New Haven 3025 had the honors of opening the 2012 season today, May 12.
It is also National Train Day.

Here's a clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr-o_dPSDA4

Enjoy,
Lee

Nice looking locomotive, very clean, pulling a matched consist of dark green heavyweights, what more could one ask for?

What is the heritage of 3025's whistle? Does anyone know.

I also noticed that 2 of the three ex DL&W "Boonton" coaches had roller bearings. What kind of conversion is this?

What a nice way to celebrate National Train Day.

Agreed, very good looking locomotive. It isn't every day you see a group do such a radical change to a locomotive like that. It's fun to compare pictures of this Mike and NYS&W #142, considering they are the same class.

Most likely a New Haven chime whistle. I think it belongs to one of VRR's senior engineers. It was carried by VRR 97 occasionally.

Howard P.

[quote="wilkinsd"
I also noticed that 2 of the three ex DL&W "Boonton" coaches had roller bearings. What kind of conversion is this?

[/quote]

They are not "Boonton" cars, they have vestibules. The might be ex DL&W MU trailers, which I think were built with roller bearings. I note they had end windows in the vestibules.

Nice looking train. I remember when IRM looked like this.

Well, actually, there are indeed 4 boonton's in that consist, 3 traditional and one with vestibules enclosed.

DL&W MU high roof trailers are in fact Boonton's that had their vestibules enclosed for MU service...the second close vestibule car on that train is of CNJ heritage....

I didn't see any that had roller bearings though...all look like friction bearings, to me.

VRR has 4 open platform DL&W cars, 3 in service and one currently a stationary food service car at Essex. VRR has 4 DL&W "high trailers", MUs built from open platform cars. All had plain bearings originally. VRR has converted at least one open plat car to rollers in the last year.

The DL&W motor cars had cast pedestal roller brg trucks.

VRR has 3 CNJ coaches in service as well.

Howard P.

The third and forth cars appear to have Timken "Quad Boxes". They are a design, circa 1930's that allowed the railroads to upgrade from 5x9 plain bearing to 5-1/2x10 roller bearing without modifying the trucks. The quad term comes from four tapered races used to replace the traditional two to fit in the space available. All that I remember seeing were grease bearings and the face plate resembled the slope and shape of a journal box lid. I do not believe they are allowed in interchange today.

What a absolutely beautiful train!

Paul D. is correct:
VRR "Boonton" coaches Nos. 503 and 502 have been converted to roller bearings with "quads".
VRR 602 has been coverted to "AP" roller bearings ("stealth", mounted in the original boxes with the lids left on).
Former CNR "Lindsay" will donate it's wheel sets (also roller bearing), probably to "Great Republic"...
J.David

Wow, that's beautiful. And not just the locomotives. There's so many 'dogs breakfast' trains out there that there just as much credit due in that range.

When the K&K SY mike was here, I remember marvelling over how quiet it was when it was either in cutoff or rolling. You get so used to the racket from a steam locomotive that it's rather incredible when it's not there. When it was new on the K&K, there was no rod or valve gear sound at all, everything was tight.

The track made plenty of racket though!

I really love what they've done with her. I have to say that I've seen those SY locomotives in real service in China and WOW they can put on a show. Since they really do not offer any historic value as an SY here using one as a platform for a replication is awesome.

From what it looks like in the video, they re-turned her at the the wye down the line so she comes back to Essex engine first rather than tender first. When did they do that? I guess I have been so accustomed to Strasburg operating tender first out and engine first back and I think that VRR looks so much better this way.

Very true. Now, I'll just wait until a Inwood native brings up the idea of a Virginian 2-8-2 ;)
Joking aside, the SY-Class would act as an excellent platform for a Boston and Maine consolidation... Raise the running board, replace the cab, cut her down to a 2-8-0, square off the tender, switch the wheels for the spoked variety and bam! A replica B&M Consolidation. Just don't ask me on the specifics, because I have the slightest clue on how the measurements and dimensions compare to either.

I think it was done a couple of days ago. The reason is Pete Lerro's upcoming photo charter. They used the wye in Old Saybrook. I'm presuming she will be turned again after the charter is over.