NH 529 on the Valley Railroad, 1985. Photo by Howard PincusFormer New Haven Alco RS-3 529 was purchased by our museum from Amtrak in September 1985. Once the check was written and the documents signed, NH 529 arrived at our then-home on the Valley Railroad by mid-October. A few days before our first Railfan Day (which was held the last Saturday in October 1985), we prepped and started 529 for the first time in her preservation career. The still-visible outlines of the NH numbers had already been filled out with white paint. Valley Railroad (ex-Morristown & Erie) RS-1 #15 supplied the jump start needed for 529’s batteries (locos placed cab-to-cab for running the jumper cables). The Amtrak 138 numbers are still on 529, but the name has been painted out. More than 20 years later, this former New Haven workhorse continues to pull trains on a branchline in Connecticut, much like she did when new...
