Just saw an old video yesterday that showed a pair of D&H SW1200(?) units pulling one NH coach & a bunch of NYC streamlined coaches!! (in addition to a D&H coach). Curious to me, but I'm assuming this was in the early 1960's???? 1. Where did the D&H pick up the combination of NH & NYC cars?? 2. Where were they heading?? 3. Guess-timated time frame?? I'm modeling the NYC & NH roads, so if I can toss in some D&H engines and interchanges now in the planning stages, I could really mix up the action!! Always did love the D&H color scheme! Thanks in advance!
The D & H handled through trains off the NYC from Grand Central to Montreal. For a while before amtrak the D & H used the NYC paint scheme on some of its passenger cars. So mixing D & H and NYC cars would be prototypical. Many through trains to Montreal were mostly NYC cars. I am not aware of the D & H using New Haven coaches, but they might have shown up on trains from Grand Central. When Amtrak was formed cars from different roads were used where they were needed. The units were probably RS2's, not SW's.The usual power on Montreal bound trains before the arrival of the PAs' was two or three RS2's. Cars were added and removed by the D & H at Albany on some trains. Some D & H cars went to Grand Central, particularly during the latter years of the revitalized Laurentian and the later Adirondack. A common complaint amongst D & H crews was the poor treatment D & H equipment received by Amtrak at Grand Central.
I won't even mention Amtrak... (outside my era...) However, I will NOT take the train to Florida again! Ever... Took the Mustang down last June... 1300 miles in about 18 hours, with stops for food, gas, shopping, etc. That was FASTER than the train made it to Georgia! Florida alone took 6 more hours! But I digress... Thanks for the info!
It may be that the video you have was post 1968. At that point NH was part of Penn Central, and passenger equipment in the northeast was all over the place on their system. It may have been a NH coach tacked on at Springfield, MA, over to Albany, and up to Montreal. Just speculation, but it makes sense to me.
Bob, the Central Hudson Div. was electric only between GCT and Harmon, where the motors were swapped for steam or diesel for the run west. With the advent of the EMD FL9, which had third rail shoes, the Central and NH diesels could run all the way into GCT.
Hi Hank, I went looking to see who made an N scale FL9 and only found the proposed one by Overland Models... $400+ bucks for one engine! No wonder the project was scrapped in this economy. I will have to research if there were any external differences and just make my own FL9s for NYC & NH... I know there were lots of catenary wires at one time in CT, but I'd rather run the FL9's... I am thinking of modeling the NYCT as a staging area... so I might not need the FL9s... More ideas to ponder. thanks
That may be true, but the video was really grainy. Even Super-8 from the 70's would take a better image than that. I'll have to watch it again and see if I pick up on any other clues. thanks
Bob, I have a video of NYCS and D&H exchanging cars in Troy, NY. I'll be darned if I can find it, and every time I have looked for it I fail to find it. Maybe someday when I'm NOT looking for it...... I can't even remember who made it, but it may be the one you have. Were there NYC Hudsons in it as well? I seem to recall both a J-3 and a former B&A J-2, with big square sandbox for a sand dome. :tb-biggrin:
Remember the FL9 was only built for the NH. Eventually they were lettered for PC, Conrail when they ran commuter service, Metro North, Amtrak, then Nh again with CDOT markings. Full circle...
Right. I have to model the NH as well... so I can research simultaneously... What's one more thing? NYC, NH, PRR, B&O, D&H, might as well throw Erie, CV, and B&A in the mix... baffled:
Bob, I have a tape called Delaware & Hudson Memories which has a late 60's Laurentian passing by with a NH diner on it. Just before D&H purchased the PAs and ex-Rio Grande passenger equipment they were concerned about upgrading their trains for the EXPO 67 World's Fair in Monteal and they leased some NH diners, but they never used any NH coaches AFAIK. Growing up in Plattsburgh, NY I remember many times seeing the Laurentian with a D&H baggage car and all NYC coaches and parlor. Rick Shivik Conyers, GA
