Luzerne & Susquehanna Railway locomotive 600 is seen crossing East Market Street, Wilkes-Barre, in this 2021 photo by Times Leader News Editor Roger DuPuis. Built in 1954 as Boston and Maine Railroad 1127, the engine came to Northeastern Pennsylvania in 1996. Officials with the Danbury Railway Museum (DRM) in Connecticut are working to raise $65,000 to purchase the locomotive and transport it to their museum so it can be preserved back in New England, where it spent most of its working life.
Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
1954 engine, long based in Pittston, would be preserved by Connecticut museum
Boston and Maine Railroad 1127 (later to become Luzerne & Susquehanna Railway 600) is seen at Lincoln, N.H. in April 1963.
Photo courtesy Danbury Railway Museum
A last-minute campaign to save a historic 1954 diesel-electric locomotive in Northeastern Pennsylvania from the scrapper’s torch has surpassed its fundraising goal.
Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway 600, which was originally built for the Boston and Maine Railroad as their 1127, was scheduled to be cut up as early as Monday, Jan. 22 if no purchaser stepped forward.
Officials with the Danbury Railway Museum (DRM) in Connecticut were looking to raise $65,000 to purchase the locomotive and transport it to their museum so it can be preserved back in New England, where it spent most of its working life.
Interest in their “Save the 1127” gofundme campaign has been substantial; as of Saturday afternoon, more than $65,700 had been raised through donations from over 300 people.
DRM is a volunteer run 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization dedicated to the preservation and education of railway history in the northeast United States. Based in a restored 1903 railroad station, DRM has an extensive collection of artifacts, documents, as well as a collection of over 60 pieces of equipment, and offers train rides for the public.
“Supported by the endorsement of the Boston and Maine Railroad historical society and the hard work of dedicated preservationists in the New England region, the DRM seeks to raise the funding required to purchase and save this classic locomotive,” a release from the museum states.
Historic aspects
Built in 1954 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, 1127 is an SW-1 switcher-type locomotive. These marked an important technological development as North American railroads made the transition from steam locomotives to diesel propulsion. the SW-1 uses a diesel engine (called a prime mover) to drive a DC generator that powers electric traction motors.
But 1127 is historic for more than its technological aspects. According to a release from the museum, such engines were “once found roaming light branch lines of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, serving as a lifeline to industries in the New England region.”
That is because its lightweight nature allowed it to travel down branch lines “where ancient wooden trestles and light rails dating from an earlier time in railroad history lingered,” according to background provided on the gofundme page.
“Because of that, in a way 1127 represents an era in New England railroading when light manufacturing and small industry was still dependent on the railroad. They needed small locomotives like the 1127 to provide valuable daily service in a region which has seen most of these things disappear in the last half century,” the write-up by Boston and Maine Railroad Historical Society President Rick Kfoury adds.
“1127 is possibly the most photographed SW1 that ever served on the railroad, and is certainly a contender for the most noteworthy Boston and Maine diesel locomotive still in existence,” Kfoury wrote.
Transition to Pa.
For nearly 30 years, 1127 has resided here in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
It was sold in 1996 by the successor of the B&M and found itself on the Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway in Pittston, Pennsylvania renumbered 600.
In that guise, the locomotive has been a frequent sight up and down the Wyoming Valley, including running past the Times Leader’s offices on East Market Street in Wilkes-Barre, as the attached photo illustrates.
The good news: 1127, which turns 71 this year, is stored indoors in good cosmetic and mechanical repair, museum officials say.
Recently sold to a third party, it was set to be scrapped as early as Monday if a buyer was not found. As of Saturday, DRM’s goal had been surpassed.
Next steps
They also have a plan for what should happen next:
• To bring it home, the current plan calls for swapping the locomotive’s trucks, which hold the wheels, with another set that are compliant with today’s modern railroad standards for shipment.
• 1127 would then travel by rail to Danbury. The process of delivering the trucks can begin shortly after the title has been transferred, and the #1127 could begin preparations for the trip home to New England.
• The Danbury Railway Museum would take ownership and continue to preserve and operate the locomotive.
For further information on the locomotive or to donate to the project, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-1127.
Donations also can be sent by mail to Danbury Railway Museum, P.O. Box 90, Danbury, CT 06813.
To become a member of the museum, visit DanburyRail.org/membership.
