By Railfan & Railroad Staff

New York, Susquehanna, & Western SY 2-8-2 142 steamed for the first time in seven years this week at the Belvidere & Delaware River Railway in New Jersey. The locomotive is owned by the New York, Susquehanna, & Western Technical Historical Society and was used on regular excursions until 2017 when it was taken out of service for an overhaul. 

This week 142 spent two days under steam to test the boiler. The locomotive did not move under its own power and additional work is needed before it can run again. No date has been set for its return to service. 

NYS&W 142 is one of a half-dozen Chinese steam locomotives exported to the United States. It was built in 1989 for Connecticut’s Valley Railroad, where it ran into the 1990s. The Susquehanna purchased its own SY locomotive, but it was lost at sea when the ship it was on sank. The NYS&W then purchased the Valley locomotive (then numbered 1647) and gave it the number 142, two numbers above the last Susquehanna 2-8-2 (140) and one number above the one that sank (141). It ran in excursion service on the railroad for more than a decade before being sold to the historical society. 

The other Chinese-built steam locomotives in the U.S. include Valley Railroad SY 2-8-2 3025 (built for the Knox & Kane in 1989), JS 2-8-2 8419 at the Boone & Scenic, Iowa Interstate QJ 2-10-2s 6988 and 7081, and R.J. Corman QJ 2-10-2 2008 (now owned by Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp.).