HISTORIC LEHIGH & NEW ENGLAND LOCOMOTIVE #611 ACQUIRED BY THE RAILROAD & INDUSTRIAL PRESERVATION SOCIETY ON 60th ANNIVERSARY OF THE RAILROAD’S DEMISE

October 31, 2021:

The non-profit Railroad & Industrial Preservation Society, Inc (RIPS) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Lehigh & New England Railroad #611, one of America’s most historic diesel locomotives. Built in 1948 by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, NY #611 helped the Lehigh & New England (LNE) become one of the country’s first fully dieselized railroads. The 73 year-old locomotive locomotive will be restored to operating condition.

#611 is the last surviving intact diesel electric locomotive from the Lehigh & New England Railroad, which served the coal, slate and cement regions of eastern Pennsylvania along with northwestern New Jersey and southern New York.

RIPS completed the acquisition on October 31st, the 60th anniversary of the abandonment of the LNE.

RIPS President David A. Organek notes that, “LNE #611 represents the highpoint of American railroading right after World War II. The locomotive was built to haul the coal and minerals needed for the post-war boom. Later, it served at Ford Motor Company’s River Rouge steel mill moving materials required for automobile manufacturing. #611 ended its working days loading grain at an Indiana elevator. Coal, grain and autos… it doesn’t get more quintessentially American than that. We are proud to be able to help future generations see, hear and ride behind such an historic artifact.”

“The previous efforts of the Lehigh New England Preservation Society and the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society to rescue #611 made her future preservation possible,” according to RIPS Marketing Lead Robert John Davis. “We are grateful for all the work that has already been done to save #611 and are honored to be the next stewards of this historic locomotive.”

Rich Zmijewski, RIPS Finance & Business Lead, has announced a fundraising campaign to provide the necessary funds to restore and care for the locomotive. RIPS is seeking to raise $150,000 to return the locomotive to service and provide for proper stewardship once it is operable. The organization expects to complete the restoration within 36 months. Details on donations and volunteer opportunities may be found at http://riptrack.org/lne-611-restoration/

That title my friends is what people call “clickbait”.

Great news for the last L&NE diesel. Just be very careful with titles like these.

Even I had a WTF moment when I read the subject line.....

The click bait title was meant as a joke... and a temporary one at that. Happy Halloween!

I am wondering how an organization in the midst of a dying economy is going to raise $150,000 for an Alco S2 and do it in a three year period? Not that I am putting down the effort, we happen to own an S2 and want to keep as many around as possible, but it just seems like bad timing and an overly ambitious goal.

Will the locomotive be placed in service after restoration somewhere? Will it stay at the A&A? What are some of the big ticket items that are going to eat up the bulk of that 150K?

Just curious.

What do you mean "a dying economy"?

By all means the current problems facing most people are the result of excessive demand. That's hardly the problem of a suffering economic system.

Any time a major economic symptom perceived as a "problem" is attempted to be explained by a simplistic sound bite like "excessive demand," it's typically the result of either ignorance or malicious efforts of oversimplification (i.e. a politician's lie). Sometimes both.

The current United States' economic conundrum is a vast maelstrom of everything from supply chain disruptions to reductions in production, from governmental fiscal policy to labor withholding itself from the marketplace for several reasons, from reduced buying power of the dollar (inflation) to real household buying power remaining stagnant or even declining in large parts of the workforce.

And often the reality is irrelevant. If people sincerely believe a bleak(er) future is ahead (at least as far as their personal fortune or ability to do business in the future), the perception can easily become self-fulfilling. They don't buy that RV or newer car or steak dinner. They put off or downscale that vacation. They don't donate to the zoo or historic preservation project.

In charity it has long been the case that "we can't make it without angels," i.e. big donors, be they foundations fulfilling a mission or someone of means just trying to reduce their tax liability. I was first bluntly told this by an editor of one organization's house organ over 35 years ago, as he was explaining why some articles sounded more like a PBS program rattling off a list of donors and underwriters rather than, say, a hobby magazine report.
I'm being told that in a least a few circles I've run in, the usual idealism of a large number of small "common man" donors underwriting many charities--they way public broadcasting and many other charities have long attempted to make it sound--has largely been replaced in the past 10-15 years by fewer, but larger, donors.

By all means, the term "dying economy" is a grotesque exaggeration--unless you're talking Cuba or Venezuela. But if the RIPS expects to raise $150K with a GoFundMe or hat-passing campaign among "small fry" like us, they may be sadly disappointed. The "small fry" these days are clutching their proverbial change purses tighter, for real or perceived reasons--and that has nothing to do with RIPS, the L&NE, or their former 611.

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The effort to move #611 into the hands of her next stewards has been one taken over time and with deliberate steps. A few notes:

- the process has rolled out over a year, this not a flash decision

- we respect the efforts of the previous stewards and will honor the efforts made by them. I hope they will be able to be present during all the milestone moments ahead. Without them, #611 would already be gone. They will forever be a central part of her story. Thanks to them, a large stash of parts exist for the restoration. They prepared well and we will build on that foundation.

- the RIPS principals and our volunteers have a track record of fundraising via grants, donations, etc. Expect a mix of fundraising efforts, including a tactic or two you may not have seen in rail preservation before. We will be reflecting many lessons learned from the UK preservation scene.

- The RIPS principals include an experienced class 1 engineer and union official; a retried lifelong financial professional with a past history in preservation projects; and me, the marketing executive with a background in preservation and modern operations. Our volunteers include grant writers and Class 1 railroad mechanics.

- our plan includes making provisions for the locomotive’s long term survival, not just getting it running.

- #611 has one other thing going for it: an emotional pull. Don’t discount the regional love for the Lehigh & New England. This locomotive has a lot of friends who have already been stepping up.

Nothing in life is guaranteed, but we have a plan and we have the right folks lined up to help execute it, and the locomotive has a welcoming home on the Allentown & Auburn.

As for RIPS, stay tuned. #611 will be our focus but we are eyeing some other significant projects and partnerships.

We will be posting timely updates on Facebook, deeper updates on our website and we will be discussing the more philosophical angles of our approach on Ahead of the Torch.

Rob

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Hi Guys,

What work is needed to be done to the 611 for her to operate? What is the condition of the 539T? Is there an enclosed safe building on a site with rail access for restoration of the locomotive?

Have fun - David Notarius, Now in London UK (ex New Hope PA)

We will publish the full restoration plan. We have most of what we need on-site. I don’t want to speak off the cuff as I am not the mechanical guy. There is live rail and suitable safe space for her restoration. How much is done inside vs outside remains to be seen. - Rob

Flying in the face of conventional assumptions like chickens pecking at your eyeballs:

http://www.strategistblog.com/2021/11/q ... osity.html



So much more analysis at the link, you'd be crazy to ignore it...........

I will be happy to be proven wrong, but 2021 is a far different place than 2020 and 2022 is going to be incredibly tough for the segment of the population that cares about what things cost.