“Kings of the Rails?”

“Old HammerHead” was built in 1953 for the Pennsylvania Railroad to help trains climb Keating Summit from Emporium on Pennsy’s Buffalo line. The short hood is raised to accommodate dynamic-braking and a steam generator for train heat. HammerHead was rebuilt in 1979 in DeWitt Shops in Syracuse with an EMD prime-mover from a scrapped Erie-Lackawanna E-8.


HammerHead is the “cat-with-nine-lives,” almost scrapped a number of times. During its lifetime it was transferred to Lehigh Valley Railroad, owned by Pennsy at that time, and worked for Valley in Buffalo. It’s the only saved Valley diesel, and is operable.

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“Powerful diesel locomotives are the backbone of the railroad industry.”
I don’t like taking Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum to task. It’s an early local chapter National Railway Historical Society gone independent.
I belong to it myself (though nonactive), so get their monthly newsletter, the “Semaphore,” to which I look forward.
It’s a volunteer organization, and the quote is from their newsletter.
The quote promotes their “Diesel Days,” now passed.
“Don’t miss this opportunity to climb aboard these kings of the rails“ (my underlining); “these locomotives ruled the rails” (again, my underlining).
What the Museum has, and what they saved, are important, but I don’t consider them “Kings of the Rails.”
Years ago Genesee & Wyoming Railroad did a similar fete, yet it was more what a railfan like me could appreciate. Genesee & Wyoming let adults climb aboard a GP40-2 or GP-38, or whatever they were.
They finally disabled a locomotive horn!
Perhaps the only “King-of-the-Rails” the Museum has is “Old HammerHead,” an actual Alco RS-3m once used by Lehigh Valley Railroad, repowered with a castoff EMD prime mover. (In other words, the Alco prime-mover was swapped out.)
There are others: an Alco RS-1 from Livonia, Avon & Lakeville, plus locomotives from Nickel Plate, the Army, plus an RS-1 from Eastman Kodak. The fact some are Kodak (there is another, a goat) is debatable, but they’re real locomotives.
There are others I don’t consider serious: humble yard-goats from Rochester Gas & Electric, for example. I’m glad they weren’t scrapped, but I don’t consider them “Kings of the Rails.”
“Kings of the Rails,” to me anyway, are current diesel road-power, 4,000 horsepower or more. I can’t imagine “Old HammerHead” in a lashup across Allegheny Mountain on the old Pennsy.
Maybe when new, along with four or five similar units in multiple.
Go back far enough and I have pictures of actual Alco RS-3s in big-time railroading.
I also have a picture of an RS-3 powering a peddler on Rochester Bypass (the old West Shore).
“Old HammerHead” is valuable, but hardly a “King-of-the-Rails.” To say that, what the museum needs is an old E-unit. Medina Railroad Museum has one. Or maybe an early Geep or covered-wagon (EMD or Alco cab-unit).
What they have, plus the fact they can operate on the museum’s railroad, is great. (The museum has an actual railroad.)
But “Diesel Days” is fun for families with kids. “Gee whiz! Look at ‘Old HammerHead.’ Climb aboard children!”
“Kings of the Rails” is overwrought; someone heavy with a pen.
If you wanna see Kings of the Rails, Altoona awaits.
The Museum gives train-rides on their railroad, usually cabooses from their collection pulled by one of their engines.
I’ve ridden it, both in a caboose, and on a tiny speeder.
They also now have an open rider-car for more passengers.
Last Fall I rode a train-trip by Medina Railroad Museum. The loco was not theirs, but more a King of the Rails than what R&GV has.
What follows are interesting locomotives from R&GV’s collection:

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LA&L RS-1 #20; is LA&L’s first real locomotive other than its steam-engine. #20 is ex of Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion, a 15 mile shortline that connected Clarion with a Conrail connection in Summerville, PA. Livonia, Avon & Lakeville began service on eight miles of a former Erie Lackawanna branch in 1965 with a steam engine and a 44-ton diesel switcher to handle its trains. As freight traffic grew, LA&L looked for something to replace its tiny 44-toner, and spare the steam engine for passenger duty. No. 20 was acquired from the LEF&C in 1972. LA&L has gone on to carrying much more freight, and more Alco diesels to move it. Part of the original LA&L to Livonia was abandoned, and the railroad no longer runs tourist excursions. They sold the steamer. An RS-1 is significant: in 1941 it pioneered the road-switcher concept.


Eastman Kodak’s RS-1, was originally built for Chicago & Western Indiana in 1950 as #260. C&WI was the terminal railroad for Dearborn Station in Chicago. In 1971, the unit was purchased by Genesee & Wyoming who quickly resold it to Eastman Kodak. EK 9 served Kodak Park Railroad more than 25 years; and was donated to R&GV Railroad Museum in 1997. (Photo by R. Craig.)


Nickel Plate #79 was built in 1953 for Nickel Plate Railroad, and worked in Cleveland during the ‘50s and ‘60s. It’s an Alco S-4 switcher, 1,000 horsepower. In 1982, it was sold to RSA Leasing in Sodus, N.Y. They leased it to Allegheny Southern in PA, where it became their number 17. The unit was returned to Sodus in 1985. In 1987, it was purchased by a private individual and moved to the museum. In 1993 and 1994, it was restored to its original Nickel Plate paint scheme and number. After many years of reliable operation on the museum’s railroad, the unit was taken out of service and stored by the owner in 2009. In 2016, the locomotive was donated to the museum. It’s currently stored, but the museum plans to reactivate it.


#1843 is a Fairbanks-Morse H12-44 switcher built in 1953, 120 tons, 1,200 horsepower.
This locomotive was used most recently at the Seneca Army depot in Romulus, NY, (near Geneva) where it handled 30 to 100 cars per week on 42 miles of track at the base.
In 1993, it was declared surplus by the Army, and a group of museum members purchased the unit through the Federal Property Assistance program.
1843 is in operating condition and is used year round as it has antifreeze and a block heater. It’s the only operating Fairbanks-Morse locomotive in the Northeast.


The only museum locomotive, R&GV #54, is a GE 80-ton switcher built in 1952 for the U.S. Army. It was later rebuilt by Chrome Locomotive in 1989 — new traction motors, new prime-movers, roller bearing trucks, new electrics, and a “whisper-cab.” The museum was able to purchase it when it became surplus, but shipment in a freight-train damaged it. Traction-motors were destroyed, plus a wheelset. Volunteers from the museum were able to wire around the damage, so the locomotive became a year-round workhorse. Replacement motor-axle combos have been acquired to repair and fully restore the locomotive. In 2016, the locomotive was transformed into Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad No. 54, in tribute to similar switch engines operated by Erie Railroad. It was originally numbered 1654.

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Their stuff is worth seeing, and worthy of the “Diesel Days” moniker.

• Early EMD road-switchers, e.g. GP-7 or GP-9, became known as “Geeps.” (“GP” stood for general-purpose; and had two two-axle drive trucks [four traction-motors total]. Three-axle trucks [six traction-motors total] are “SD” [special-duty]. Many early diesel-locomotives were only four traction-motors— now most road-locomotives are  six. —Since the motor-trucks could rotate, they were called “trolley-motors.”) —E-units had three-axle trucks, but only two motors per truck; the center axle was an idler.