EMD BL2
NORTH JUDSON, Ind. — On a cloudless Saturday, Sept. 2, Todd Flanigan smiles in the cab of BL2 No. 52 and draws on his cigar.
It is a celebratory smoke, since Flanigan, president of the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, is minutes from operating the rare Electro-Motive Division locomotive on its first run following a restoration of more than two years.
The locomotive is one of two former Bangor & Aroostook units purchased by Ken Davenport of South Carolina, during a bankruptcy sale involving equipment from Iowa Pacific Holdings in 2021 [see “Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum adds two BL2 locomotives,” Trains News Wire, May 20, 2021]. The diesels came to the Hoosier Valley via a lease agreement, and after an evaluation, the all-volunteer mechanical crew deemed No. 52 the better candidate for restoration.
“I’m relieved and I’m happy all in one shot,” said Flanigan. “This is very rewarding seeing it all come together.”
The unusual design of the locomotive — arguably EMD’s ugly duckling, of which only 59 were built — took its toll on the 6-foot-1 Flanigan.
“I think I had six concussions in one day,” he said of the engine’s creature comforts or lack thereof. “I hit my head on the nose door, the side cab doors.
“It rides very well; it feels like you are riding higher with that bulbous nose. And it’s a smooth ride. It looked like a car wash here last weekend; they were up there with mops and a pressure washer cleaning her up.”
Since the paint from former operator Saratoga & North Creek Railway is in such great condition, there are no plans to repaint No. 52.
Flanigan matched the Art Deco font used in that Delaware & Hudson-inspired scheme and relettered No. 52 for Hoosier Valley.
The restoration work took a variety of forms.
“It was wrecked one winter up there and sat in a ditch running for two weeks,” said Flanigan. Crews rebuilt the front fireman’s-side pilot to repair the resulting damage. It also received rebuilt radiators, new seals on every head, rebuilt injectors, and a water pump.
Flanigan was pleased with the final result.
“This feels really good,” he said. “It’s literally the first time we have run her since testing. We brought the 814 [former Duluth, Missabe & Range SD-M, an SD-9 rebuild] with us as insurance.’’
The Hoosier Valley operates in push-pull fashion over a former Chesapeake & Ohio line now owned by the Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad. The 10-mile round trip runs from North Judson to a deck bridge over the Kankakee River in English Lake, Ind.
Travis Hunt, a mechanical superintendent for the Chesapeake & Indiana, led the charge by five volunteers to return the BL2 to operation.
“Some electrical gremlins kept us busy,” Flanigan said. “Without Travis, it would still be in the shop.”
Said Hunt, “We used an example schematic in the operator’s manual for an F3 with a BL2 addendum. It’s not incredibly detailed, it’s for on-the-road trouble shooting,” said Hunt.
“The last thing we did, we adjusted the governor. It was just EMD service-manual stuff.”
The 28-year-old was visibly proud as he acted as fireman during all three runs Saturday, with three different engineers qualified.
“Back in the day there were fireman on the engines to keep an eye on things,” said a visibly proud Hunt. “A BL2 running right now, and we have one!”
See more photos in the Hoosier Valley’s Electro-Motive Division BL2 No. 52 gallery.
— Updated on Sept. 7 to reflect Ken Davenport’s location in South Carolina.
Congratulations to the volunteers at Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum for bringing this historic locomotive back to life! And in the not-so-distant future sister unit 56 will also be operational!
It is nice to see that the BL2 locomotive is getting some much needed recognition and respect. While it might have been something of an odditiy and never caught on with the major railroads, it sis still worthy of mention and makes a fantastic study of innovation and a worthy attempt to create a road switcher that perform as switcher and branch line unit for hauling freight and maybe a passenger train or commuter train or two. At least the Hoosier Valley Railroad recognizes the BL2 as something unique and should be preserved for future generations to enjoy and see as well as ride behiind it. This might be my personel opinion and taste but I always found the locomotive to be agreat design and sort of futuristic. i remember a number of years ago when LifeLike and I believe Atlas manufactured an N scale version of this locmotive and many years before that the old AHM line had an HO scale version of it. Either way the BL2 deserves and has earned a place in the history of diesel locomotive design and production
Joseph C. Markfelder
Summerville is in SC.