Bangor & Aroostook Geeps

Why did the LIRR have to lease the BAR and PNC geeps? They still had all of the Alco C420's and RS-3's. Were too many of them bad ordered? I know it couldn't have been too much freight traffic.

Stuart

I think the RR had just ended a strike... Some Equipment had been damaged due to stuff left out with no caps on the stacks etc. BAR had spare power... the rest is history

I primarily remember them pulling passenger trains, not freight.

Check out the photos Jack Deasy posted earlier in this thread of the units pulling the "Shelter Island Express" to Greenport.

They may have pulled freight as well, but I only remember PERSONALLY seeing them on passenger runs.

I photographed PN #1706 at Montauk after it hauled a passenger train out there in September, 1974.

I photographed PN #1701 with passenger train at St. James in 1/77.

ALso shot BAR #62 & 60, coupled with one car shuttle train to Greenport laying up at the Ronkonkoma wye in 5/75 (why 2 units to pull one coach, I have no idea!)

Then I have a shot of RDG RS3 #469 pulling the Patchogue-Babylon "Scoot" at Bay Shore in 1968.

All passenger runs.

I DO have shot of BAR #s 60 & 74 coupled at "Fremont" tower in 3/77, but they could have been arriving on LI at the time (or leaving?).

Dave Keller

Most of the shots of those I have seen were pulling freight drags. A lot of them with a 100 + cars in the 1970's. The Sunrise Trail calendar has a few shots of the BAR and PNC equip. over the years.

When the BAR's first came, they mainly ran as trailing units on freight runs, most commonly west of Holban. Also as trailing units on the Holban-Ronkonkoma freight (RF-61), and on passenger trains. I remember seeing a Sunday morning Montauk train with C-420, GP-7, GP-7, C-420 quite often. The PNC 1702 worked at the Pinelawn wye when it arrived.
Then anywhere, once the cab signals were installed.

The lease had expired on the 21 C-420s and the owner wanted them shut down. Plus EMD was very busy, the GP-38-2s came a few at a time.
Interesting how they started with only 4 units, and at the end had 19 BAR & PNC units!

I had never seen this before, must have been painted after leaving LI.
[/url]

I have a picture of myself as a kid standing in front of one of the Bangor and Aroostook engines at Greenport in 1975. Too bad I don't have a scanner.