Kovalchick Corporation, former owner of the historic 3-foot gauge East Broad Top Railroad selected the McHugh Company to perform major repairs to their GE 45-ton diesel locomotive that operates at its Homer City, PA metal and railroad rail recycling facility.

The locomotive previously had been serviced by another locomotive firm on several occasions. That firm had installed a replacement traction motor on the locomotive and when the locomotive was placed back into service the traction motor failed within 1,000 feet of travel. A second replacement traction motor was then installed and within a week it also failed. The locomotive also had many other mechanical and electrical issues. This left Joe Kovalchick, president and Nathan Kovalchick, C.O.O. very dissatisfied with that firm’s services and employee’s technical skills. Nathan Kovalchick, then contacted the McHugh Company to evaluate the locomotive and provide a report of the necessary repairs required to have the unit restored back to reliable operating condition. Two McHugh team members arrived at the Homer City, PA yard on March 15th and determined that the locomotive had too many major defects to have it be economically repaired on site.

The locomotive had one failed main generator, the second main generator was not failed but required a basic overall, the two traction motors needed to be replaced, one gearbox was not repairable and had to be replaced, the four axle sets required replacement due to worn out wheels and over ½” gap between the drive pins and side-rod bearings, the entire electrical system needed to be replaced, the radiators were beyond repair and required replacement with new units, the air brake system required repairs and replacement of all components, the handbrake assembly and sanding assemblies were missing, and the batteries failed. Additionally, the battery box was moved from inside the cab to under the engine hoods, broken window glazing was replaced, and the cab, engine hoods, handrails, cab floor, steps also required steel fabrication work.

It was decided that the best solution to have all of these major repairs made in a proficient manner was to ship the locomotive to the McHugh facility. On the morning of March 16th the locomotive was loaded onto a tractor trailer and delivered to the McHugh shop the following day.

The two diesel engines and both air compressors had previously been rebuilt a few years earlier and did not require replacement. The locomotive received all of the necessary repairs at the McHugh Company and it was completed on July 26th.

The locomotive will be transported by tractor trailer to Homer City, PA where it will work at the Kovalchick yard handling railcars of relay rail and various scrap metals, to be processed and sold throughout the USA. It is not strictly preservation but this 78-year-old Kovalchick diesel will soldier on for many years and this engine is preserved for the foreseeable future.

Thanks for posting. McHugh seems to have a great reputation for good work at what must be a fair price. They must have a great library and lots of parts to be able to fix some of those old and obscure locomotives!

Thanks for your kind comment. McHugh Locomotive & Equipment has a vast amount of information regarding: Alco, Baldwin, Davenport, EMD, Plymouth, Porter, Whitcomb, and lesser known manufacturers of diesel locomotives, that includes catalogs, repair manuals, service manuals, along with construction and component parts drawings.

The late Jimmy McHugh also amassed a collection of all the manufacturers of locomotive cranes: American, Browning, Brown Hoist, Industrial Works, Industrial Brown Hoist, Ohio, Orton, Osgood, Wellman, that includes catalogs, repair manuals, service manuals, along with construction and component parts drawings. This collection also includes truck and crawler cranes of the crane manufacturers in the USA.

The shelving space for these materials is from floor to ceiling, one room is 14 foot by 50 foot, and another room is 12 foot by 40 foot.

The McHugh’s were also an authorized dealer for the American Hoist & Derrick Co. from the late 1950’s until about 1987. JC McHugh has a serial number book for all American locomotive cranes that were built by AH&D from 1900 until 1987.

At the McHugh facility there is a large inventory of locomotive parts and components. We house small items inside our facility, and large items are located in our outside storage area, which is approximately 2 acres.

Until I joined the team in December 2020, McHugh Locomotive & Equipment had never really advertised their business. The McHugh Company has a very unique situation with their long term customer base that continually keeps them very busy with work. The company is expanding and since late 2020, several new customers have made McHugh Locomotive their “go-to source” to provide parts and services.

As one of the new customers, I appreciate that I'm getting a good job, at a fair price, in a reasonable amount of time. And, after six years of my nerves being tied in knots raising money and trying to find the right contractor to rebuild my locomotive, it is a shock on my system to not have to worry any more. All of a sudden I have a lot more free time...

Good info Tom, thanks. Wish I'd known that a few years ago, I might have reached a happier ending.
Glad all is working out for you Sammy!