BOONTON, N.J. — NJ Transit has donated ALP-44M electric locomotive No. 4424 to the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey for preservation, the URHS has announced.
The first public display following the donation, made by NJ Transit to commemorate its 40th anniversary, will be Sept. 24 at the URHS Railroad Museum [For A Day] festival in Boonton.
No. 4424 is one of 32 ALP-44s built in Sweden by Asea Brown Boveri between 1989 and 1997, and represents both the first electric locomotives purchased new by the state of New Jersey and the first time the agency had purchased internationally. The M in its model designation indicates that it is from the final group purchased, which were computer-controlled by microprocessors. Built in 1996, the locomotive is the youngest piece of equipment in the URHS collection.
“It may be young, but that doesn’t make this locomotive any less historic,” Kevin Phalon, URHS executive director, said in a press release. “This locomotive helps us complete the story of railroading in New Jersey. New Jersey is the birthplace of the railroad industry, and is, in many ways, the birthplace of the commuter. In the early 20th century, eight competing railroads made up one of the most robust commuter rail systems in America. By the 1960s, every single one of them had gone bankrupt. The state then took the remnants of those railroads and combined them into one, cohesive commuter rail system. The ALP-44 was an integral part of the infrastructure that brought all of these systems together.”
The ALP-44s operated until 2011 on NJ Transit’s Morris & Essex, Gladstone, Montclair-Boonton, and Northeast Corridor lines. They could generate up to 7,000 hp and reach speeds up to 125 mph.
“We appreciate all the labor of love that URHS performs to preserve New Jersey’s significant rail history,” said NJ Transit CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “This special donation will be a living testament to the hard work of our Rail Operations team over the last 40 years, and I look forward to visiting locomotive No. 4424 early and often during the next 40 years as well.”
No. 4424 was chosen for donation as it was deemed to be in the best condition for preservation of the remaining units. It will come to URHS in near-complete, original condition.
The Railroad Museum [For A Day] event will be held at URHS Restoration Facility in Boonton. Along with the ALP-44M, it will feature the public debut of newly restored Erie Lackawanna U34CH No. 3372. More information on the event is available here. For more on URHS, visit its website.
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