Surviving ALCO PAs

[Pensyfan19]

On the Nassau Tower discussion, I accidentally stated that LIRR 601 was being restored by SMS Rail Lines, when in fact 601, along with 611 and 614, is being restored in New Jersey by a private owner (likely the Winchester and Western) while engine 602 is being restored by SMS Rail lines. I have also checked rrpicturearchives.net, diesel shop rosters as well as trainsarefun.com and noticed that certain ALCOs, such as 607, do not have any status past their retirement on the LIRR.

I will list what I know so far:
600 is part of the Western New York RHS(?)
601, 611 and 614 are being restored in New Jersey, possibly by the Winchester and Western (Can anyone confirm this?)
602 is being restored by SMS Rail Lines
603 is stored (and hopefully restored[?]) in the Delaware Lackawanna yard in Scranton
604 is preserved by the Illinois Railway Museum
605 is preserved in Nashville, TN
606 was scrapped due to a wreck(?)
607 is now WM 303 and is currently sitting in Barton, MD
608 became power unit 3100 and is now scrapped
609 was scrapped due to a wreck
610 is now at the West Virginia Central(?)
612 was scrapped due to a wreck
613 is preserved in Portland, OR
615 was sold to SEPTA as a work unit
616 was stored in Passaic, NJ as part of the New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad before being moved with the rest of the equipment there
617 is preserved in Danbury
618 is preserved in Thomaston, CT(?)

With this info stated, is there any progress on some of these ALCOs, such as the ones which were purchased by shortlines including 602 and 603, as well as the current condition of the FAs preserved in museums?

[RGlueck]

601 and 601 are not being restored by railroads, but by their owner. They are on leased railroad space, as are 611 and 614, and two "B" units. These are ALCO FA cabs, not PA's. 607 is stored by a different individual, in damaged condition, but promised to be restored to at least display condition.

[polybalt]

The Illinois Railway Museum is actively restoring the 604 to full operation as FA L&N 314, it original number.

[newkirk]

Update on #604

http://www2.irm.org/blogs/archives/2031 ... pdate.html

[polybalt]

More recent up-date on 604: http://www2.irm.org/blogs/archives/2119 ... 92020.html

[Kelly&Kelly]

I recall a time when the Railroad considered a couple of PA-1's for conversion to push pull cabs. They opted to build the bar-generator cars instead when the PA's that were available were in poor structural condition.

[RGlueck]

When was this? The Santa Fe PA's were traded to EMD and processed at Pielet Bros. and cut up around 1968. Pielet's contract with EMD made it absolutely impossible to save any locomotive, even as a museum piece (Another reason to hate EMD). All Erie-Lackawanna's went to GE that year as well. It was a miracle D&H arranged to save the four Santa Fe's, and that was a deal made between company Presidents prior to the retirements. There was one New Haven unit still around, also grabbed by D&H, but stripped of parts and ...yup, cut up! Which units were LIRR looking at? HEP power was being developed just after the ALCO PA's became all but extinct.

[jsnitkoff]

Pretty sure the OP is referring to the FAs not PAs.

[nyandw]

601 and 601 are not being restored by railroads, but by their owner. They are on leased railroad space, as are 611 and 614, and two "B" units. These are ALCO FA cabs, not PA's. 607 is stored by a different individual, in damaged condition, but promised to be restored to at least display ondition.

Hi, Last I had was: "607 is now WM 303 and is currently sitting in Barton, MD." I had no date, but could you indicate if this is the ex-LIRR607, ex-WM303 now owned by a private person(?) In Barton, MD or another location? Thanks, Folks.

This page needs the updates corrected and any photos to add? Best,
http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirrFA/lirrFA.htm

[RGlueck]

Steve: I have no details regarding 607 other than what I was told by the owner of 602 & 601. It was old in heavily damaged condition, in that the nose was bashed in on one side. I believe it is in Maryland, sitting idle, and possibly in poor condition. The plan was to return it as a WM loco.
The hard part of restoration work is that what looks like a straight forward job become a spider web of details nobody noticed before. It's not so much the steel expense, although that's bad enough. The cost of machinery and labor by necessary professionals will hobble a project in a flash.
In the case of the FA's, even those retired with 244's were so heavily modified before they were worn out by the Long Island, perhaps cosmetic is the best an owner can do.

[4behind2]

There was discussion in the mid 1970's of having the D&H PA's used by the carrier for summer Montauk service, but nothing came of it.

[DogBert]

I just went and checked out 607 - it is intact, and the nose seemed fine. It's in WM paint, but it's rusting away and not actively being restored. Doesn't look like it has moved in at least eight years (photos on rrpicturearchive).

There are 5 other locomotives stored at the site (4 EMDs and a alco T6). All owned by Georges Creek Railway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Creek_Railway It seems this RR had one customer, a mill, which shut down last year. (source:
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/ ... ?2,4802715 ).

The entire line was very overgrown. I doubt anything has moved since the EMD's arrived there last spring. Doesn't seem like an ideal situation...

[dgvrengineer]

I heard they are all for sale. However, I have not seen them advertised anywhere. As stated by DogBert, their only customer a paper mill shut down.

[newkirk]

Pensyfan 19 wrote: 616 was stored in Passaic, NJ as part of the New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad before being moved with the rest of the equipment there

Here's #616 in this October 2004 photo. Any comments ?

[RGlueck]

Nice paint scheme, but serious restoration still required! Taken in Quebec, Canada, this is an ALCO F-eh!