The article in the Feb issue on the LIRR brought back memories of a business trip to NYC in the early to mid 80s, when I took the LIRR out of Penn Station to Mineola to see an Islanders game, changing trains at Jamaica. I remember seeing some trains go by with Alco FA’s on one end and MP15ACs on the other, but the FA’s weren’t making any Alco-like noises. Were these units repowered or depowered and used for HEP? Were they ever used for freight? What happened to them and are any still in use?
By the 1980’s, most of the LIRR cab cars were using Detroit Diesel skid-mounted rigs to provide power for HEP. The cab cars were shells of FA’s and F’s without traction motors and had diesel-alternator sets for HEP only. They were not locomotives while in service on the LIRR.
The LIRR FA’s were essentially sort of turned into cab cars - nicknamed “power packs” because they had the HEP.
Two of the units were ex-New Haven FA-1’s - both exist.
NH 0401 is at the RMNE with its original 244 engine and will be restored to its NH appearance (it escaped many LIRR modifications) and operational.
NH 0428 had many modifications and doesn’t have an engine, AFAIK. Its at the Danbury Railway museum. The outward appearance has been modified - but they have plans for it.
The one in Danbury still has LIRR paint.
None of the FA’s were locomotives on the LIRR. All were bought at just above scrap value to be made into head-end-power cab cars. Not much money was spent on them, because (1) they could always be replaced by other diesels saved from scrapping and treated similarly, and (2) the plan always was to eventually buy diesels that would provide head end power in addition to traction and also use cab-car coaches. (Now the Kawaski double deckers) There were also some EMD F-7’s (possibly some F-3’s, too) that got similarly treated, used interchangeably.
In the era these cab-car ex-locomotives were used, almost all the coaches and parlor cars were de-motored Post WWII mu cars replaced by the M-1’s that started to arrive around 1969 and are now being replaced by the M-7’s. They were similar to the “ac-mu’s” the 1000 and 1100 green cars of Metro North. Some were actually owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and leased to LIRR.
These de-motored mu’s replaced a lot of second hand lightweight equipment and some remaining p-70’s, and p-54’s (ping pongs for their rough riding qualities) that had survived since the 30’s and '40’s. This was mostly steam heated equipment. And the LIRR did have road-switcher diesels with steam boilers. Also DD-1 electrics that retained their steam boilers from their Manhattan Transfer PRR days.
Here’s one: http://toyotameister.tripod.com/junk/FA2.jpg. I shot this about a week after 9/11, during the 2001 PCRRHS convention. It’s in the weeds in Colonie, NY not far from the old D&H shops.
