Equipment
The Old Colony and Newport has three locomotives; two General Electric 45 Ton locomotives, numbered 4764 and 84. Both are of 1940s vintage and both have served with the armed services in their lifetimes. They were built with two Cummins over-the-road diesel truck engines (one in front, one in back), rated at 150 horsepower. These were linked to electric generators that provide electricity to traction motors (one per truck, linked on the outside by siderods). Both are equipped with full air train brakes and straight air locomotive brakes as well as handbrakes.
| Old Colony and Newport 45 Ton Switchers #4764 & #84 | |
|---|---|
| Power type | Diesel |
| Builder | General Electric (GE) |
| Model | GE 45-ton switcher |
| Build date | #84, 1942; #4764, 1945 |
| AAR wheel arr. | B-B (Outside Siderods) |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Locomotive weight | 100,000 lb (45.4 tonnes) |
| Prime mover | 2 × Cummins Diesel |
| Cylinders | 2 × Inline 6 cylinders |
| Transmission | DC generator, DC traction motors |
| Top speed | 20 mph (~30 km/h); posted speed 15 mph (~20 km/h) |
| Power output | #84, ~300HP; #4764, ~150HP |
| Locomotive brake | Straight Air |
| Train brakes | 14-EL Air |
The 84 recently underwent a major overhaul that was funded by several grants, and has been returned to its original state mechanically, with both engines working. The 4764, not as fortunate, only has one operating engine (the north engine). An interesting note is that the 84 actually operates backwards; when it was put on the tracks, it was facing south, towards Newport. However, the OC&N traditionally couples its engines to the North end of the train; so, when the engineer looks out the "front" windshield, he sees the coach he is pulling. However, being a centercab switcher, operation in either direction is easy.
The OC&N also uses a Porter-built 50 ton centercab switcher PRSX 7349, owned by John Pratt, of Pratt Railway Services, a volunteer of the OC&N. It is painted black, different from the OC&N's green, white, and black paint scheme, and adorned with its original number plate. Although it looks very similar to the OC&N's General Electric 45 Ton locomotives, it is mechanically very different. Also owned by Mr. Pratt is a blue-and-white B&M Caboose.
The OC&N's bread-and-butter revenue runs consist of its two passenger cars, Coach #74 (the Nelson Blount), né Boston and Maine Railroad, built by The Laconia Car Company in 1904, and an 1884 Parlor Car from the Intercontinental railway, Parlor Car #53 (the Ruth Blount), named for major contributors to the railway in its beginning days. The Parlor Car very recently received a new roof, a new South-end beam (as both cars are 100% wood construction) and new windows.
Two other cars used by the OC&N are an Ex. Pennsylvania Railroad N5B Cabin Car and a wood-and-steel Ex. Southern Railway flatcar . They are usually found coupled to the 4764 at the Piers Siding or in Melville, at the South Switch for use on work trains.
Read more about this topic: Old Colony And Newport Scenic Railway
Famous quotes containing the word equipment:
“Pop artists deal with the lowly trivia of possessions and equipment that the present generation is lugging along with it on its safari into the future.”
—J.G. (James Graham)
“Why not draft executive and management brains to prepare and produce the equipment the $21-a-month draftee must use and forget this dollar-a-year tommyrot? Would we send an army into the field under a dollar-a-year General who had to be home Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“Dr. Scofield’s equipment, which you have just seen, radiated waves direct to Professor Houghland’s laboratory. When these waves came in contact with those the professor’s equipment was radiating, they created the interstellar frequency, which is the death ray.”
—Joseph O’Donnell, and Clifford Sanforth. Arthur Perry (Bela Lugosi)