But what exactly caused it to fail? I read someone said maybe engine ran out of oil and it seized up? Does anyone exactly know why #206 failed? What happened and what caused it?

[airman00]

Doing a little research and #206 was rebuilt in 1985. How did she fail if she was just worked on? Anyone know exactly what happened to her?

[airman00]

does anyone know exactly what happened?

[Steve F45]

i thought i had read it was a small fire inside the engine compartment?

[airman00]

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?

[chief]

Send me your e-mail and i will tell what happened to the 206
my e-mail [email protected]

[airman00]

assuming she hadn't failed in 1985, how long do you think she would've remained on NYS&W active roster?

[airman00]

I'm just putting this out there, (just a feeler to see what response I get), but what IF #206 didn't have a blown engine? Not to say anything I might be un-informed about, but in looking at various photo's of #206, (pic's I saw on rrpicturearchives.net ), her stack is capped.

Now I know they don't cap stacks for a blown engine. Now I read as well, she was used as trade-in credit towards the purchase of 4 new loco's for the suzy-Q. (trade in back in 1988) I am venturing a guess that you might not be inclined to trade in a totally dead engine, as an engine with a blown prime mover wouldn't have as much value as one that maybe still ran.

All 5 of the other alco s-2's owned by suzy-Q were scrapped, (why weren't they traded-in?), and yet the last one left, with a blown engine no less, somehow had trade-in value? I am piecing together small clues and think maybe #206 is not as gone as we think, and she may she be very much able to get running again, with out a major fix-up job. After all IF prime mover didn't have a massive failure, then perhaps she was retired for other reasons. I'm not saying something didn't happen to her, something did. I'm just speculating she didn't have a "blown engine" Any thoughts by you guys out here?

[cjvrr]

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.

[Sid Farkus]

Even if you want to believe that, there is no chance that engine will ever run again after they decided to store it on an isolated track.

[airman00]

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.

I am 36 yrs. old, so back in the 80's I was still a kid. I loved trains back then don't get me wrong but as a kid with family who didn't care for trains like I did, not much I could do. I asked for information on why or how she "failed", to maywood station, but they didn't help much, sorry to say. Anyhow, her stack was capped in 1988, and they don't cap stacks on blown engines, so I still think something is up. Perhaps the engine isn't blown, but whatever was wrong with her, the railroad decided it was too much to fix and let her go. Incidentaly why wait 2 years to retire her if she was gone?