By Justin Franz

A last-minute, grassroots effort has been launched to save Boston & Maine SW1 1127, an EMD switcher synonymous with the railroad’s branch lines in New Hampshire. 

Organizer Connor Maher says the former B&M SW1, currently Luzerne & Susquehanna Railway 600, could be scrapped as early as next week, despite being in operating condition. According to Maher, the owner, Progress Rail, has agreed to sell the locomotive for $50,000 and so a last-ditch effort has been launched to save it. Maher said he has an agreement with the Danbury Railway Museum in Danbury, Conn., to take the locomotive. The museum has also raised $28,000 to help the effort. A GoFundMe has been launched with a goal of raising $65,000 for both the purchase of the locomotive and its movement back home to New England. 

The Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society put out a press release on Wednesday announcing that it was in support of the effort. 

“The Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society heartily endorses the crowdfunding and preservation efforts of Connor Maher, Mike Paczki, and other involved parties actively working to save B&M 1127 from scrapping. We look forward to the survival of this valuable piece of Boston & Maine history,” wrote Rick Kfoury, president-elect of the B&MRHS. 

—Jim Crosby photo

Built in 1953, locomotive 1127 was unique in that it was the only SW1 on the B&M roster outfitted with MU (multiple unit) control, which allowed it to be operated in tandem with other diesel locomotives. For years, the locomotive was assigned to branches in central New Hampshire. In the 1990s, it was sold to the Luzerne & Susquehanna in Pennsylvania. 

For more information and to donate, visit the GoFundMe page.