New Haven, Boston & Maine, and Boston & Albany Railroads – New England Model Trains

Wonderful engine Mel!

Last week your Yardmaster posted a film of B&A 4-6-6T no. 403 backing its train into South Station.  After shooting that film, he drove to Newton, MA to catch the train on the morning run.

John

My locomotive today is Boston & Albany USRA 0-8-0 #53, a model produced by Lionel (6-28702) in 2006 with TMCC at an MSRP of $649.99. I purchased this model from forum sponsor Trainz and it arrived here this week after nine days in transit. I’ve been wanting to buy a small B&A locomotive model that fits well on my 10’-by-5’ layout but it seems to me that there aren’t many small Boston & Albany locomotive models being made or for sale on the secondary market these days. So, when this appeared on Trainz, I watched it until it became available for general sale and then ordered it. Trainz had rated this model as C7 (excellent) and described some minute scratches and wheel wear that made me somewhat hesitant to buy but, after a day or so, I relented.

I was impressed with how securely Trainz had packed the model. I examined it carefully and found no scratches or wheel wear. Actually, upon close examination, it looked to me like the model had never been run. Certainly, the pickup rollers had never touched a middle rail and I would have rated it at least C8 (like new). I bought a Lionel Mogul from Trainz last year that was rated as C9 (new). In my opinion, both models were fairly and conservatively rated. But neither was low-priced…

The model operated properly when I began to run it. Initially there was some sound dropout so I installed a 9V battery in the tender, but cleaning the rails later eliminated the issue and I don’t think the battery is necessary. I’m satisfied with my purchases from Trainz.

B&A #53 was a U-3b class switcher built by Lima in April 1921.  It had 25-by-28 cylinders, 51-inch driving wheels, weighed 219,000 pounds, and produced 51,040 pounds of tractive effort at 175 pounds-per-square-inch boiler pressure. It was renumbered to New York Central #7725 in 1951 and ran on the Harlem Division until it was retired in January 1955.

This model was made in South Korea and, in my opinion, its design, manufacture and details are excellent. My pictures show that the boiler is fully round on the underside with a prototypical clear space between the boiler and the frame.

MELGAR

I’m in a tinplate state of mind today.  I was running some of my postwar Lionel when I decided to take out my first train (circa 1950), a Marx NYC Pacific no. 333 with matching freight set.  It has never been apart, but still “runs like a top”!

John

My model of Boston & Maine GP-7 #1563 was made by MTH Premier (20-2211-1). It appeared in the 1999 Volume 3 Catalog at an MSRP of $299.95 and was delivered in December 1999. This was one of the first B&M locomotive models that I purchased – at just about the time I got my 12’-by-8’ layout up and running – and it has been one of my favorites ever since, although it’s not quite as detailed as current MTH GP-7s and GP-9s. I used to run it often but in recent years it’s been run less frequently because I now have newer B&M models.

I hadn’t run #1563, a PS1 model, for at least two years – maybe longer – and its 9-volt NiMH battery was probably ten years old, so I needed to install a BCR before running it again. Aside from removing the shell, extracting the battery required loosening the internal electronic components which are secured by four small screws from the underside of the metal chassis. I prefer not to disturb locomotive electronics but it couldn’t be avoided in this case. With the BCR, the sounds began when approximately 6 volts were applied to the track. It was a little sluggish starting to move, but a slight push and it was off and running. It loosened-up quickly and ran well at low speeds. I find MTH models with PS1 to be very durable and trouble-free.

Boston & Maine #1563 was built in February 1952, one of the second group of GP-7s (#1563 to #1571) purchased by the railroad. It had 1500 horsepower and was set up to run short hood forward. B&M GP-7s did not have dynamic brakes but they did have an extended compartment at the rear of the long hood that housed train lighting equipment for commuter service. The generic MTH B&M GP-7 model incorrectly includes dynamic brake blisters atop the long hood but doesn’t have the extended electrical compartment. B&M #1563 also had a steam generator within the short hood for train heating. This is represented on the MTH model by the steam generator stack atop the short hood.

