This video was originally published by Trains as part of the Locomotive 2017 DVD.
The northeast United States continues to be an Alco and MLW stronghold. The largest percentage of active units from these two builders call many short line railroads in this region home. Two of these railroads, Western New York & Pennsylvania and Delaware Lackawanna, stand out due to the fact they employ six-axle Alco and MLW products in almost daily service, something no other railroad in North America can claim.
Six axle locomotives were designed to spread a prime mover’s power across six traction motors instead of four, allowing greater tractive effort at the expense of top end speed. This is put to good use on the WNYP and DL with each having heavy grades and high tonnage trains to move.
On the Delaware Lackawanna, its main line south from Scranton to Delaware Water Gap was originally the Delaware Lackawanna & Western railroad, which built its line up and over Pocono Summit. The hill boasts grades eastbound up to 1.48 percent and the westbound grade tops out at 1.52 percent. This is where the six-axle units are put to good use.
The railroad handles loaded unit grain trains from Scranton to the Harvest States Grain Mill at Pocono Summit. These heavy trains typically use four to five locomotives on each train.
Three days a week, Delaware Lackawanna operates a train south from Scranton to Delaware Water Gap to interchange with Norfolk Southern. The train has a similar four or five unit consist as the grain trains since it must climb to Pocono Summit on its southward journey.
Northwest of the Delaware Lackawanna is the Western New York & Pennsylvania, a 330-mile railroad in southwest New York and northwest Pennsylvania.
Its north-south route from Machias, New York to Driftwood, Pennsylvania, was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s main line from Harrisburg to Buffalo, NY. This route claws its way up and over Keating Summit, a five-mile long, 2.6 percent grade in north central Pennsylvania that challenged both the Pennsylvania Railroad and Conrail after it.
Here a WNYP C630 and two M636s haul a tank train stored online past the north switch at North Kean in Port Alleghany. The cars are being placed back in service and will be interchanged to Norfolk Southern at Driftwood.
As the train nears Keating summit, the three six-axles have the train well in hand as it passes under Bush Hill Road on its way south.
The other major Western New York & Pennsylvania route is 190 miles of former Erie mainline from Hornell, New York to Meadville, Pennsylvania along with a 45-mile branch from Meadville to Oil City.
Most operations are based in both Olean and Meadville with locomotive maintenance in Olean at the railroad’s new four-track locomotive shop.
The railroad currently has 17 locomotives, 9 4-axle and 8 6-axle locomotives, with only 4 units, all 6-axles not active on the roster as of spring 2017.
