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Officials with the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society have said they are on track to move New York Central L-3a 4-8-2 “Mohawk” 3001 out of Elkhart, Ind., this summer, the first major step towards a highly anticipated operational restoration. 

This spring, the Fort Wayne group has been working at the National New York Central Railroad Museum to rebuild yard tracks that will enable them to move the locomotive onto Norfolk Southern rails, and eventually, the shop where the 4-8-2 will be restored. In late April, the air brake system was also restored on the locomotive, allowing it to be safely moved on the main line. 

The 3001 is the largest surviving NYC steam locomotive and the only member of the L-3a class to escape the scrapper’s torch. The locomotive was under the care of the City of Elkhart, Ind., and has been on display at the National New York Central Museum for decades. In October 2024, FWRHS launched an effort to restore the locomotive for use on its popular Indiana Rail Experience excursions. 

FWRHS owns three other steam locomotives, most notably Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 765, which it has operated since the 1970s. For the last few years, it has managed the Indiana Rail Experience, an excursion operation on the Indiana Northeastern Railroad, which has trackage in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Much of that track is former NYC, meaning locomotive 3001 will be right at home. NYC 3001 will also join the fleet of seven Budd streamlined cars built in 1941 for the NYC “Empire State Express” and purchased from Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum in 2023.

According to FWRHS, a mechanical evaluation of the locomotive has been performed by FMW Solutions with financial support from former Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman. The group estimates that it will take $4.3 million to restore the locomotive to operation. Donations can be made online at AmericanLoco.org. FWRHS is also encouraging people to join its pledge list.

—Justin Franz 

The post NYC Mohawk on Track to Move this Summer appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

Just days after Union Pacific filed a revised application to acquire Norfolk Southern, its primary competitor in the West said the proposal was still “incomplete” and should be rejected by regulators. On May 8, BNSF Railway filed its response to the application with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, the agency that will ultimately have the final say on whether UP and NS will be able to create the first single-transcontinental railroad.

The STB previously rejected UP’s application last year as “incomplete,” and on April 30, the railroad submitted a revised version. But representatives of BNSF accused UP of simply repackaging the old application and not giving the STB or other stakeholders enough information to judge the merger.

“At this point, because there is still not a fully formed proposal for the Board’s consideration — and because the application lacks other required information — the Board should find the amended application incomplete,” the response reads.

BNSF’s representatives continued that UP simply offered “cosmetic changes to gloss over the serious and fundamental competition, pricing and service concerns that were previously raised.” Among the issues glossed over was that a combined UP-NS would have 50 percent market share of the domestic U.S. rail freight market (loaded revenue units originated by Class Is) and 53 percent of the Class I merchandise gross ton miles market. Despite those numbers, UP still states there will be no competitive harm as a result of the merger.

Another issue raised in the filing was that UP and NS did not address the possibility of an “end game” round of mergers. According to the 2001 merger rules established by the STB, any Class I merger application would have to include analysis about not just the proposed combination, but those that could likely follow.

The STB is expected to issue a decision on whether the merger application is complete by the end of May.

—Justin Franz 

The post BNSF to UP-NS: Keep Trying appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.