Locomotive Spotlight #2 2023 / NYSW Dash 8s

 Greetings All,

Welcome to Locomotive Spotlight #2-2023!!

New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad General Electric Dash 8-40Bs get the honor of batting second in the 2023 series. 

I've had these three Walthers HO scale locomotives in my fleet for well over twelve years and they are among my favorite locomotive consists. Let's take a look at the prototype and models.

Prototype Info

The General Electric Dash 8-40B also known as the B40-8 is a four thousand horsepower, four axle diesel locomotive built between 1988 and 1989. A total of one hundred fifty one units were erected with the NYSW purchasing twenty four numbered 4002- 4048 (even numbers only).

Below #4002 is passing under the Erie coaling dock at Susquehanna, PA with an intermodal train in April 1989. 

"File:Susquehanna pa (4176893271).jpg" by Bruce Fingerhood from Springfield, Oregon, US is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0?ref=openverse.

In 1988 Guilford transportation placed the Delaware and Hudson RR into bankruptcy and abandoned it. The NYSW became the court ordered operator of the D&H and as a result the Dash 8s became very well traveled! A three unit lash up with two Dash 8s brings a former D&H mixed manifest past the former LV Packerton Shops. 

In 1990 the Dash 8s started going to CSX and would become even more well traveled.  Here is CSX Train Q136 with a trio of NYSW Dash 8s at Banning PA.  The twenty four Dash 8 40Bs would eventually all be conveyed to CSX.  Here is the 4006 at Blue Island, IL October, 2001 with a CSX SD40-2.

With the impending break up of Conrail in 1997 the NYSW was ripe for the picking for CSX and NS to remove this potential competitor from siphoning off freight traffic. When it was all done the NYSW was 10% owned by CSX, 10% by Norfolk Southern and 80% by Walter Rich of the Delaware Otsego Corporation. 

As of this writing the NYSW operates over 400 miles of track from Syracuse NY to North Bergen NJ with a Utica NY branch.

Model Info

The three Walthers Trainline Dash 8 40Bs in my fleet are DC equipped and are over twenty years old. The units are numbered 4006-4008-4006. Other than some wheel cleaning these units have performed with little to no additional maintenance.

I bought the first one after seeing it in a Walthers catalog because I liked the way it looked. I snagged the other two about fourteen years ago when they were offered as a pair for $35.00.

The models don't have a great amount of detail and I added the number board numerals which greatly improved the look of the models. Here they are looking sharp on the High Line. 

About 20 years ago I found this caboose at a Stony Brook University train show which is perfect for this train and my own requirement for a caboose on all freight trains.

Here are the NYSW Dash 8s in action. 

Thanks for reading and watching!!!

See you soon!!!