From railfan.com. Article by Eric Berger.

“A half-century after most of the remaining Alco FA locomotives in the United States were transformed into Head End Power control cabs on the Long Island Rail Road, one of the survivors is making news after being restored to operation in the Garden State.

On October 3, LIRR FA-2 602, originally built as Louisville & Nashville 309, came to life for the first time in 49 years and moved under its own power at the shops of SMS Rail Lines. It is believed to be the first of the former Long Island units to operate under its own power again.

The FA is privately owned and has been at SMS — a short line known for its fleet of Baldwin locomotives — for restoration work, including replacement of the grills and repairs to the cooling system and prime mover. After initial testing is complete, it is expected to be laid up for more minor repairs over the winter months. The work is being done exclusively by SMS personnel and the locomotive’s owners. As major work on 602 nears completion, plans are being made to move another former L&N FA-2 to SMS for similar treatment.

The first six LIRR control cabs arrived on the commuter railroad in May 1971, all from the same 1956 L&N order, the last FA-2s built for an American railroad. By 1971, the ranks of Alco cab units in the U.S. were dwindling fast as railroads traded them in to GE or EMD for new Second Generation diesels. Most were financed for 15 years, and since FA-2 production ended in 1956, even the newest of them were eligible for retirement. Orphaned by the closure of Alco in 1969, they joined Baldwin and Fairbanks-Morse products on the fast track to the scrap yard.

That is where the remaining FA units were headed when GE and LIRR came up with the plan to convert the surviving units into control cabs that would also provide Head End Power for push-pull trains powered by high hood C-420s. At the time, LIRR was an all-Alco road already versed in the maintenance of 244 prime movers.

A total of eight FA-1s and 11 FA-2s were converted at the GE facility in North Bergen, N.J., and put in service between 1971 and 1974, along with four EMD F-units. The Alcos came from L&N, Burlington Northern, Penn Central and Western Maryland.

While the traction motors were removed, the Alco 244 series prime movers were retained for HEP generation. Most would eventually be repowered, first with smaller, engine-generator sets from Detroit Diesel, then with Cummins equipment a decade later. Seven kept their 244s, LIRR 600-604, 610 and 618, all of which were retired and sold or donated in 1986 and 1987.

While the startup of 602 is a milestone in the remarkable saga of the surviving Alco cab units, its return to public view is not expected in the near future, nor will speculation about a paint scheme be resolved anytime soon. Plans currently call for paint to be applied only after the mechanical and cosmetic work is complete on all of the units involved in the project, and the timetable for that is uncertain.

At this time, the owner has disclosed only that a set of Alco freight cab units will be operating in the United States within the next few years, wearing the paint of a notable fallen flag.”

http://railfan.com/alco-fa-2-roars-back ... IDNCPedGUw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcYsz1epbPA

When I saw this video I wondered if it was wise to be moving a unit that just ran for the first time in 49 years at such a brisk pace within yard limits when you could only have tested the engine brakes with yard air.

Those brakes had been tested with shop air, and the unit had been moved from another location with no air issues at all. In fact the inspector from Conrail Shared Assets who approved that move made some very positive comments on the air brake work that had been done. The original 24-RL system was replaced with 26-FNL, making the unit more 'operator friendly', as well as making maintenance easier and less expensive.

Silly boy! The test area is in an industrial park, controlled by SMS. Congratulations to the owner who finally got it running after all the years of scrounging up the components to complete the unit to get it running.

This has been a labor of love from the bottom up. Owner, Bobb Losse deserves nothing BUT PRAISE for this first of a series of planned restorations. It's been an uphill battle, but the rewards are at least tangible. Bobb also get points for having rescued most, if not all the surviving ALCO FA's from the LIRR.

SMS is not alone. The Illinois Railway Museum is converting the LIRR #604 back to L&N #314. they too have been seeking parts from all over.

There was an article about the project in the Rail & Wire last year. It may be on their web site by this time.

Ted Miles, IRM Member

Richard-did you mean that the owner deserves nothing but kudos for this restoration?

We know what you meant. He deserves nothing but the best from all of us.

I believe these units have been converted more than twice as long as the oldest of them served as a locomotive. Putting any one of them back to operation is commendable.

A keyboard typing failure. Bobb deserves incredible praise for restoring these beautiful cab locos. The typo was mine, but you guys get style points for calling it out. Thanks for supporting his efforts!

What kind of HEP were they doing, particularly the ones retaining the 244's? I thought I read somewhere that it was 600V DC. If so were they pulling depowered MU's?

Did the later setup reflect going with the standard 480VAC / 3Φ?

Steve

The 244's and generators were creating electricity to heat and light converted MU cars. They had no traction motors (FA's or coaches), so were pushed or pulled by ALCO C420's. Later the ALCO's were returned to the lessor, and replaced with (ugh) GP38's. The bulk of the FA fleet were stripped of the 244's and generators, and replaced with Detroit Diesel sleds, which were easier to maintain. When that happened, significant alterations took place on the chopped FA's. Restoring an (most) FA1 will require grills, headlight trim, doors, and that's only exterior.
While in LIRR service, at least one burned, another was destroyed in a grade crossing accident, another suffered an electrical fire, and one lost its cab to "streamline" it. THese last four were all cut up as scrap.

Mr Pincus knows the details better than I, but RMNE has one of the LIRR cab units. New Haven 0401. It retains its 244 prime mover and regained traction motors from a parts donor RS3 through a truck swap a “while” back. It “ran” on the Valley along with New Haven RS3 529 back in the 80’s. It was MU’d with the 529 providing the power. Long term goal is restoration to operation as I understand, though low on the priority list. A privately funded effort is underway to re-side the locomotive with new “panels”. Vinyl is final. KIDDING.

There's a note on the Ahead of the Torch website this morning, that owner Bob Losse intends to eventually repaint the two FA cab units (and an unpowered B unit) into the Pennsylvania Railroad solid yellow stripe paint scheme.

Les

Bobb owns two former SP&S, nee' LIRR FA1's as well. While they are empty car bodies at present, transplant power systems will hopefully be applied for full restoration. That's a while off in the distance.

That’s going to look fantastic in Brunswick Green.