Prototype News

The Adirondack Railway Preservation Society has acquired a former New York Central C-430 locomotive from the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad. 

WNY&P 430 was built in 1967 as NYC 2050. It later worked for Penn Central, Conrail, and the New York, Susquehanna & Western before ending up on the WNY&P. The Adirondack operates on 100 miles of former NYC trackage, meaning it will be right at home.

“We’re excited to see the 430 go to a great home. It’s neat to see the former NYC engine head to its old stomping ground and continue to operate. We’re glad we could find a way to make it happen,” said Bob Babcock, CEO of the Livonia Avon & Lakeville family of railroads, which includes the WNY&P.

“We are excited about the opportunity to acquire this high-horsepower locomotive at a time when we have begun to operate longer trains over a longer distance. We deeply thank Mr. Babcock and the WNY&P Railroad for making this possible. It is indeed a ‘game changer,’ and it is even more exciting to have this former New York Central ALCO back on its home rails,” said Frank Kobliski, President of ARPS and its subsidiary Adirondack Railroad.

The Adirondack Railroad hopes to have the locomotive in service before summer. —Justin Franz 

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CPKC has sold the Panama Canal Railway Company to APM Terminals, an independent division of shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk. 

The Panama Canal Railway offers ocean-to-ocean freight and passenger services along the Panama Canal and has operated as a 50-50 joint venture between CPKC subsidiary Kansas City Southern and Lanco Group/Mi-Jack since 1998. The terms of the transaction were not revealed. 

The 47-mile railroad was built in the 19th century but fell into disrepair during the 20th century. In the 1990s, the Republic of Panama awarded a contract to KCS to reconstruct the railroad and utilize it for intermodal transport. 

“We are pleased to have completed this transaction with APM Terminals, a part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, a key strategic partner of CPKC’s and major customer of the Panama Canal Railway Company,” said Keith Creel, CPKC President and Chief Executive Officer. “The sale of this non-core asset creates value for our shareholders and reflects our commitment to optimize our assets as we focus on growing our core North American rail business through our unrivaled three-nation network connecting Canada, the United States and Mexico.” 

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Massachusetts’ Edaville Family Theme Park has been sold, and its amusement rides will be auctioned off this spring. However, the narrow gauge railroad that has circled the park since the 1940s is expected to remain in operation. 

Edaville was founded by Ellis D. Atwood in 1947 after he purchased all the equipment he could find from the recently defunct Maine two-footers. Initially, Atwood planned to use the narrow gauge trains for his extensive cranberry bog operations, but people kept showing up asking for rides. By the 1950s, Edaville had transformed into a full-fledged tourist railroad. The railroad operated until the 1990s when the equipment returned to Maine to form the core of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum. In 1999, Jon Delli Priscoli reopened the park after leasing it from the Atwood family. 

Following the pandemic, the park was put up for sale, and its future looked uncertain. However, in 2022, the railroad announced that two new individuals would take over the operation: Shervin B. Hawley, managing partner from Sudbury, Mass., and Brian Fanslau, operations partner from Alna, Maine. Fanslau also manages Maine Locomotive & Machine Works, which rebuilds locomotives and cars and has performed extensive work with narrow gauge equipment. Over the last three years, Fanslau and Hawley have operated the railroad, primarily during the holiday season when the park transformed into a festive holiday wonderland. 

In late March, it was announced that the property had been sold to King Richard’s Faire, a nearby Renaissance fair typically held in the fall that had lost the lease on its previous location. Edaville’s numerous amusement rides will be sold to make way for the fair. However, Fanslau stated that the new owners have expressed interest in retaining the railroad, and he is optimistic that it will operate during the holiday season as it has in the past. 

While the narrow gauge equipment will stay on the property for now (most notably Monson Railroad 0-4-4T 3 leased from Maine Narrow Gauge in Portland), some standard gauge equipment is being moved off-site. Among them is Wolfeboro Railroad 2-6-2 250, which is being relocated to the Grafton & Upton Railroad. —Justin Franz 

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Amtrak officials said they would be able to restore its Cascades service between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, B.C., by the end of the week after sending 14 Amfleet cars west. The equipment shuffle comes days after the railroad pulled 70 Horizon cars from service after discovering corrosion issues on several of them. 

