F-units are on borrowed time... till August?

Brewster has 410-413 on mini. Danbury has CDOT 2016. waterbury has Genny 230 but no midday service.
here to wet your appetite is;
http://community.webshots.com/photo/130 ... 3972CeTmDi

Photographed 410/413 early Sunday morning at Towners... went over to Danbury and didnt see any F's... but did photograph a NH-painted Genny on the SOUTH end of a local at Bethel on Sunday evening.

-otto-

Thanks, I think were going to try to get them on the Danbury Branch, information on railfaning the branch? How many F units are left anyway?

Once again thanks
-Justin Franz

The mid day trains on the Waterbury Branch were supposed to go back on
this week on Monday, July 12th according to an article in the Waterbury
Republican of Thursday, July 8th.
I am not saying they actually went back on, only what I read in the paper.
Noel Weaver

Currently only F units left are:
F10's 410-411-412
Conndot FL9m's 2011-2014-2016-2024-2026-2027
MNCR Fl9's 2008 and 2012 (nyc painted)

Not bad to cover 4 shuttle trains and one standby for Wiretrain.
they can't maintain them however and locomotives shopped return back from shop with at least one more defect than what unit was shopped for originaly.

Is this due to the old age of all these units, or from a lack of available parts.

Plenty of parts for EMD's even E mode grid resistors can still be bought. the lack of motivation on Harmon shop floor is to blame and RR hiding their defects as they are called in.
Currently on Harlem 2008 running shuttles, 2011 spare Brewster and 410/413 going back to Harmon(malfuction Jct) 413 has bad ATC for last few years and 410 has wheelslip without actual wheelsslip.

I bet this attitude is coming down from management as they know the end is near for these units. After all they are not the new M-7s or the fairly new P32s. Their attitude is probably just 'keep 'em running for now'. I caught Fl-9 #2011 and F10s #413 and #411 in Brewster today on the track near the parking lot for Southeast(near the fire protection car).
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... bydate%3A1.
I also saw FL9m #2008 in the station, it sounded like it was struggling to push two coaches into the yard after returning from Wassaic.
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... bydate%3A1

That's too bad. I used to live along the Harlem/New Haven Lines in the Bronx and there was nothing quite like the sound of the evening rush F's roaring up on their way. The Gennies just don't have the same great sound.

I remember growing up in Pleasantville before the line was electrified. It used to be great hearing 2 FL9s roaring to pull a train with a bunch of mixed up dilapitated coaches from a stop. If the train was leaving Pleasantville, I could hear it half way to Chappaqua sometimes, and knew to get away from the tracks( I was only 10 in 1982, and didn't know any better). I agree that Genesis just doesn't sound, I dont know, right? To me it sounds like a giant vacuum cleaner.

You could hear those FL9's coming from quite away, you knew when one was coming when that classic roar was sounding. It seems the Gennies are quieter. The age of the FL-9s was at its best when they first introduced the Shoreliner I's.

Question for Dutch: I seriously doubt you'll be able to answer, but one Saturday in the late 80s or early 90s there was a lot of diesel trains running up and down, and quite a few the following Sunday. They couldn't have all been revenue trains -- were they doing some major moving of equipment?

Were ?? we did do a Saterday around chrismas in 1990 I believe, were Shoreline east borrowed 4 MNCR Bomb trains for Santa Clause specials to Old SayBrook from New Haven. also a few times during weekends we had Diesels to New Haven due to Catenary shutdowns.

Thank you. Note I only meant that you might not have been able to answer because of the obscurity of the question and the fact that I didn't have any dates -- I don't even have an exact year! But those could have been it -- I know it was a Saturday and a Sunday sometime (don't even remember the time of year) c. 1990 that there were a whole bunch of diesels going up and down the New Haven/Harlem corridor. It seemed even greater than the normal revenue service for the NH line (that could just be my perception though because diesels normally ran peak hours), which is why I though it could have been a mass equipment move.

But if catenary was down then I suppose that they could have been run to cover NH line service those days -- I would assume they would have to pull a few diesels off the Upper Harlem line for NH service?

I agree that the Fs had a great "revving" sound, but I think the Gennies are louder. I live several miles from the tracks, and could never hear the old F units, but I hear the annoying Gennie hum all the time.

Could someone please give me a complete history on the MNCRR 413? Isn't that the oldest engine in commuter service in the US?

Thanks,
Steve