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Short line, NRHS save Lackawanna GP7
Yea!, another diesel at STEAM town!
I have no problem with that. 5460 has a long association with the area and it should be preserved in there. Also note that it is not part of Steamtown’s collection.
I think this is Great!
We must all be getting old if GP7’s are going into museums…Nice to see it restored to operate on home rails. Unfortuneatly, black Lackawanna paint scheme nothing to write home about. Great save D-L!
This GP7 has such a significance to the Lackawanna Valley as the last surviving and unaltered road unit from Road of Anthracite. That it’s available to Steamtown if needed is also a good thing, helping to tell the story of the end of steam with an authentic piece. It will also be earning its keep hauling freight in the Poconos. Right now 5460 is in running condition and had its wheels replaced and other mechanical work done by the DL mechanics and contractors in Kankakee to make it suitable for movement on NS. Vulcan retired it more than a year ago, ahead of its plans, to make it available for preservation. This is a great cooperative effort of the three corporations (DL-parent Genesee Valley Transportation, NS and Vulcan) and the Tri-State Chapter NRHS in New Jersey, each playing its part. The DL team worked over and above the call in many regards, and they deserve a special place as curators of history in addition to running a successful business. DL also preserved EMC’s “prototype freight locomotive” from 1935, Lackawanna 426, a six-hundred horsepower, cast frame switcher currently on display in the roundhouse “core complex” at Steamtown.
Special thanks to the many people at all three corporations for playing a part. Lackawanna 959 will soon be a proud addition to the preservation community. Long may it run.
Mike Del Vecchio
President
Tri-State Chapter NRHS
This is great news! This is an original “Lackawanna” unit without a chopped nose! A hefty Thank-you to everyone involved!
Any old EMD does my heart good. A Real good engineer will
always take an EMD today!
As a Scranton native, it’s nice to see a historic loco - even a diesel, coming home, to serve both in local freight and Steamtown. My wife and I were in Scranton in August and got a couple of good looks at trains moving around. One was just the Steamtown quickie going back and forth (seen from our room in the hotel at Lackawanna Station), and the other one blocking Lackawanna Ave as it crossed. That one was the big surprise; growing up in Scranton I have no memories of that track being active. It’s really nice to see that freight is alive and well in Scranton.