PITTSTON, Pa. — In response to a scrapping scheduled on January 22, a GoFundMe campaign was recently launched to save a historic SW1 diesel switcher, former Boston & Maine Railroad No. 1127. Organized by Connor Maher of the Danbury Railway Museum, $65,000 total must be raised to purchase the first-generation locomotive at $50,000 from current owner Progress Rail, followed by the additional $15,000 to fund storage fees and shipment by rail to the museum in Danbury, Conn.
“This is a true last-minute “ahead of the torch” call asking for a ‘Hail Mary,’” Maher stated on the GoFundMe page.
Built in 1954 by EMD, No. 1127 served the B&M’s light branch lines in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, notably the railroad’s famous White Mountain Branch. The switcher was sold off by successor Pan Am Railways in 1996 and was eventually rostered on the Luzerne & Susquehanna Railway in Pittston as No. 600. It currently resides there and is reported to be stored operable, indoors, and in good cosmetic condition.
According to a recent Facebook post by the Danbury Railway Museum, the current plan is to swap the locomotive’s trucks with a roller-bearing set for transport by rail. The museum states delivery of the trucks and preparation for shipment can begin shortly after the $50,000 has been raised for the initial purchase.
“In a way No. 1127 represents an era in New England railroading when light manufacturing and small industry was still dependent on the railroad,” said Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society President Rick Kfoury, whose organization supports the effort.
Donations can be made on the campaign’s GoFundMe page.