As Budd RDC Railcars replaced diesel locomotives in commuter service on the B&M, MU equipment was added to #1563 and it was transferred to freight service. So, this model of a medium-sized diesel locomotive is a good fit for passenger or freight trains on my 10’-by-5’ single-track New England branch line model railroad.

General Motors Electro-Motive Division produced 2,729 GP-7s between October 1949 and May 1954. They were powered by an EMD 567B V16 2-stroke diesel engine that ran between 275 and 800 RPM. Their weight was 246,000 pounds and maximum speed was 65 miles-per-hour. Continuous tractive effort was 40,000 pounds at 9.3 miles-per-hour and 65,000 pounds for starting. The B&M had 23 GP-7s.

MELGAR

What a difference a layout makes   All your locos look great and are lucky to have such a great road on which to spin their wheels

@Wvm posted:

What a difference a layout makes   All your locos look great and are lucky to have such a great road on which to spin their wheels

Wvm,

Thank you. Whether you have a layout or not, I would like to see any New Haven or other New England model locomotives or rolling stock that you have. My newer layout is 10'-by-5' and just an O-54 oval. I guess that is considered small but, for me, it's big enough to be interesting, and construction of the structures and scenery were a five-year project.

MELGAR

Here is a short train. I traditionaly run early 70's midwestern roads but love the fallen flags of the east as well.

Hi All—

it’s been a while since I posted here, so thanks MELGAR, Dave for your recent posts.  Here are two recent custom car projects:

The first photo is a P&W “super gon” built for hauling large pieces of scrap.  My car is a 79’s Atlas gon (Reading) with the extension kit offered by K-Line.  Some assembly required….

Paint is Rustoleum rattle can flat black, ends are light grey followed by Testors yellow.  The interior is Scalecoat II.  Now I need to do some weathering.  

The second photo is the prototype for the

Here we have a re-do of a K-Line intermodal car lettered for a Massachusetts short line.  It too, need weathering, but sometimes life gets in the way😉

My friend Bruce and I have been engaged in a pandemic intermodal project centered in New England.  I’m moving my waybill driven New Haven railroad into the late 60’s-early 70’s +…  I’ll soon be selling my NHRR & B&A steam in the transition as I repaint rolling stock.  My layout is 32’ x 55, and is one of a half dozen in our 14-person prototype operations group.  

Don,

I might be interested in buying some of your New Haven and B&A steam locomotives. Please let me know when it's available.

MELGAR

On Friday my wife and I traveled to Meriden, Connecticut  from the Albany, NY area. We allowed time to visit the New England Railroad Museum in Thomaston, Connecticut. The museum in situated on what was part of the New Haven Railroad. I posted some pictures of the New Haven equipment earlier on the thread "Any New Haven Fans". There were some other equipment from the Boston and Maine that I am posting here along with a picture of the depot. No one could tell me the original owner of the jeep 9 that pulled the train. As a very nice touch for the kids riding, ice cream was handed out to all. The museum people were very cordial and accommodating for everyone.  Thomaston was known as the clock city of the world.   Bill

My model of Boston & Maine F-3 #4227A was made by Sunset/3^rd Rail and delivered in 2021 at an MSRP of $699.95. Unlike most 3-rail F-3 models, this one has a fixed pilot. It is shown on my 10'-by-5' model railroad with Atlas O-54 curves and switches.

The B&M purchased two F-3 A-B locomotive sets in 1948, #4227 and #4228, for passenger service.  Each individual unit had an EMD 567 two-cycle, supercharged V16 diesel engine that developed 1,500 horsepower. The #4227 ran between Boston, Springfield (MA) and White River Junction, Vermont. It was retired in 1966.

