Folks,
I have a trivea question: what is the oldest opeerating Diesel in the country?

We have the 44 ton Visalia Electric #502 at the Western Railway Museum which has been running more or less continously since it was built in 1944. There are many of those around so it is not likely near the oldest.

What is operating for the 1930s or earlier?

Ted 66

Hi Ted, I think you will find that VE 502, GE 27818, was built in August 1945.

ARMCO B73;1930 Westinghouse, at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum is likely the oldest operating diesel in the U.S. It is only run occasionally but is kept in fully operational condition.

NIRC 1 - 1939

Metra SW-1

The Allentown & Auburn Railroad claims that their EMC switcher is the second oldest diesel in operation. I guess the B-73 is no.1 and this one is no. 2

Valley Railroad in Connecticut has a very early (first one?) GE 80-tonner, built 1937 for Pfizer Co. at Groton, Conn. It worked there until acquired by VRR about 1992, and is still in VRR service.

Howard P.

Any idea whatever happened to Amtrak's oldest Diesel locomotive, SW-1 (I believe) #743, or 734, built in like 1939? I photographed it in Albany in 1983 (one of the first Amtrak locos I ever saw in the Phase III livery). I think it might have been assigned to Washington Terminal in the late 1990's.

Lehigh Valley SW1 #112, a.k.a. Black River & Western 400, was built by EMC in April, 1939. Still has it's original prime mover, 6-567-V and has been working BRW freight two days a week since since last August.

I know of another 1938 built EMC SW1 in South Carolina, but I believe it has been re-powered with CAT diesel.

In keeping with the 1939 theme, the North Carolina Transportation Museum has (on long-term loan from NC DOT), and occasionally operates, a 1939-built EMD E3: "Atlantic Coast Line #501: This locomotive was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in November 1939".

The Illinois Railway Museum has several old diesel locomotives, and three very old diesel locomotives.

1) The oldest is Delaware Lackawanna & Western 3001. This is a 1926 Alco/GE/Ingersoll Rand box cab. 300hp. (I do not know if it runs. I have never seen it run, or really out of the diesel shop.)

2) The second one is the Dardanelle & Russellville 14 that is a 1937 EMC SC 600hp. with the Winton 8-201A engine. (not operational)

3) 1939 Alco HH-660 660hp. Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific 1603 (Milwaukee Road), (do not know if operational.)

4) 1940 EMC E5-A 2000hp. Stainless steel, Only E-5 survivor and rumored to be the only locomotive ever saved from the Pielet Bros. Scrap yard next to EMD LaGrange Ill. (operational with Nebraska Zypher set.)

5) 1944 GE-45 ton United States Army 8537. (unit is operational.)

6) 1944 H10-44 1200hp. Fairbanks Morse first locomotive. Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific 760 (Milwaukee Road) (operational)

7) 1945 Alco VO-660 660hp. Wyandotte Terminal Railroad 103 (don't know if operational)

8) 1947 Fairbanks Morse H20-44, 2,000hp. Union Pacific Railroad 1366 (Not operational as far as I know.)

9) 1947 Alco S-1 Nekoosa Paper 14 (Operational.)

10) 1948 Baldwin DTS-6-2000 center cab double diesel, 2,000hp. Minneapolis Northfield & Southern Railway 21 Has not run is several years. (I believe at least 1 of the prime mover is operational.)

11) 1948 GP-7 1500hp. Chicago & North Western 1518 (first GP-7 built, in diesel shop under repair)
12) 1949 F7-A 1500hp. Chicago & North Western 411 (ex Metra 305) (operational)

13) 1949 F7-A 1500hp. Metra 308 (ex, C&NW 414) (operational)

14) Several 1950 & 1951 locomotives. Commonwealth Edison 15 SW-1 600hp. (operational)/ Columbus & Greenville 606 1500hp. Baldwin AS-416 (not operational) / SW-7 Chicago Burlington & Quincy 9255 (operational)/ Whitcomb 0-4-0 Joy Manufacturing Company 2 (operational)/ F7-B Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific 96B (not operational)/ F7-A 1500hp. Milwaukee Road 118C (operational)/ Alco RS-3 Minnesota Transfer 200 (operational)/ Lima LS-1200 Armco Steel E110 (not operational)

As you can see, this is quite a list, and it continues on into 1952-and on up. Great museum and wonderful collection!

Steve

Don't forget DL&W 426, a pre-production EMC SC built in Feb 1935 at GE in Erie (before EMC had set up production in McCook). It has GE trucks, not the standard "AAR" shifter trucks.

It's now with Delaware-Lackawanna in Scranton with a 567 that was installed while Bethlehem Steel had it on one of their lines.

Phil Mulligan

Not yet mentioned is Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville #DS-50, the Monon Railroad's first diesel. The SW-1 was built by Electro-Motive in February of 1942. The switcher was given number 1 in 1947 and was then sold to a coal company in 1948 where it was found some years later, purchased and repainted for the CI&L (Monon) using its original number. The unit is privately owned and is at the Indiana Transportation Museum in Noblesville, Indiana where it is still operational and was regularly used for a number of years. Not sure what its current situation is as ITM is currently in a state of flux.

Les

Both the Armco B73 and the non-operational B71 at the Illinois Railway Museum have had their original Westinghouse-Beardmore Diesels replaced with six cylinder Hamiltons. Oddly, the B71 is younger than the B73 although both were built in 1930.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=4883621

While not a tourist line or a place to preserve railroad items, the East Penn Railroads SW 900 built by the Electro Motive Corporation in 1937 for the Philadelphia Bethlehem & New England Railroad, then rebuilt in 1955. Still operates in regular service.

Honorable mention:

Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, & Dubuque Electric Traction Co. #100
(Dan Patch Lines) GE 1913.

Built as Gas Electric 1913 (two prime movers)
Rebuilt to Electric 191?
Had Diesel GenSet installed 1954 +/-

Preserved Minnesota Transportation Museum.

-Hudson