I was recently in southern New Jersey and I saw several old and what looks like out of service locomotives. These locomotives are on a spur trk across the road from the Southwoods State Prision. The spur has two F/A Diesel units and 3 or 4 B units and a caboose. In addition there are 2 other diesel engines marked Erie Mining co. The F units are in sad shape, painted a multitude of colors to hide their origin and look as if they have been there a long time. Does anyone know why they are there.
The caption on this shot says a private owner is doing restoration work.
The locomotives in the first shot are Ex-LIRR “powerpacks.” Prior to the arival of the new double decker coaches and locomotives, the LIRR bought a number of olf FAs and about 4 Fs, stripped out their traction motors and prime movers and installed head end power generators. The “Power packs” doubled as a set of controls on the other end of a push-pull train. I rode behind some of these on the Port Jefferson and Greenport Lines prior to there retirment in the late 1990s. They have been replaced by cab-control cars on straight deisel trains (dual-mode trains have a loco on each end for continuos thrid rail contact).
Thanks for the Info. These units really look weird sitting out in the weather on that spur track.
If they are being restored, they are in really bad shape. There must be some kind of movement going there, there were 2 diesel engines, marked Erie Mining Co. with this consist on my last trip, that were not there on the trip before
The Erie Mining units are F9’s.