The Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum has saved an Alco S-1 that spent its entire operating career in western New York. On March 7, the museum announced that it had purchased Bath & Hammondsport 5 from the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency with the help of the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad.
Built as New York Central 872 in March 1950, the 660-horsepower diesel switcher is one of 71 S-1 units built for the railroad. In January 1965, it was reassigned to the freight car manufacturing and repair facility known as Despatch Shops in East Rochester, N.Y., where it was renumbered 5. After the shops closed in 1970, the locomotive was sold to Steuben County for operation on the B&H.
The Bath & Hammondsport Railroad can trace its roots back to 1872, connecting Hammondsport at the south end of Keuka Lake with the Erie Railroad and Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad at Bath. By 1903, B&H had come under the control of the Erie Railroad, until a major flood in 1935 caused significant damage, ending service. Local businessmen purchased the railroad, made repairs, and resumed service in 1936. Thanks to the agreeable climate, a robust wine industry developed around the Finger Lakes, and many wineries were customers of the B&H, nicknamed “The Champagne Trail.” In 1976, B&H expanded when it became the operator of Steuben County-owned track between Bath and Wayland. In 1996, the county named Livonia, Avon & Lakeville as the new operator of the combined B&H lines, which included a 2001 expansion from Bath to a connection with Norfolk Southern at Painted Post.
S-1 5 worked at Despatch Shops, Inc., in East Rochester, N.Y., from 1965 until it closed in 1970. It was used to move freight cars in and out of the shop for repair or delivery, as well as move materials between different areas of the manufacturing plant. It was built in 1950 as New York Central 872. —Photo courtesy of East Rochester Village History.
As freight traffic increased on the B&H under LA&L in recent years, more powerful diesel locomotives were required, and S-1 5 was set aside. With the help of Buffalo, USA Foundation’s Flour-by-Rail Legacy Project, the unit was identified as a good candidate for preservation and offered to R&GV. The sale to the museum was completed in February.
“We are excited to preserve this historic diesel locomotive and return it to Rochester,” said R&GV Museum Vice President Jackson Glozer. “Besides helping preserve the history of Bath & Hammondsport Railroad, this diesel also worked locally at Despatch Shops in East Rochester, replacing a steam locomotive of the same number which we also just added to our collection a few years ago.” The museum is currently soliciting funds to offset the cost of transportation to the museum. You can contribute to their GoFundMe Campaign here.
The Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum was established in 1971 and has since grown into the largest operating railroad museum in New York State, preserving more than 40 pieces of historic railroad equipment operating on a private demonstration railway on the museum grounds. For more information, please visit www.rgvrrm.org. —Railfan & Railroad Staff