MELGAR

@Bill Park posted:

On Friday my wife and I traveled to Meriden, Connecticut  from the Albany, NY area. We allowed time to visit the New England Railroad Museum in Thomaston, Connecticut. The museum in situated on what was part of the New Haven Railroad. I posted some pictures of the New Haven equipment earlier on the thread "Any New Haven Fans". There were some other equipment from the Boston and Maine that I am posting here along with a picture of the depot. No one could tell me the original owner of the jeep 9 that pulled the train. As a very nice touch for the kids riding, ice cream was handed out to all. The museum people were very cordial and accommodating for everyone.  Thomaston was known as the clock city of the world.   Bill

Bill- I found their roster. It lists the GP 9 but in a different livery and number. Not sure if it's the same loco.

https://www.thedieselshop.us/RMNE.HTML

Further searches found this. Most likely this is the engine in your photo. Looks like it's an ex N&W.

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=5176210

Bob

Boston & Maine Doodlebug #181.

sorry for the bad pics...this is an early MTH railking..Ex CSX added plow

@Bill Park posted:

On Friday my wife and I traveled to Meriden, Connecticut  from the Albany, NY area. We allowed time to visit the New England Railroad Museum in Thomaston, Connecticut. The museum in situated on what was part of the New Haven Railroad. I posted some pictures of the New Haven equipment earlier on the thread "Any New Haven Fans". There were some other equipment from the Boston and Maine that I am posting here along with a picture of the depot. No one could tell me the original owner of the jeep 9 that pulled the train. As a very nice touch for the kids riding, ice cream was handed out to all. The museum people were very cordial and accommodating for everyone.  Thomaston was known as the clock city of the world.   Bill

Hi Bill,

The GP9 is an ex-Norfolk & Western unit - the paint scheme it is in currently is a tribute to one of its N&W paint schemes. The Naugatuck actually has two ex-N&W GP9s - IIRC they were purchased to be used for the railroads freight business, to keep wear off the historic equipment (the engines officially part of the RMNE's collection).

~Chris

An oldie but goodie from the archives: New Haven 0-6-0 yard goat no. 2334 pulls a train of Narragansett Beer reefers with fresh beer from the brewery in Providence, RI.  Thirsty rail fans all over New England can’t wait for the train to arrive!

John

For those, like me, that happen to be in a New Haven state of mind:

That's an MTH Proto 2 New Haven EP5 hauling Railking NH 12 inch passenger cars. I love the sound of the horn and bell. Arnold

And, how about MTH Proto 3 New Haven Alcos hauling a host of freight cars from various New England railroads:

Arnold

How about some B&M and Maine central territory action?

Or some B&A NYC action

Welcome to postwar Pittsfield.

New England RRs that I'm going to run of the modular layout at York......

Have a great Sunday, folks!

Peter

@Putnam Division posted:

New England RRs that I'm going to run of the modular layout at York......

Have a great Sunday, folks!

Peter

Gorgeous, can't wait to see it at York!

I've been after a Maine Central 470 Pacific for several years, so when MTH announced they were producing it, I had to have it. While I was at it, I picked up the B&M Pacific as well.

I’m most interested in railroads that ran in the New England states, including the New Haven and the Boston & Maine railroads – two of the largest in the six-state region. The New Haven was dominant in Connecticut, Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts while the Boston & Maine dominated in northern Massachusetts, New Hampshire, southern Maine and also operated in parts of Vermont. As such, most of my model trains represent these railroads and I often run two or three New England trains simultaneously on my 12’-by-8’ model railroad.

In the video, New Haven Railroad class G-4-a 4-6-0 steam locomotive #816 (Lionel Legacy 6-82272) is pulling a passenger train trailed by 1929 heavyweight parlor-lounge car Flying Cloud (MTH set 20-4040) on the O-72 outer loop and Boston & Maine F-3 diesel #4227A (Sunset/3^rd Rail) is pulling a freight train with B&M caboose C-124 (MTH 20-91064) on the O-54 middle loop. However, in the real world, these locomotives ran during different eras. The last New Haven G-4-a was retired in 1948, the same year when B&M #4227A was built. The two locomotives pass each other on the truss bridge at the front of the layout with the New Haven train running at about 32 scale miles-per-hour.

