John Sesonske
GREENWICH JUNCTION, N.Y. — A group of railfans gathered three preserved and operational Alco locomotives for a night photo at Greenwich Junction on Dec. 6, 2020, and are also seeking to promote an effort to preserve a former Alco plant switcher.
Photographed at Greenwich Junction, where the Greenwich & Johnsonville Railroad interchanged with the Delaware & Hudson, are Batten Kill Railroad No. 4116, an RS-3 originally built for the D&H, in a 1970s-er Greenwich & Johnsonville paint scheme; RCPX No. 3021, a former Army and Staten Island Transit unit, wearing the scheme S2 locomotives wore when on the D&H, and Southern New England Railroad No. 5012, a former Atlantic & Danville RS-36 in a D&H scheme with Southern New England lettering. The three models, representing types that all operated at the location, also feature the three types of Alco prime movers, the 539, 244, and 251 engines.
Raven Rail, which owns No. 3021, also owns Alco S1 No. 5, a former plant switcher at the Alco Schenectady, N.Y., plant, which is the subject
John Sesonske
of a preservation effort. The locomotive was subsequently used by GE at the site when GE used the former Alco plant. Under private ownership, the diesel also spent time at the Strasburg Rail Road, and on a number of short lines and tourist operations including the Adirondack Centennial, Upper Hudson River, and Saratoga & North Creek railroads. The locomotive’s future was at risk following the bankruptcy of the Saratoga & North Creek and other Iowa Pacific operations, but was rescued by Raven Rail. Information on preservation efforts are available at this Facebook page; donations to a restoration GoFundMe effort can be made here.
— Corrected Dec. 10 to fix locomotive numbers and headline
