FL9s Along the Hudson River

Marty Surdy and I spent three days along the Hudson River in New York from June 29-July 1, 1993. We focused on photographing Amtrak and Metro North FL9s.

The top photograph was made of a northbound Metro North train at Cold Spring.

In the first image below, Bannerman Castle on Pollepel Island looms in the background in a view of a southbound at Cold Spring.

The next two images were also made at Cold Spring with one going north and one going south.

Next up is an FL9 painted in the livery of the New Haven and shown at Croton-Harmon. Photo six is features a northbound Amtrak Empire Service train at Garrison.

That is followed by Amtrak FL9 No. 484 leading a northbound train at Peekskill. This unit would later run on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad between late 2009 and early 2012.

The series ends with an image of a northbound Metro North train coming out of the station at Peekskill.

Photographs by Edward Ribinskas

Remember When an FL9 Prowled the CVSR?

It is September 2011 and Nickel Plate Road No. 765 is making a guest appearance on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad pulling a series of excursions, including a total track tour to Canton.

Also part of those excursions was FL9 No. 484. The 765 was only around for a few weeks, but No. 484 stayed around for a few years.

It arrived on the CVSR in late 2009 and remained their until February 2012.

During the 2011 visit of the 765 the FL9 was the motive power assigned to the north end of the steam excursions.

Built in November 1957 for the New Haven, No. 484 also pulled Amtrak trains through the mid-1990s.

At the time of its CVSR appearance, it was owned by F.P. Flynn. No. 484 also saw spot duty helping to pull excursions sponsored by the Orrville Railroad Heritage Society on the Wheeling & Lake Erie.

The photograph above shows No. 484 at Bath Road facing north. The 765 is on the other end of this train facing south.

The image was made almost seven years ago so it you won’t find it in a wayback machine. Still, seven years was several years ago and the 484 hasn’t been around for a while.

Amtrak Reportedly Will Suspend LSL New York Section During Penn Station Construction This Summer

An online report said that Amtrak plans to return FL9 locomotives to service this summer and temporarily drop the New York section of the Lake Shore Limited due to construction at New York Penn Station.

The report, which did not provide sources, said the FL9s are owned by the State of Connecticut and will be used as cab cars when some Empire Service trains begin using Grand Central Terminal.

The former New Haven locomotives are needed because for emergencies there must be an exit from a train in the Park Avenue Tunnel. Side doors cannot be used on outside tracks so passengers would need to be evacuated through the rear door

However, Amtrak’s P32AC-DMs locomotives lack a nose door. Therefore, the FL9s will be used to lead trains into Grand Central.  The trains will be turned there so that the FL9s will lead at all times.

The report said the FL9s will need to be rebuilt at the Amtrak shops in Rensselaer, New York, for cab car use.

Metro-North P32AC-DM engines are able to use the Park Avenue tunnel because they were built with nose doors.

The planned consists of Amtrak trains using Grand Central will be a cab car or non-powered F-9 leading; an unoccupied Amtrak P32AC-DM to provide traction and head-end power, and the train’s passenger cars.

During this period the Lake Shore Limited will continue to operate between Chicago and Boston.

What Was that FL9 Doing in Ohio?

FLNX 484 and Orrville Railroad Heritage Society No. 471 are shown backing onto the Medina Loop excursion train on Saturday (October 10) at Spencer. (Photograph by Richard Jacobs)

If you were out on Saturday chasing the Orrville Railroad Heritage Society Medina Loop passenger excursion, then you saw a critter that we don’t see much of around these parts. For much of the trip, FLNX 484 trailed ORHS’s No. 471.

But at Spencer, the power ran around the train and the FL9 was the lead unit from Spencer to Orrville.

FL9s are better known for their work on New York City commuter and intercity passenger trains running in and out of Grand Central Terminal, although some also served Penn Station.

The ORHS now has the use of FLNX 484, a former New Haven Railroad FL9 that also served Penn Central and Amtrak. The unit is owned by Ohio Railway Supply (R.P. Flynn, Inc.), hence the initials FLN with the X denoting that it is not owned by a railroad company.

FL9s were notable for being able to operate in diesel and electric mode. Small pickup shoes were located on the trucks so that the locomotive could operate from third rail electricity in and out of Grant Central in compliance with a New York City anti-smoke ordinance.

The FL9 were ordered by the New Haven to pull Boston-New York passenger trains. Their dual-mode capability eliminated the need to switch out diesels for electric locomotives for use in New York City.

The locomotives served a similar function for Amtrak, although by the late 1990s the last Amtrak FL9s had been replaced by P42AC-DM locomotives in the Genesis series.

The Heritage of FLNX 484 is a long one. It began life in 1957 as New Haven No. 2029. Along the way it became Penn Central 5029, a number it carried into the Conrail era.

Amtrak acquired it and renumbered it 484. It was rebuilt in 1979 by Morrison-Knudsen in Boise, Idaho. After retirement from Amtrak, the unit apparently spent some time at the Morristown and Erie Railroad in New Jersey before being purchased by R.P. Flynn.

He contracted with the Florida East Coast Railway to have No. 484 rebuilt. It arrived at the FEC shop in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, in fall 2007 in rather poor condition.

During the rebuilding, it was given its current cream and green livery, which is reminiscent of “Grinstein” livery once used by the Burlington Northern executive train.

FLNX 484 was sent north on Norfolk Southern in late June, arriving in Ohio on June 30. After testing on the Wheeling & Lake Erie at Brewster, it was declared fit for service.

The Medina Loop train of this past Saturday is thought to be No. 484’s first revenue service trip for ORHS. The Orrville group plans to use FLNX 484 in excursion service in 2010.

Although FL9 sightings in Ohio are unusual, they are not unheard of. FL9s occasionally worked on the Lake Shore Limited at times and some Metro North and Connecticut Department of Transportation-owned FL9s were ferried through northern Ohio by Conrail en route or returning from the M-K shops in Idaho.