B&O 51, the first E unit, is preserved and displayed at the B&O Railroad Museum. It was taken out of service and joined the Museum collection 56 years ago in 1953. As such it is something of a time capsule, since any modernization ceased in 1953, only sixteen years after it was constructed by EMC in 1937. Is it the first diesel to be removed from service and preserved for display in a museum setting? If not, what is the first diesel preserved?

Incidentally, the 51 is often described as a "shell". It is far more than a shell. To a non-expert (me) the only things missing are the two main generators. Everything else in the engine room seems to be intact and in place, including the two V12 201-A engines. For years I had thought the traction motors were removed, but looking underneath the unit, the motors (or at a minimum the motor frames) are in place and cabled to the carbody.

A second question: If B&O 51 is the first diesel to be preserved, is CNJ 1000, added to the collection in 1957, the second unit preserved?