This past week the purchasing department of the New York Central Train Layout was able to secure the purchase of a used Atlas Classic RS1 painted and lettered for the Long Island Railroad. The Atlas RS1 joins two other Atlas RS1s, NYC and PRR, already in the fleet. The three Atlas RS1s are excellent runners, strong pullers and impressive in their detail. The LIRR RS1 is painted in the gray and orange scheme with the Dashing Dan herald on the side. This paint scheme was applied in the mid 1960s so it fits in perfectly with my target modeling era.
On the prototype the L.I.R.R. owned five Alco RS1s numbered 461-465 classed as AGP10sc with 1,000 hp weighing in at 249,700 pounds that were delivered in 1948 and 1949. The L.I.R.R. also owned four Alco RS1s numbered 466-469, classed as AGP10msc that had 1,000 hp weighed in at 249,700 pounds and were delivered in 1950.
A check of George Elwood's Fallen Flags website shows the 461 in a prior paint scheme with a passenger train in 1962 http://rr-fallenflags.org/li/li461acz.jpg
Photo of the 461 in 1965
http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirr%20engines/rs461.jpg
Here is the 461 at Sunnyside Yard in 1976. www.trainsarefun.com
Atlas Classic Long Island RR RS1 # 461 has arrived on the projects table
L.I.R.R. RS1 461 idles away the afternoon in front of the Heileman Brewery complex
Rear view of the 461. Note the Dashing Dan herald on the short hood.
Those are both great photos I hadn't seen before. I got to railfan the LIRR while growing up in New Jersey -- I could save up enough to ride the Lackawanna into Hoboken, transfer to the H&M pre PATH, and then walk to Penn Station from 33rd St, all well before I was old enough to drive a car. This was just before the World's Fair scheme you have on 461 -- I got to see the plainer gray and orange ends with Dashing Dan. I have Atlas RS-1s numbered 461, 466, and 467. I just finished installing DCC in my two Atlas LIRR RS-3s from the c2000 run; the RS-1s will be priorities now.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up the H&M
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hudsoncity.net/tubesenglish/3-operatinghistory.html
Excellent read and history. Funny how when we were young we could travel for miles and miles on public transportation and explore all kinds of places without adult supervision. I rail fanned the L.I.R.R. myself starting in the mid 1990s as I worked in L.I.C. and could see their freight yard and Sunnyside Yard which was Amtrak and NJT. I also commuted on the L.I.R.R. from Ronkonkoma to either Kew Gardens or Forest Hills depending on the days assignment. Later I worked near the L.I.R.R. Morris Park Yard where I was a frequent observer. The gray with orange
ends is a very classy paint scheme and one of my favorites. Did not know the paint scheme of my 461 is called the "World's Fair Scheme". Thanks for that info and the H&M story. Good luck on your conversions. If you post pictures let me know.
It maybe wasn't as safe as we may have thought -- certainly my parents didn't worry if I was taking a Saturday to ride trains, but Penn Station and Grand Central were certainly places where predatory individuals were on the lookout for 14-yer-olds. In retrospect, I was lucky, and certainly now I would be much more hesitant to let a kid that age travel without supervision.
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