Bachmann Online Forum

Discussion Boards => General Discussion => Topic started by: adari on July 10, 2009, 10:18:56 AM

Title: RF-16 sharks
Post by: adari on July 10, 2009, 10:18:56 AM
I was doing a little research the other day about the RF-16 sharks and I found the railroad that has two but refuse to show them or sell them to a museum. I called the railroad up and asked if they actually had them. Yes they have them and I want them to go to a museum or operate on tourist line. I can give you guys the number if you want to call them?
Adam
Title: Re: RF-16 sharks
Post by: jward on July 10, 2009, 10:54:08 AM
i think that is a great idea, and i wish you all the luck in the world. they are worthy of preservation.

that said, it is my understanding that the person who actually owns them knows what they are, which is why they haven't been scrapped a long time ago. it is also my understanding that various acts of vandalism perpetrated by railfans has left him pretty unreceptive to talking to anybody about them.
i do hope this is not true.

baldwin's sharks were a fixture in the western pa area that i live in for many years, the pennsy had the largest fleet and used them extensively on coal drags here. b&o's fleet ended their days working out of glenwood yard in pittsburgh. and the other owner, new york central, used theirs in northern pa in the 1950s. some of the nyc units ended up on the monongahela railway. the 2 survivors are nyc units by way of the monongahela and d&h.

this is the pair in service on the former michigan northern railroad, the latest photo of them i could find:
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/misc-m/mign1205ads.jpg

the same locomotive in service on the monongahela railway.
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/mcrr/mgy1205afr.jpg

on the new york central near cincinatti ohio just before sale to the monongahela:
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/nyc/nyc1205s.jpg

last but not least, a different nyc shark in an undated photo assumed to be taken shortly after it entered service:
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/nyc/nyc3804as.jpg


Title: Re: RF-16 sharks
Post by: Woody Elmore on July 11, 2009, 11:59:23 AM
Baldwin sharks were real polluters and I think that there would be a problem in locating parts for the diesel.  I've seen lots of pictures of sharks belching smoke. That wouldn't go over well today.

I, too, would like to see a pair of them running but I imagine the costs are astronomical for one person to manage.

I guess that the PAs that were once owned by ATSF and D&H are sitting somewhere awaiting a benefactor.
Title: Re: RF-16 sharks
Post by: jsmvmd on July 11, 2009, 12:32:50 PM
Dear Jeff,

Is that turntable still around, and if so, where whould she be ?

Best Wishes,

Jack
Title: Re: RF-16 sharks
Post by: RAM on July 11, 2009, 10:38:46 PM
One of the pa,s is being restored, but it will not have an also engine.
Title: Re: RF-16 sharks
Post by: Santa Fe buff on July 11, 2009, 11:42:43 PM
Remeber how they even ended up there? Engine trouble.

That says a lot. I do hope they get restored...

Joshua
Title: Re: RF-16 sharks
Post by: kazooracer on July 12, 2009, 12:12:55 AM
Quote from: RAM on July 11, 2009, 10:38:46 PM
One of the pa,s is being restored, but it will not have an also engine.

Unless something changed, the PA under restoration has a Alco 251C prime mover from a M420B road switcher, so it does have an Alco engine.
Title: Re: RF-16 sharks
Post by: adari on July 12, 2009, 01:59:58 PM
I just want to see something knew that hasn't been run in 50 years.
Title: Re: RF-16 sharks
Post by: jward on July 12, 2009, 09:38:24 PM
jack,
i don't believe that the turnatble and shop buildings are still around. the monongahela photo was taken at their main shops in south brownsville, pa. monongahela was absorbed into conrail in the early 1990s, and this facility abandoned in favour of conrail's yard across the river in west brownsville. that yard is still in use, as is a half mile of street trackage just south of the yard.