Here is a roster of preserved North American electric locomotives by status: inoperable, operable, displayed etc. There are 28 electric locomotives in operating condition in this list. Most operable listings are from interurban railways.

Source: Preserved North American Electric Railway Cars database.


http://www.bera.org/cgi-bin/pnaerc.pl?s ... it=SUBMITj

Happy reading!

Wesley

The Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum in Scranton has several mine motors displayed in their building. One of these seems to have a Van Depoele motor. I don't know thw provenance of any of them.

The adjacent Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour has several mine motors in the mine, where they were when the mine closed.

The Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train in Ashland Pa. has a mine motor converted to battery that pulls the coal mine tour.

Phil Mulligan

And of those most seem to be steeplecabs.

Is that considered a definitive list? I'm kind of surprised at how short it is.

The closest thing to an "operating iconic electric locomotive" would be the "Little Joe" at IRM, which according to the listing is:



So the answer to my question really, is "zero".

For standard gauge equipment it's fairly definitive. There are 174 electric locomotives on it - how many were you expecting?


The account you quote was written pre-2010, if memory serves. In the early 2010s the 803 was brought into the shop and its primary ill, which was trouble making air, was solved by swapping one of its 1500v air compressors for a 600v type (the original obviously being retained safely in storage). The results can be seen here.

Was NYC 100 the electric loco that was on display at the Altamont Fair (Albany County NY) in the 1970's (along with Alco 4-8-4 3028)?

-> with a bit of Googling I was able to confirm 100 was the one in Altamont.

When the Cleveland Union Terminal (3000 V DC) motors transferred to NYC's Harmon-GCT route (660 V DC), they received new traction motors and new air compressors.

Phil Mulligan

I truly believe that PRR 4700 should be moved to RRMPA.

While RRMPA has a lot on their restoration list at the current moment, having the last remaining P5 will round out their electric collection. It would then completely cover the history of (successful) electric locomotives that operated as part of the PRR/PC/Conrail/Amtrak from the DD1 through the AEM-7. (After the roundhouse they could pursue a 'Hall of Electrics'... just a thought, and yes it's an expensive thought!).

Although I've heard that the 4700's current owner, the National Museum of Transportation, refuses to part with items in it's collection...

So what are you offering in trade?

To be fair... Just how much of the stuff they have is actively being looked after and fits the collection's scope? The last i saw of the P5, it wasn't in decent shape.

IMO the P5 should go to Strausburg and the DLW camelback to Scranton.

Opinions are like [BLEEEEEP]: Everyone has one. Even when they can't properly spell the name of the place.

I repeat:
What are you offering in trade?

My first born son!

In all seriousness... what did Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum trade to the RRMPA in exchange for NKP 757?

Why does there need to be a 'trade'?

For starters, if I'm a museum who just bought ____ locomotive for ______ collection I'm not just going to give it away just because someone thinks ______ locomotive belongs here obviously I'm going to want something in return for trading away that locomotive from the collection depending on the rarity just like the 5 year lease trade between the FT Demonstrator Units and N&W 2156 each museum gets something in return. Other than that someone probably just blew over 40k at the least to buy it and move it just to have someone say "well it belongs here now give it" The fact of the matter is it doesn't fall under "Where should it go" while it very well can in some cases depending on who's in charge it falls under "well what are we going to put in it's place" and or "can you compensate for the money time and work we have spent?".

What is now the National Museum of Transportation began collecting in 1944 and has built a national collection, with items that were well beyond local. Many museums have a distinctly local or regional emphasis instead. It is a choice, but it doesn't mean you can just "demand" items that might fit your approach but were already taken long ago. In the case of the P5 prototype it was retired in 1965 and donated to the museum in 1966. So where were you and why didn't you try to get it then? Or did the museum you claim to speak for even exist then? Or perhaps you weren't even born yet. I worked at the NMOT for 10 years from 1995 to 2005 and can't tell you how many times an impassioned person called to demand that such and such an item be sent to the new museum he was trying to establish. Sometimes we had people visit claiming to represent various museums or historical groups. Some made outlandish requests or offer to work on something with the backing of the group. We learned to check with the group involved after one guy was working on a GM&O observation car for some time when he needed funds for supplies. We contacted the group and they replied that they had no idea who he was and that he wasn't representing them in any way. There were others later which were also completely unknown to the group or, if known, who they said did not "represent" them.

The RR Museum of Pa. wasn't even established, and a location decided upon, until after that time (1968-71); the museum itself opened in about 1975.

As they say, timing is everything. The museum near St Louis began collecting steam locomotives as the railroads were converting to diesel power and many were available. They tried to avoid duplication of wheel arrangements and were dealing with a limited amount of space. So they turned down quite a few things we now wish they had taken, like a Milwaukee Road streamlined 4-4-2. But it gave them a collection covering nearly all rod types except the 2-6-2, but no geared types. They do have five 4-4-0 examples, including the only inside connected one to survive, the Daniel Nason, the only camelback, the only Eddy Clock, an 1873 Baldwin with two steam domes, and the much rebuilt MKT example from 1890/1923. The Baldwin and the Eddy Clock came together from Purdue and the Daniel Nason, which had earlier been there, joined them later. Roads involved range from SP, CN, DM&IR, ATSF, UP, DL&W, C&NW, IC, NYC and B&A, C&O, N&W, NKP, Frisco, A&S, the TRRA of St Louis, and Wabash to industrial lines. Some may question this approach, but as they say, everyone has an opinion.