MELGAR

Mel, at the present time my memory is not as sharp as I wish it was.  I remember that you constructed at least one truss bridge from scratch but can't remember if it was one or both of the bridges on the 12x8, one on the 10x5 or all truss bridges on both layouts.  So please refresh my memory, which is it?

@coach joe posted:

Mel, at the present time my memory is not as sharp as I wish it was.  I remember that you constructed at least one truss bridge from scratch but can't remember if it was one or both of the bridges on the 12x8, one on the 10x5 or all truss bridges on both layouts.  So please refresh my memory, which is it?

Joe,

Thanks for the question. As a retired engineer, I'm very interested in bridges, both full size and scale model, and I enjoy building models of them, although I haven't had any under construction lately.

I designed the 24-inch (96-foot) truss bridge and trestle on the 10'-by-5' layout and built both from scratch using basswood around 2014 (first photo). I also designed the three industrial buildings in the photo and built them from scratch.

I built the two 36-inch (144-foot) truss bridges and girder bridge on the 12'-by-8' layout from spruce wood kits by Miami Valley Products around 2000 (second photo). The double-track truss bridge at the front of the 12'-by-8' layout often carries two die-cast steam locomotives. The gusset plates on the truss bridges make them quite strong.

MELGAR

Mel.  Enjoyed seeing your woodside reefer “first national stores “ in latest video. I also purchased one lately because my dad worked as a warehouse clerk there before going off to WWII as a Medic. That’s what I love about the old biilboards They bring back so much history. I found at Public Delivery Track. They have a huge selection

@Wvm posted:

Mel.  Enjoyed seeing your woodside reefer “first national stores “ in latest video. I also purchased one lately because my dad worked as a warehouse clerk there before going off to WWII as a Medic. That’s what I love about the old biilboards They bring back so much history. I found at Public Delivery Track. They have a huge selection

Wvm,

Thanks for your comment.

Model railroading does evoke a lot of history and recollections of youth and family members. As you say, many of the locomotives and railroad cars are from eras long past. Learning about the history and remembering it are good things.

MELGAR

I wish some New England train dealer or any train dealer would do, the following (4) PS-2 covered hoppers.

I believe these four hoppers would be big sellers.

@jim sutter posted:

I wish some New England train dealer would do, custom runs of ...... PS-2 covered hoppers.

Jim,

I would like to see MTH custom runs of New England steam and diesel locomotives. And how about the beautiful New Haven electric locomotives? It seems to me that there are very few MTH dealers in New England these days.

MELGAR

Maybe, Rich Foster will just make them.

Melgar, I would love to see a New Haven EP-5.

Does this count?

Boston was a regular hangout for the FL9s that Amtrak purchased from the New Haven.

Here is a Weaver New Haven I-5 I upgraded to an ERR cruise commander. The girder bridge is painted with a New Haven Railroad advertisement - the railroad a few dozen bridges, mostly in Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts, painted with similar slogans in the early 1950s.

~Chris

@GG1 4877 posted:

Does this count?

Boston was a regular hangout for the FL9s that Amtrak purchased from the New Haven.

PS- I’m so jealous of your FL9s. The missing Amtrak motive power I wish I had.

Now back to our regularly scheduled railroads…

From October 2022 York.......New Haven crossing the **** Gate.....

More pics on this week's Photo Fun......

Peter

Hey Peter, how long is that HellGate Bridge?

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

Hey Peter, how long is that HellGate Bridge?

I believe the span between the towers is about 11 ft.

Peter

Looked for you a couple of time Peter but you were off somewhere. Bridge was great. Wish I had seen your New Havens