Get those pictures fast guys the days are numbered for F units on MNCR.[V][V][V][V]
MNCR/CDOT took delivery of 4 more P40’s from Amtrak for Branchline and SLE service.
Last Sunday HHP-8 654 towed 836-838-841-834 from New Rochelle to New Haven.
Yesterday P40 833 did test trains witch cab car and is now in Harmon to have some changes made.
833 will probably go into Shuttle service on Waterbury within a week or two.
Sad, but it is also reality and inevitable…these are the units that got me hooked on railroads when I used to see them blast through Tuckahoe, NY on the MN Harlem line while I commuted from there to GCT in the seventies.
I strongly recommend the book
Diesels to Park Avenue
from the New Haven Railroad Historical Association (or Society?)
I think the website is www.NHRRHA.org, but I am not certain, better check through this website for railfan clubs.
It is an excellent book, is accurate and detailed about the history, and had excellent photographs. It carries the story up through the repainting into New Haven colors for ConnDOT, and a color drawing of the NH color scheme applied to the latest diesels.
Until I read the book, a never knew that the second order (30 each in first and second orders) were really FL-18’s. Also the first order had mu connections on the pilot, the second did not. The first came with dynamic brake capabilities (same resistors used as accelerating resistors under dc third rail power) but this was cut out on them and not repeated on the second order. The second order came with 1,800 Hp instead of 1,750 Hp.
I remember growing up in New York City(Brooklyn is where I was born) some 20 years ago and going to Grand Central Station after school to watch the parade of trains leave during the rush hour. A good portion of them left behind FL9’s(some of the run had double headers). Before Amtrak transferred their trains from Grand Central to Penn Station, they too left behind FL9’s even as they were phasing in the Rohr turbo trainsets. Some of the early service to Buffalo and Chicago had some long trains and sometimes required three units, which made the pulling out of Grand Central a joy to watch. Another location I would go to is the Metro North RR station at 125th Street in Harlem. There, some of the Amtrak runs didn’t stop there and it made for some impressive runbys as they blew through the station at speed. It’s sad that they have become a memory of my youth.
GLENN
A R E A L RAILROADER!!!
A R E A L AMTRAKER!!!
I’m a British fan and I’ve previously posted on the topic of the FL9’s/F10.
In simple terms, I get my kicks from riding behind diesels and listening hard.
In 25 years I’ve done about 500,000 miles in Europe and America, and the single best rail experience I’ve EVER had was FL9 2016 and F10 410 up the Harlem Valley one night.
Never mind the cameras. Buy a ticket and savour them while you can. If there was ANY way I could be over there for the end I would.
Currently the only F units in regular passenger service are, 2027 on 3 car shuttle in Danbury, usual turns train 1841 and train 1844.
The waterbury currently has F10 413 but it only runs eary morning and late at night middle trips are run with SLE equipment.
What happened to the FL-9’s that were rebuilt with ac traction and new prime movers’ I think. They were just rebuilt about 10 year s ago or so, they cant be that wore out yet. Is any goin to a museum or will the ivory hunters win out. ( goin to the scrappers). Also slightly off topic, Ive heard that Amtrak has store its first batch of AMD-103’s ie the 800 series locomotives that were delivered in the early nineties. I was told by someone that they were gettting unreilable and getting to be fuel hogs. Seems like they got screwed, the F40PHs they replaced lasted almost 3 times longer than the GE’s that replaced them. Good ol’ EMD’s, seems like they’ll run forever. Long live The Rock.
Scott
Only 4 FL9s were rebuilt to AC. They were disasters - very unreliable and hard to maintain.
Amtrak purchased a whole bunch of new locos to support their “mail and express” business. When that didn’t develop like they thought and they pulled the plug, a lot of locos became surplus. Our tax dollars sitting around - wasted capital.
MNCR had 10 locomotives rebuilt into FL9ac’s by ABB including the 3 for LIRR
MNCR numbers 2040 > 2046 and LIRR 300 > 302
Storing the P40’s had nothing to do with reliability, The P40’s were due for major overhaul(scheduled) and were set aside because of cancelation of Mail and Express, since they were oldest units and slightly lower power they ended up to be mothballed…
Several units were overhauled for Auto train service, 8 of these will come to MNCR/CDOT.
The FL9ac’s were not a succes and have been out of use for about 5 years now, several of these are in the scrap line and two have been partialy cut up. only 2043 will remain as shop power, hep supply for winter to keep cars hot.
The longevity of FL9 was not due to being a EMD product but simple fact of keeping them going with duct tape and bailing wire, because they were only engine fitting into park avenue tunnel.
If any newer engines would have fitted in late 70’s the FL9’s would have been gone a lot sooner.
the cost of endless rebullds on a 1959 engine frame was a lot more than a new engine would have cost. The cost of polution with 1959 locomotive blocks is just another matter, todays engines put out half those polutants