The decision last week to withdraw the cars from service disrupted operations nationwide, especially the Cascades, Hiawatha, and Borealis services. The Horizon cars were produced by Bombardier between 1988 and 1990 to supplement the Amfleet I fleet. It remains unclear how long these cars will stay out of service and what kind of plan Amtrak is formulating for their repair.

Immediately after the cars were taken out of service, passengers with tickets for the impacted trains had to ride buses instead. The Borealis was restored within a few days by removing Superliners from long-distance trains. Amtrak also sent 14 Amfleet cars west to Seattle for use on the Cascades. These cars have been added to the Empire Builder consist for movement to the West Coast. The first Amfleet set was expected to enter service on the route on Tuesday, and by the end of the week, all trains would be operating normally (albeit with a shorter consist than usual). The Hiawatha has been using Venture cars that were pressed into service, although officials indicated that they still do not have enough to cover the entire schedule, so some trains are being replaced with buses. 

The Downeaster between Boston and Brunswick, Maine, also lost some Horizon cars and has had to sacrifice some of its normal Amfleet cars to be sent west. As a result, that train is running with shorter consists. —Justin Franz

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Norfolk & Western Class A 2-6-6-4 1218 has been added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Virginia Historic Landmark, the Virginia Museum of Transportation announced on March 31. 

Locomotive 1218 was built by the N&W at its East End Shops in Roanoke, Va, in the spring of 1943. It was used in freight service until 1959. In the early 1960s, it was acquired by preservationist F. Nelson Blount for his Steamtown collection. In 1971, it was moved to the Roanoke Transportation Museum, where it was on display for more than a decade. In 1985, it was acquired by Norfolk Southern for its steam program and led excursions from 1987 until 1991, when it was scheduled to undergo an overhaul. That overhaul was never completed after NS canceled the steam program at the end of 1994. The locomotive was later transferred to VMT, where it remains on display. 

“We are thrilled to see the N&W 1218 recognized for its historical significance,” said Mendy Flynn, executive director of the Virginia Museum of Transportation. “This designation acknowledges the role that the Norfolk & Western Railway played in shaping the economic and industrial landscape of Virginia and the United States. The 1218’s inclusion on the National Register ensures that future generations will continue to learn about and appreciate this extraordinary piece of American history.” —Justin Franz 

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The group restoring Oregon Railroad & Navigation 4-6-2 197 announced recently that work on the locomotive’s boiler was “95 percent” complete and that new tubes and flues were on the way for installation. 

OR&N 197 is owned by the City of Portland and is currently cared for by the Friends of OR&N 197 at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. The locomotive was built in 1905 for OR&N, which eventually was taken over by Union Pacific. Under UP ownership, the locomotive was renumbered 3203. The locomotive ran until it was retired in 1958 and was put on display at Portland’s Oaks Park along with two 4-8-4 locomotives: Southern Pacific 4449 and Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700. The locomotive was removed from the park in 1996. In the decades since a small group of volunteers has been working to restore the locomotive. In 2023, that effort was kicked into high gear thanks to a matching grant from the “UP in Smoke Foundation.” The group is presently halfway to its fundraising goal. As part of the renewed effort, FMW Solutions was hired to assist with the restoration, most notably the boiler. 

When restored, locomotive 197 will be an ideal addition to the operating fleet at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. In 2023, the museum began offering more frequent steam excursions on the nearby Oregon Pacific Railroad, in addition to its popular Holiday Express rides in the winter. For years, ORHC used the two 4-8-4s for short trips, but railroad officials have asked that the use of the heavy Northerns be limited to preserve the track.The locomotive is also ideal for ORHC because of its connections to the region, in fact, the locomotive was long assigned to the Portland area. 

For more information and to learn how to donate to the restoration, visit the Friends of OR&N 197’s website or Facebook page. —Justin Franz 

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