This video popped up on my Youtube feed today.
The Escanaba and Lake Superior RR owns the pair from the D&H 1205 and 1216.
Pretty cool to see a shark swimming, all be it with some help, again. Some cool old equipment at work in the video too including a GE 44 tonner.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
D&H is one of my 'mostest favororite' lines - thanks for posting!
@c.sam posted:D&H is one of my 'mostest favororite' lines - thanks for posting!
Me too Sam. I have a Williams ABA set of 1205 & 1216.
Love the D&H color scheme, sucked me into my Legacy A-B-A set.
@RSJB18 posted:Me too Sam. I have a Williams ABA set of 1205 & 1216.
I saw that video too, Bob... but from the thread title, I was figuring that maybe you FINALLY got your set on the rails. Well, I guess there is always next year 
Although like many others on the Forum I've always loved their color scheme, I found seeing the D&H unit in the video - beginning around the 14:35 mark - being pulled (and squealing-to-beat-the-ban) kind of sad and would prefer to remember these rare Baldwin units as they were during their D&H commercially active years and which can still be seen on youtube.
That said, like GRJ, I also have a Legacy A-B-A set of these.
Cool video. Not often you get to see several (5!) different types like that. 👍
Mark in Oregon
Had the pleasure of fan trips in the 70's with the sharks and the PA's....Albany to Rouses Point...
I wonder if there are any plans for restoration, cosmetic or functional?
@richabr posted:I wonder if there are any plans for restoration, cosmetic or functional?
Probably not, at least until the owner passes. A cosmetic restoration would be financially easy, but a functional restoration would be very, VERY expensive!
I'm simply state that is great to see at least one of the units out of its hiding spot if only briefly. The fact that two still exist is a funny conundrum in my mind. You have a current owner who wants to keep them out of site, but as such they have lasted into 2021.
Perhaps one day these will pass to someone who has an interest in seeing them operating again.
As an aside did these have the D71 traction motors Jack? That was the one bright spot for Baldwin locomotive engineering as I understand.
@GG1 4877 posted:I'm simply state that is great to see at least one of the units out of its hiding spot if only briefly. The fact that two still exist is a funny conundrum in my mind. You have a current owner who wants to keep them out of site, but as such they have lasted into 2021.
Perhaps one day these will pass to someone who has an interest in seeing them operating again.
As an aside did these have the D71 traction motors Jack? That was the one bright spot for Baldwin locomotive engineering as I understand.
Sorry Jonathan, I have absolutely no knowledge concerning any Baldwin diesel units, although I did experience a cab ride on the Jersey Central "baby face Baldwin" freight units, back in the mid to late 1950s.
Just read your link; wonder why E&LS is so " tight" with these units...🤔
Mark in Oregon
Found this link to a 4 page thread discussing the history of the E&LS units and their current status.
Railway Preservation News • View topic - Rumor: Baldwin Sharks RF-16 "Available"? (rypn.org)
I got my hopes up when I read the title. Bummer they aren't being restored. Maybe one day someone with deep pockets will step in and get them restored.
Still waiting to see the NKP PA out on the rails one day.
Would a big museum possibly be able to get one running again if it were to acquire one of the units in the future? I'm thinking possibly of Illinois, they have at least one operating Baldwin and may have the financial wherewithal and mechanical expertise to take on another.
@Strummer posted:Just read your link; wonder why E&LS is so " tight" with these units...🤔
Mark in Oregon
Tight? Some "railfans" swiped the builder's plates decades ago when they were accessible. The owner made a smart decision and locked them up - if they'd been left out I imagine others would have come along and helped themselves to their horns, perhaps thieves would have removed any copper wiring they could find, gauges and throttle stand parts just waiting to be smashed or damaged by weasels. E&LS isn't a museum, they're a business and quite honestly they don't need folks hanging around/trespassing/swiping things from their equipment. I'm glad those diesels are locked away - out of the elements and not decaying, components safe from grubby hands - they're most likely never going to run again (the only place remotely capable of reviving one or both is SMS out in New Jersey, and given their prime mover damage may not be practical to restore given the scarcity/lack of needed parts), but at least they're physically intact and maybe destined for a museum where they can be cosmetically restored and safely displayed.
Well....I stand corrected then. 😳
Mark in Oregon
That is the unfortunate truth about a segment of this hobby. When NJT retired the final 13 GG1s they sat out un-protected for some time and were subject to theft of builders plates, horns, and general vandalism. I agree that it is best that these gems of locomotives are safely secured out of sight and out of mind.
Being preserved inside is something that most museum pieces don't have the benefit of which I find ironic. From the video, the locomotive seemed to roll very freely which I am guessing had something to do with being preserved indoors.
Love the sharks. Keeping them locked up also kept them safe. I imagine they will someday end up in a museum. Better than scrap metal.
@Rich Melvin posted:I got lucky and shot these Sharks BEFORE they went to the D&H, but they were clearly headed there.
More Shark shots here.
Just as a matter of clarification: the third paragraph of the attached link (above) mentioned that the E&SL doesn't allow "visitors" or "photographers" inside their building that houses these. They must have some idea as to the interest these old relics hold, so one could think the owners might be open to some sort of scheduled "visitation". I guess that's what I meant when I posted that they are being "tight". Sure, by all means, protect them, but maybe offer a carrot to people like...us. 🙂
Mark in Oregon
@Strummer posted:Just as a matter of clarification: the third paragraph of the attached link (above) mentioned that the E&SL doesn't allow "visitors" or "photographers" inside their building that houses these. They must have some idea as to the interest these old relics hold, so one could think the owners might be open to some sort of scheduled "visitation". I guess that's what I meant when I posted that they are being "tight". Sure, by all means, protect them, but maybe offer a carrot to people like...us. 🙂
Mark in Oregon
Sorry Mark, but the owner got so fed-up with certain types of railfans (the kind that think it is their right to trespass for their photos), many, MANY years ago, that he simply doesn't allow such "visitations".
Okay, fair enough...👍
Mark in Oregon
According to the latest Trains mag article on these, the owner has a reasonable amount of parts on hand if he ever chose to get a Shark running. I doubt he ever will though. It would be a victory for preservation if one or both of the Sharks were even to go to a museum as-is.
@GenesisFan99 posted:According to the latest Trains mag article on these, the owner has a reasonable amount of parts on hand if he ever chose to get a Shark running. I doubt he ever will though. It would be a victory for preservation if one or both of the Sharks were even to go to a museum as-is.
I saw another video yesterday that mentioned that they do have enough parts to put at least one back together.
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
