By Otto M. Vondrak

SCRANTON, Pa. — In what turned out to be an exciting day charged with emotion, Genesee Valley Transportation moved Alco PA-4 “Nickel Plate 190,” acquired from preservationist Doyle McCormack earlier this year, from its temporary display at Steamtown National Historic Site to its Von Storch Locomotive Shops on June 21, where the historic passenger diesel will be restored to operating condition. McCormack, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday this past week, flew to Scranton with his wife Laurie to join GVT partners and invited guests to celebrate the rare Alco’s careful movement to GVT’s diesel shops, which opened along the former Delaware & Hudson Carbondale Branch in 2020.

The journey for NKP 190 began when McCormack was a boy growing up along the Nickel Plate Road main line, which later turned into a railroading career that eventually brought him to the Southern Pacific. After building up a successful 30-year career in steam preservation, the opportunity presented itself in 2000 to bring two wrecked Alco PA carbodies back from Mexico. Santa Fe 62L and 59 were two of four units acquired by Delaware & Hudson in 1967, and rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen as PA-4s. After a decade on D&H, they were sold to Mexico in 1978. Working with Smithsonian Institution curator Bill Winthun, the twisted bodies of D&H 18 (ex-ASTF 62L) and D&H 16 (ex-ATSF 59L) returned to America in 2000. The Smithsonian’s plans changed and their unit was donated to the Museum of the American Railroad in Frisco, Texas, in 2010, where it will be restored back to its as-built Santa Fe appearance.

ABOVE: Doyle McCormack was all smiles at Steamtown on the morning of June 21 as Genesee Valley Transportation prepared to move Nickel Plate 190 to its Von Stoch Locomotive Shop to complete the restoration to operation he began more than 20 years ago. —Otto M. Vondrak photo

Meanwhile, McCormack invested more than 20 years in the reconstruction of Nickel Plate 190, including sourcing a set of similar trucks from an Erie-built diesel that was about to be scrapped. His efforts culminated in an appearance at the “Streamliners at Spencer” event, at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in 2014. While the unit did not operate under its own power, it did have an operable prime mover and electrical cabinet secured from a retired BC Rail MLW M420 B-unit.

Over the last few years, Genesee Valley Transportation laid the groundwork with McCormack about acquiring the unit and bringing it to Scranton for a full restoration to operating condition. The seed bore fruit with GVT’s announcement on March 9, 2023, that Nickel Plate 190 would be returning east. The venerable streamliner began its cross-country trek shortly after, departing Portland, Ore., on April 19, and traveling over BNSF through Kansas City to Clearing Yard in Chicago. Handed off to Norfolk Southern, the unit departed on May 11 making its way east via Elkhart, Ind., to Buffalo, N.Y. On May 16, NKP 190 departed Buffalo under cover of darkness for a trip down the NS Southern Tier Line to Binghamton, before heading south on the former NS Delaware & Hudson (ex-Lackawanna) route to interchange with GVT at Taylor Yard in Scranton. A special viewing event was held on May 19, in the parking lot opposite GVT’s Bridge 60 Tower, next door to Steamtown NHS, where assembled railfans were able to welcome the PA to its new home.

ABOVE: Recently repainted Alco RS-32 2002 (ex-DL 211) coupled on to NKP 190 at Steamtown for the short ferry move to Von Storch Shops on June 21. —Otto M. Vondrak photo

To give more people a chance to see one of only two surviving Alco PAs in the United States before being tucked away inside GVT’s Von Storch Locomotive Shops (where visitors are not permitted), an agreement was made to display NKP 190 inside Steamtown’s core complex in time for its annual Railfest event on June 19. Thanks to the cooperation of Steamtown NHS, the locomotive proved to be a popular display, building even more excitement for what the future holds.

The morning of Wednesday, June 21, dawned cloudy, but steadily gave way to clearing skies. Regular visitors in the park that morning didn’t realize they were about to witness history. The energy in the air was palpable, as personnel from GVT and Steamtown worked together to pull off a series of intricate switching moves within the park. After a job briefing, a Steamtown switching crew fired up DL RS-32 2002 (recently repainted into GVT corporate colors) and used it to pull the PA onto the turntable. McCormack had requested a photo op posing his NKP 190 next to NKP 759, a Berkshire that he had years of experience operating in excursion service through the 1970s. Once complete, the NKP 190 was placed back on the turntable for a spin to make sure its nose would be pointed in the right direction for its arrival at Von Storch. With an assembled group of well-wishers and photographers in attendance, words like “thrilled” “overjoyed” and “grateful” could be heard coming from McCormack as he described the experience. “This is the right place, at the right time, for this engine,” he said later.

Workers at Von Storch shop check out GVT’s latest acquisiton. —Otto M. Vondrak photo

GVT pulled out all the stops for the movement from Steamtown to Von Storch. Business car No. 2 (ex-EL 2) and former Nickel Plate sleeper City of Lima, recently acquired from the Dining Car Society, had been parked opposite the former Lackawanna station for the use of railroad officials and guests. DL 2002 and NKP 190 coupled to the short passenger consist, made air, and began their historic journey off the former Lackawanna Pocono Main and down the former Delaware & Hudson Carbondale Main.

With much fanfare, the consist arrived at GVT’s new Von Storch Locomotive Shops, which opened in 2020 in the Green Ridge neighborhood just outside of Scranton. The passenger cars were left parked on the branch, and DL 2002 carefully backed NKP 190 toward the open door of the diesel shop. A handful of photographers were present to record the moment when NKP 190 was finally placed inside the shop building, securing its future as an operating part of the GVT fleet. In discussion with railroad officials, those in attendance were assured that restoring NKP 190 is an important priority, however, the work will not come at the expense of routine maintenance and repairs of the regular revenue fleet. As such, the railroad would not commit to a timeline for completion but stressed the need for patience.

“We’ve been entrusted with a historic responsibility to be good stewards for the continued care of this locomotive,” said Charlie Monte Verde, Vice President of Stragetic Planning, “but while the restoration is a priority, it will be accomplished in concert with our continued care of the largest operating fleet of Alco locomotives in the world.”

Doyle McCormack and the Nickel Plate 190 inside the Von Storch Locomotive Shops. The 251 prime mover on the floor is dedicated to another project. —Otto M. Vondrak photo