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Pictured below is my New Haven Railroad ALCO RS-1 diesel locomotive model made by Atlas O. The New Haven purchased 12 of these locomotives in 1948 and designated them DERS-1b. They had 1000 horsepower and developed 60,750 pounds of tractive effort. The RS-1s initially saw service on secondary passenger runs but soon were assigned to local freights.

MELGAR

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Brian.....this is a great pic!

These engines were the "steal of the century" for the New Haven. The Virginian bought about 12 of them for about $267K each....they were acquired by the N&W in the merger with the Virginian and then all were sold to the New Haven for $200K, including spare parts.....

This allowed the cash-strapped New Haven to revamp their electric freight service (they had similar guts as the EP-5s). Some of these engines got PC black and lasted to get Conrail blue.

Peter

briansilvermustang posted:

                                                                   ???????????

Brian,

Photo shows the diesel-hydraulic locomotives (EDER-6, #3000 and 3001) of the Dan’l Webster train that arrived on the New Haven in October 1956. They powered a 9-car train of lightweight passenger cars made by Pullman Standard. The locomotives were built by Baldwin Lima Hamilton and each had a German 1,000 HP Maybach V-12 4-cycle engine which drove 36-inch wheels on the lead truck through a hydraulic transmission. The 28-inch wheels on the rear truck were unpowered. The Dan’l  Webster was one of three unsuccessful lightweight trains ordered by the McGinnis Administration – this one costing about $1.5 million – and was retired in 1958.

MELGAR

Last edited by MELGAR

These pictures show New Haven Railroad’s Budd RDC #32, as photographed at the Danbury Railway Museum in 2017, and my Sunset/3rd Rail model of RDC #21. The New Haven acquired 40 RDCs in 1952 and ‘53 and referred to them as “Shoreliners.” They were powered by two 275 HP General Motors diesel engines mounted below the floor and could accommodate 89 passengers. At the time, the New Haven was the country’s largest user of RDCs, running them mostly on branch lines and in commuter service. Many of these cars lasted until the New Haven was absorbed into the Penn Central in 1969.

MELGAR

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briansilvermustang posted:

Melgar,  where did you get the New Haven car that is on your layout, that is a very nice looking car...

Thanks Brian,

It is a beautiful scale model made by 3rd Rail Division of Sunset Models (http://www.3rdrail.com/). They made models of the RDC-1 and RDC-2 about two years ago. According to the website, some models are still available.

MELGAR

Well, I'm still rummaging around my hard drive and I came up with two more photos of NH Budd cars.  Like the photos above, these were also taken on the Providence, Warren & Bristol RR right of way.

I could write about the PWBRR all day long, but I'll keep my comments brief.  A few interesting things about the PWBRR was that it was one of the first lines on which overhead electrification was deployed.  As part of this process, the New Haven dug a 1-mile long tunnel underneath the city of Providence, RI to enable the trains to pass under "College Hill" in Providence.

The first photo below shows another railfan excusion with a NH Budd car either emerging from or going in to the tunnel.  The photo is undated, but it must again be during the 1960s.  I read somewhere that these excursions were run about twice a year around this time.

[Sorry; image removed to avoid potential copyright issues.  Contact me offline if you'd like a private copy.]

The next photo shows another excursion from around the same time.  The bridge in the photo is over the Seekonk River just to the east of Providence, RI.  You can see the catenary, formerly used for the electrified system over the RDCs.

[Sorry; image removed to avoid potential copyright issues.  Contact me offline if you'd like a private copy.]

The Old Colony RR leased the PWBRR for 99 years beginning in 1891.  In 1893, the New Haven leased the entire Old Colony system, including the PWBRR, for 99 years.

Passenger service ended to Bristol, RI as of the 1938 hurricane.  Freight service ended to Bristol in 1973.  The entire line was abandoned in 1983 and is now a bike path.  Many vestiges of the railroad can still be seen.

Steven J. Serenska

Last edited by Serenska
briansilvermustang posted:

 The last and most unique of the F units, the FL9 was a custom fit for the unique commuter services in and out of Grand Central Terminal. Able to operate as a conventional diesel electric or pick up electricity from a third rail, the locomotives could operate safely in and out of the long tunnel into New York. 

The FL9 had a unique 5 axle design and were longer than the typical F. They marked the end of F unit production in 1960 and were among the last in regular service in the US, securing their place in history and preservation.

Love the photos!

During the 1950s, the New Haven sought to cut costs by reducing electric operations in the electrified zone between New Haven and New York City. Although diesels could be used elsewhere, electric operation was required in the Park Avenue Tunnels leading to Grand Central Terminal. Therefore, the dual-power FL-9 locomotive (electric and diesel-electric), which could operate as a conventional diesel-electric or as a straight electric on the 650 volt DC third-rail in the tunnels, was designed specifically for the New Haven by EMD. EMD lengthened the FP-9 locomotive by four feet and substituted a 3-axle Flexicoil rear truck to meet axle load restrictions on the Park Avenue Viaduct leading to the tunnels. The first thirty FL-9s were delivered to the New Haven in 1957 with 1750 HP EMD 567 diesel engines. Thirty additional were delivered in 1960 with 1800 HP. They lasted to the end of the New Haven.

In 2017, four FL-9s remain parked in the Metro-North Lamberton Street Yard in New Haven.

Photo shows my Sunset/3rd Rail model of New Haven EMD FL-9 #2043.

MELGAR

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