SCRANTON, Pa. — Genesee Valley Transportation’s historic American Locomotive Co. PA-model “Nickel Plate Road 190” locomotive will be temporarily displayed at Steamtown National Historic Site after its long-anticipated arrival from the West Coast, according to GVT President Michael D. Thomas.
Over the weekend, National Park Service staff and Steamtown volunteers repositioned GVT’s Lackawanna No. 426, a rare early Electro-Motive Corp. SC-model diesel switcher, to make a suitable display site for NKP 190. It will remain there for an undetermined period, but likely will move in June to GVT’s nearby Von Storch Locomotive Shop, also in Scranton, for evaluation and completion of the restoration.
“We are aware of the popularity of the locomotive and Steamtown offers a safe, secure, and accessible location for the public to experience this magnificent machine,” Thomas said.
The streamlined cab-unit diesel, which GVT bought in March from retired Southern Pacific locomotive engineer and preservationist Doyle McCormack, has been making its way east from its former home at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland. [See “Genesee Valley Transportation acquires PA …,” Trains News Wire, March 2, 2023, and “Genesee Valley Transportation prepares for move …,” News Wire, March 20, 2023].
Last week and this week, Norfolk Southern moved it in freights through Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. As of Tuesday, it was in NS’ Bison Yard in Buffalo, N.Y., awaiting an crew called for 5 p.m. to take it on train 310 to Binghamton, N.Y. From there, an NS Scranton-Binghamton local was expected to deliver it to Scranton.
GVT intends to use the unit in mainline office-car and excursion service, and would like to have McCormack operate it on one of its first runs. The company’s Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad and its other regional and short lines in Pennsylvania and New York have long made extensive use of Alco and Alco-design Montreal Locomotive Works units.
Built in 1948 as a model PA1 unit for the Santa Fe Railway, it was numbered 62L and painted in that road’s striking red-and-silver Warbonnet paint scheme. The six-axle, 2,000-horsepower unit was later sold along with three others to the Delaware & Hudson Railroad, which renumbered them 16-19 and used them on D&H’s pre-Amtrak intercity passenger trains. In 1975, they were rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen and redesignated as class PA4u. The units later saw service on Amtrak and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter trains before they were sold in 1978 to the Mexican national railroad.
McCormack, best known as the engineer on former SP Daylight 4-8-4 locomotive No. 4449 (Lima Locomotive Works, 1941) and Bill Withuhn, former transportation curator for the Smithsonian Institution, rescued and repatriated two of the four in 2000. Former ATSF 59L/D&H 16 went to the Museum of the American Railroad in Frisco, Texas, and McCormack acquired the other (ex-ATSF 62L/D&H 18). Having had a ride as a youngster in the cab of the original NKP 190, he wanted to recreate that memory and so painted it to match.
In the intervening two decades, McCormack pursued mechanical and electrical work on the unit, and it is near operating condition. It even made an appearance at the Trains-sponsored “Streamliners at Spencer” event in 2014, but more work is needed to make the locomotive capable of moving under its own power.
GVT has maintained a portion of its Facebook page to track the engine’s movement.
— Updated at 7:25 p.m. CDT to correct that the locomotive McCormack acquired was former D&H No. 18.
I have enjoyed tracking its progress on one of the live trains websites.
Well…the ALCo PAs were known as “honorary steam locomotives.”
Hopefully there will be photo opps with iconic NKP 759 (as well as NKP GP9 514)!
The NS 8100 present at such a gathering would be classy…but class seems to be out at the moment.
That is one beautiful paint job.
Yes, but completely bogus. When it was in Doyle’s hands, everyone accepted he had the right to paint it whatever he pleased, hence the fake NKP colors (though SP Daylight colors would have been better, matching 4449, but Doyle’s choice was NKP). Now it will be on display at Steamtown, which is a museum presumably dedicated to factual displays, I hope it will be restored to its genuine latter day identity as D&H No. 18? Presumably, with D&H being a railroad sort of in the general region of GVT’s operations, that would suit them as well?. It would be very satisfying to eventually see the two surviving PA’s in the U.S. in the colors of their actual past owners, Santa Fe & Delaware & Hudson.