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Meriden Switcher Existence
https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39397		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Cameron Wolk [ Thu May 12, 2016 8:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Meriden Switcher Existence
Hello gentlemen, I'm currently conducting a search for an unknown switcher supposedly located in Meriden, CT. According to the author of the post it was last seen at a concrete plant in the area and is speculated to be a GE or Whitcomb 55 tonner. If any RYPN member would be knowledgeable as to the current status of this piece it would be a great aid to this finding. I nor any of the LI associated groups have any interest at this time in taking in the locomotive however that can subject to change.
Here is the original post:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater
Author:  Mike LaBouliere [ Thu May 12, 2016 9:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
It's owned by one of the family members who owns the quarry. He has an impressive collection of vintage trucks and construction equipment, and other stuff, that get restored or are operable. He had purchased it at an auction in Northern Maine, I wanna say Houlton if memory serves me right, it had several private owners post US Army. They also own a dormant rail line to said quarry.
Author:  David H. Hamley [ Fri May 13, 2016 7:49 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
It looks to me like one of a group of five oddball 4 wheel 35 ton twin engine GEs built for Michigan Limestone Div. of USS in the 1940s. Original numbers 301-305. These were later joined by one more numbered 306 that was not a GE, either Whitcomb or Davenport. ML sold off most of these by the 1960s, although one was kept and used at Conneaut, OH into the 1970s, maybe 80s. The spotting feature is that big air tank on the side of the loco. GE would build anything you wanted back then, so this very well could be someone else's oddball center-cab twin engine. These were common in steel mills, both standard and narrow gauge.
Author:  Richard Glueck [ Fri May 13, 2016 10:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
Might this have a background in the old Aroostook Valley Railroad?
Author:  Howard P. [ Fri May 13, 2016 10:56 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
Doubt it, AVRR had standard GE 44-tonners.

Howard P.
Author:  BIG JOHN [ Fri May 13, 2016 10:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
If you guys don't mind me asking where in Meriden is the quarry?
I looked on google earth but I must be blind.
Thanks in advance!
Author:  robertjohndavis [ Fri May 13, 2016 1:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
Howard P. wrote:
Doubt it, AVRR had standard GE 44-tonners.

Howard P.


Those are in the Marvin Kendall collection, I believe.
Author:  R. Hahn [ Fri May 13, 2016 8:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
BIG JOHN wrote:
If you guys don't mind me asking where in Meriden is the quarry?
I looked on google earth but I must be blind.
Thanks in advance!


The locomotive in question is here, zoom out to see the quarry.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Meriden,+CT/@41.5561913,-72.7524871,73m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e7ca2124b4cab7:0xf8fbded56523558a!8m2!3d41.5381535!4d-72.8070435
Author:  AlcoC420 [ Fri May 13, 2016 9:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
Interesting site.

Looks like they never get rid of any old equipment, just find somewhere to park it.
Author:  philip.marshall [ Fri May 13, 2016 10:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
R. Hahn wrote:
The locomotive in question is here, zoom out to see the quarry.


Well I'll be darned. I've driven through there on I-91 probably hundreds of times over the years (especially when I was living in New Haven during graduate school), and I never knew there was a quarry there, much less one with a railroad connection.

-Philip Marshall
Author:  Cameron Wolk [ Sat May 14, 2016 12:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
Mike LaBouliere wrote:
It's owned by one of the family members who owns the quarry. He has an impressive collection of vintage trucks and construction equipment, and other stuff, that get restored or are operable. He had purchased it at an auction in Northern Maine, I wanna say Houlton if memory serves me right, it had several private owners post US Army. They also own a dormant rail line to said quarry.


Well that's a heart breaker. I thought for a sec I might have stumbled upon something unusually rare and peculiar to say the least. Might I ask Mike how long ago he purchased the GE? If it's recent I wont bother calling given he's got some grand scheme which includes relaying some track. If not I'd be curious to know at the most some history of the piece maybe head on over and take some shots. I'm aware up in Litchfield there is a similar engine under similar circumstances by Housatonic ownership, perhaps that is better worth the effort.

Cameron
Author:  Alexander D. Mitchell IV [ Sat May 14, 2016 7:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
If you spend long enough among the "Extra 2200 South" readers and "critter hunters," you'll discover that, just as the J. David Conrad books and the two SteamLocomotive sites demonstrate with steam, it's rather difficult to "find" something that the industrial loco spotter community doesn't already have full documentation on.

Not impossible, but difficult.

One of our late members of the Baltimore Chapter NRHS, Barry Hollingsworth was one of the nation's top/most obsessed spotters and roster keepers, and we inherited his albums of rosters and notes, which occupy about four linear feet on one shelf. I'm sure all I would have to do is grab the albums, and it would list the loco 2-3 times by model, location, and owner, and he probably had a slide or several of it taken during one of his joint critter hunts with other fans.
Author:  Mike LaBouliere [ Sun May 15, 2016 12:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
It was purchased within the past ten years.
Author:  twofoot [ Tue May 17, 2016 8:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Meriden Switcher Existence
R. Hahn wrote:
BIG JOHN wrote:
If you guys don't mind me asking where in Meriden is the quarry?
I looked on google earth but I must be blind.
Thanks in advance!


The locomotive in question is here, zoom out to see the quarry.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Meriden,+CT/@41.5561913,-72.7524871,73m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e7ca2124b4cab7:0xf8fbded56523558a!8m2!3d41.5381535!4d-72.8070435


Here is the exact location of the loco, courtesy of Big Brother in outer space.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir//41.556 ... a=!3m1!1e3



Chris
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