‘Shark’ Was Moved to Create Work Space

Additional information about the movement of a rare Baldwin Sharknose locomotive in Michigan has surfaced and it’s not what many railfans were hoping it would be.

The president of the Escanaba & Lake Superior told Trains magazine that the RF16 was moved to free space in a shop building that will be used to clean covered hopper cars.

Former Delaware & Hudson No. 1216 was moved from a car shop in Escanaba to another shop in Wells earlier this week.

E&LS President John Larkin said he would like to restore the 1216 someday but said it would be a tough project to do.

The 1216 last operated in 1982 when it suffered a broken crankshaft. It and fellow Shark No. 1205 have been stored indoors since then.

The article can be read on the Trains website at: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/baldwin-sharknose-moved-in-michigan/

Baldwin ‘Shark’ Sighting Reported in Michigan

A Baldwin RF-16 locomotive was moved out of its storage shed this week in Michigan, Railfan and Railroad magazine reported.

Social media reports indicated that former Delaware & Hudson No. 1216 was moved around a yard of the Escanaba & Lake Superior.

The magazine said it is unclear why the locomotive was moved.

The 1216 is one of two “Sharks” that have been stored in Michigan since the early 1980s. Also in storage is ex-D&H No. 1205.

The two units are the only survivors of the 160 locomotives of this type built by Baldwin.

Some of those “Shark’s” worked on the Monongahela Railroad in southwest Pennsylvania before being retired.

The article can be found at  https://railfan.com/elusive-baldwin-shark-emerges-after-four-decades-in-storage/

F Unit Returns to Service in Upper Michigan

F units have returned to revenue service on the Escanaba & Lake Superior in upper Michigan.

FP7 No. 600 began pulling freight in late January after having been out of service for eight years.

Trains magazine reported that No. 600 replaced SD40-2 No. 500, which sustained a mechanical failure last year and is likely to be retired.

No. 600 was built in 1951as Milwaukee Road No. 96A and pulled commuter trains in Chicago for many years.

The E&LS purchased it from Wisconsin & Southern in 2005. It continues to wear W&S’s red and silver livery.

The FP7 can be seen on former Milwaukee Road tracks between Pembine, Wisconsin, and Channing, Michigan.

An online report indicated that shortly after it returned to service No. 600 had a problem with its air compressor and was out of service awaiting repair.

2 Surviving Sharknoses to be Donated to Museum

The owner of a Michigan short line railroad plans to donate the only two surviving Baldwin RF-16 Sharknose diesel locomotives to a railroad museum.

John Larkin, owner of the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad, told Trains magazine he would donate the vintage locomotives to an unspecified museum after his death.

Larkin, 73, said during the interview he has not decided which museum would get the units, but he serves on the board of directors of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and has assisted it with several restoration projects.

The two Sharknose locomotives are A units, Nos. Nos. 1205 and 1216, and have not operated in several years.

Both were bought in 1974 by the Delaware & Hudson and used in freight and passenger excursion service until late 1978.

The locomotives were later purchased by Illinois-based Castolite Corporation, which leased them to the Michigan Northern.

After the latter railroad ended operations Nos. 1205 and 1216 were moved to E&LS.

EL&S used No. 1216 for a short time in summer 1979.

It pulled a few trips in fall 1982 in Michigan between Wells and Channing but was sidelined when its crankshaft broke.

No. 1205 never operated on the EL&S due to mechanical issues.

Both sharknoses have been stored indoors and away from view of railfans.

Larkin told Trains that he also acquired Baldwin prime movers and other parts in the event the locomotives  were ever restored.

But that never happened because it would cost too much. “But they are protected and out of the weather. They are inside so they are not further deteriorating,” he said.

Baldwin built 109 A units and 51 B-units between 1950 and 1953 for Baltimore & Ohio, New York Central, and the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1967 the Monongahela Railway purchased seven As and two Bs from NYC, and operated them into the 1970s.