ABOUT THE LOCOMOTIVES

Middletown & New Jersey 2

Middletown & New Jersey Railroad No. 2 was built in February of 1947 (serial No. 28342) as American Cyanamid No. 5, and was assigned to American Cyanamid’s Calco Chemical Division in Bridgewater, NJ. After being rebuilt by GE in July of 1956, the locomotive was sold in October of 1963 to the Middletown & New Jersey, a small short line railroad based in Middletown, NY. Renumbered as M&NJ No. 2, the locomotive served alongside the railroad’s original 44-tonner, No. 1. When the No. 1 was taken out of service with a mechanical failure in 1981, the No. 2 became the M&NJ’s sole operating locomotive for the next 26 years until newer locomotives were acquired in 2007. In 2009, the M&NJ was acquired by Regional Rail LLC, and the displaced No. 2 was sent to a contract switching operation in Manheim, PA, where it served into the late 2010s when it was taken out of service. It was acquired by Operation Toy Train of New York on November 17, 2021 in a joint deal that also included the Tri-State Railway Historical Society and Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad No. 700. On December 21-22, 2021, the No. 2 was moved to the new Port Jervis Transportation History Center in Port Jervis, NY, placing it just 20 miles from where it originally served in Middletown. The No. 2 is the only surviving piece of pre-2007 M&NJ equipment, and the only piece of M&NJ equipment to be preserved to date. It is currently being returned to operation by Operation Toy Train volunteers in Port Jervis, and will eventually be restored to M&NJ blue and yellow paint. Parts for the No. 2’s restoration will be obtained from Western Maryland No. 76.

Hoboken Manufacturers 700

Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad No. 700 was built in October of 1947 (serial No. 20970) for this small short line that operated almost entirely within the confines of Hoboken, NJ. Along with identical sister No. 701, the No. 700 spent the first 29 years of its life serving industries along the Hudson River wharves and piers. The HMRR was reincorporated as the Hoboken Shore Railroad in 1954, but operations remained largely the same into the late 1960s. Economic downturns and factory shutdowns led to the redevelopment of the riverfront area, and the gentrification did not support continued rail operations. The last Hoboken Shore trains operated on October 22, 1976, and the railroad was abandoned in September of 1978. The No. 700 and No. 701 were both sold to the McHugh Brothers and moved to the McHugh-operated New Hope & Ivyland Railroad in New Hope, PA, where No. 700 became NH&I No. 400. It worked for the NH&I until 1989, when it was sold to the Tyburn Railroad, a small industrial operation in Morrisville, NJ that was acquired by Regional Rail LLC in 2011. It remained in operation in Morrisville as Tyburn No. 400 until it was acquired by the Tri-State Railway Historical Society on November 17, 2021 in a joint deal that also included Operation Toy Train of New York and the Middletown & New Jersey No. 2. The No. 400, which is now the only surviving piece of HMRR equipment, was moved to the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey’s yard in Boonton, NJ on December 20, 2022. It is currently being restored to operation by Tri-State volunteers and will eventually receive HMRR green and yellow paint. Parts for the No. 700’s restoration will be obtained from Western Maryland No. 76.

New Haven 0814

New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad No. 0814 was built in March of 1945 (serial No. 18192) for this major New England carrier, better known as simply the “New Haven.” The locomotive was equipped with extended swivel couplers, which allowed for operation on the tight curves of the New Haven’s former trolley tracks in New Haven, CT and on the Seaview Avenue line in Bridgeport, CT. As operations on these lines were phased out, the No. 0814 was sold to General Dynamics’ Electric Boat of Groton, CT in 1959. Renamed Carol (after the wife of Electric Boat’s Director of Operations Mike Toner) and not given a number, the locomotive served on the company’s private in-plant trackage moving supplies for the construction of submarines for the U.S. Navy. Carol was joined by another 44-tonner, former GE demonstrator/Union Pacific No. 1399, in 1974, which was named Diane. Both 44-tonners were stored in 2005, and in the summer of 2006, they were donated to the Danbury Railway Museum and moved to the museum’s sprawling 10-acre railyard in Danbury, CT. It is currently awaiting parts for DRM volunteers to return the locomotive to operation and restore No. 0814 to its New Haven hunter green paint. These parts will be obtained from Western Maryland No. 76.

GE DEMONSTRATOR 1399

General Electric No. 1399 was built in March of 1947 (serial No. 28344) as a demonstrator. It was used as a “sample” locomotive by GE to be sent to prospective purchasers for testing and analysis. It was sent for testing on the Union Pacific Railroad on March 28, 1947. UP was so impressed that they purchased the locomotive outright less than a month and a half later on May 8, 1947, assigning it to yard and shop switching duties in Omaha, NE and retaining No. 1399. In October of 1956, the locomotive was reassigned to the maintenance-of-way department in Pocatello, ID and renumbered to UPMW No. 03999. It was again renumbered as UPMW No. 903999 in December of 1959. It returned to Omaha for a rebuild in late 1972, emerging in February of 1973 and working as the Omaha shop switcher until it was retired and sold in June of 1974 to the Diesel Supply Company, a used railroad equipment dealer. The locomotive was resold in August of the same year to General Dynamics’ Electric Boat in Groton, CT, where it was renamed Diane and joined Carol (ex-New Haven No. 0814) moving supplies on in-plant trackage. Both 44-tonners were stored in 2005, and in the summer of 2006, they were donated to the Danbury Railway Museum and moved to the museum’s sprawling 10-acre railyard in Danbury, CT. While it still wears its Electric Boat paint, it will eventually be restored to its GE demonstrator colors by DRM volunteers. Diane was operable when donated, and today, it is one of the locomotives regularly operated on DRM’s “Railyard Local” trains throughout the museum grounds. Keeping this historic locomotive operational requires spare parts, many of which will be obtained from Western Maryland No. 76.

WESTERN MARYLAND 76

Western Maryland Railway No. 76 was built in August of 1943 (serial No. 17935). One of a pair of identical units built to serve the railroad’s sprawling dockside facilities at Port Covington in south Baltimore, MD, the No. 76 (and sister No. 75) spent their time moving everything from coal to grain through the eleven WM rail yards located at the terminal. As the size of railcars and trains grew, the 44-tonners were found to be underpowered, and both were sold in September of 1964 to U.S. Plywood in Gaylord, MI. While No. 75 remained in Michigan (and is now restored in WM paint and operating at the Southern Michigan Railroad Society), the No. 76 was subsequently resold to Kaiser Southern Nitrogen and used at an unknown facility. When the Delaware & Ulster Railroad began operations in 1983, the No. 76 was acquired and moved to Arkville, NY, becoming the new railroad’s first locomotive. It was taken out of service by the early 1990s with mechanical issues. Upon the dismantling of both diesel engines, it was determined that both engines could not be repaired or rebuilt, and the locomotive was stored indefinitely. In early 2023, the D&U agreed to donate this locomotive as a part source to return M&NJ No. 2, HMRR No .700, and NH No. 0814 to operation. Additional parts will be used for the ongoing maintenance of DRM’s GE No. 1399. Between March 24 and 27, 2023, the No. 76 was moved to the Port Jervis Transportation History Center in Port Jervis, NY, where mechanical components will be removed by Operation Toy Train, Tri-State, and DRM. The remaining carbody will be retained by Operation Toy Train and repainted as “New York, Ontario & Western Railway No. 106,” representing the nearly identical NYO&W 44-tonner locomotives that once operated into Port Jervis.