Greetings All,
On January 01, 1969 when the New Haven RR was merged into the Penn Central the NH added 316 diesels and electrics to the PC roster that included twelve FA1s and eight FBs though not all were in service. The FA1 story continues today.
Today our project will focus on the rebuilding of the "tested and runs well" Frateschi New Haven FA1 #0425 that came to the layout dead on arrival. Then we'll turn the page to the 1969 New Haven inclusion into the Penn Central.
A broken motor mount has been removed and replaced with double sided foam tape. When testing the unit it was dead on the rails. The cause turned out to be a microscopic wire strand from a solder connection had crossed the circuit board an was touching the part carrying the opposite polarity causing a short circuit.
The motor is now running and the gear towers are turning but not many of the wheels. The rubber or plastic wheel inserts are cracked. I've cleaned everything with an alcohol pad and used CA and an NMRA Gauge to reinstall and set the wheels.
The following day the 0425 is back together for testing. This is a beautiful paint scheme that has me rethinking the whole project. Who but a Penn Central nut could repaint such a nice looking unit!After a few days the PC nut won out. The 0425 is painted and ready to become Penn Central #1333*. The 0401 is ready for renumbering to Penn Central #1331*.
The renumbering to #1331 is underway. This is the prototypical paint and number for this unit.Penn Central #1333 is out of the shop with its minimalist prototype Penn Central paint scheme and window grates known as ghetto grills over the windshields.
The PC FA1s are on the fuel rack. The windshield grills on #1333 are made from window burglar bars from a Blair Line Pizza Land kit.
The new prototypically renumbered/ repainted Penn Central FA1s #1331 and #1333 head over to the yard.The FA1s head out on a shakedown run.
The FA1 Shakedown Run
The FA1s return to Terminal Yard passing Metro Division Supt I.D. Shore. Mr. Shore, a former New Haven manager, likes the 1331.He's not so pleased with the dip black 1333! But times have changed and the long bankrupt New Haven is part of the Penn Central now. 
As the number of working Alco FA units dwindles the Terminal Yard engine terminal becomes a railfan hotspot similar to Dover Street Yard in Boston whenever the 1331 and 1333 are in town. We'll close it here today and pick it up tomorrow adding an FB unit to the consist.
New Haven FA1 Prototype Info:
New Haven #0418 rebuilt by Alco in 1959. It became Penn Central #1331. The unit retained it's NH Socony red and black paint scheme and NH heralds. It was set aside on March 16, 1971 and retired on June 23, 1971. The 1331 was sold to GE as trade in credit in July 1972 for a PC U23B order. It was ultimately scrapped in early 1974.
New Haven #0425 built in 1947 did not make the Penn Central roster.
New Haven #0428 rebuilt by Alco in 1959. It became Penn Central #1333 on March 17, 1969 with a dip black paint job and small PC heralds only. The unit was set aside on March 03, 1971 and retired on June 23, 1971 with the 1330 and 1331. The 1333 was sold to GE in July 1972 for trade in credit on a PC U23B order. The unit was then modified by GE to become LIRR Power Pack Control Car #617. It was retired by the LIRR and purchased by the Danbury Railroad Museum where it awaits restoration.
* The model of New Haven #0401 became Penn Central #1331 to take advantage of the factory painted Socony red and black paint scheme. As noted above the prototype NH #0401 became PC #1330.
* The model of New Haven #0425 is repainted as Penn Central #1333 since its original number has no bearing on the new paint job or numbering.
Resources and Links:
The above information is drawn mostly from the PC Post volume 22, number 1 article "PC's Alco FA/FB Fleet by Robert Holzweiss.
Other resources include Penn Central Power by Robert Yanosey, Penn Central Bi-Annual by Robert H. Reid.
Thanks for reading and watching!!!
See ya tomorrow!!!
You did a great job detailing 1333. The 'Ghetto Grills' knock it out of the park, and to this day, Metro-North and Amtrak have them on some of their engines! Totally enjoying this work!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliments 1:1 Sir Neal!!! The "ghetto grills" were an absolute must for that engine. I kept those Blair Line window guards for a years waiting for just such a project!
DeleteGreat job diagnosing and fixing the short circuit that kept that FA from living up to its "tested and runs well" eBay description! I have to laugh now about my reply to your previous post in which I expressed a preference for the pin stripe scheme on NH #0425! Penn Central dipped black looks good on the unit to this PC fan!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw the window grills on the newly painted PC #1333 my first thought was to wonder which model railroad manufacturer made them. When I read the next caption that explained the grills are actually burglar bars from the Pizza Land structure I was in awe of your resourcefulness! They look great and are a noteworthy detail for this locomotive! I liked the photo of the #1333 receiving its numbers. This being 1969 its a year pre-OSHA so the lack of safety rails on the platform are explainable! :) The sister FAs look terrific, both on the point of a freight or sitting in the engine yard where happy railfans check the out! Nice work on this project all around!
Thank you very much PC Ralph!!! The pin stripe scheme was so good looking it almost stopped the project. I mulled it over for a couple of days and realized if I left it in the pin stripe scheme it would mostly be relegated to languishing in the box. I bought it to paint it and paint it I did! The burglar bars have been in my parts box for a few years waiting for project like this!! OSHA?😉 Couldn't resist having a little fun with the project!
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