MILESTONE OR MIS-STEP FOR EMD? BL2 in Review BY STAN TRZONIEC/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR EXCEPT AS NOTED F
rom the cramped quarters of the engine room, I moved forward, up a few steps and into the cab of this weary locomotive. As I sat in the torn and frayed seat of old number 51, my mind started to wander. Looking around at the attempt to somewhat streamline the cab and its surround- ings complete with a crude instrument cluster, I snapped back to reality. Resting in the seat and looking for- ward over the short end of the locomo- tive reminded me of riding shotgun in my grandfather’s old Buick. The win- dows were arched, weather worn and fogged in the corners. Chest high was the polished brake lever, to my left
throttle, reverse and transition levers. On the dash surrounded by peeling paint and years of grime, air gauges lay dormant. Directly above, the legendary amp meter with its critical steps high- lighted in color keep the engineer alert on the pulse of the locomotive during his shift.
If this engine could only talk, I thought. The smell of old grease and fermenting diesel fuel permeated the cab and as I put my hand on the throt- tle I could picture myself moving down the main line looking for the next in- dustry to lay out some cars. In addition, while all this sounds commonplace, it happened on a fall afternoon in October
of 1989 within the confines of a very mature EMD BL2 belonging to the Bangor & Aroostook railroad sitting on the dead line near the engine house in Northern Maine Junction just outside Bangor, Maine. In researching my latest book called The Prime Mover, you really cannot grasp the history or the forward move- ment of the diesel revolution in Ameri- can until you actually embark on a lengthy project like this. While the FT, F3, F7 and F9 units paved the way for diesel locomotives in high-speed pas- senger and freight operations, the BL1 and BL2 were stepping stones towards developing successful road switchers
OPPOSITE: The years since retirement had not been kind to this Bangor & Aroostook EMD BL2 discovered on the dead line at Northern Maine Junction in 1989. For its time, all of the design features of a modern diesel were there to include m.u. connections, sealed beam headlights and a front access door for the crew to return to the cab. ABOVE: Still wearing its late-era Bangor & Aroostook paint, BAR 54 found a second life running excursions out of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, until these trips were suspended in 2012. PHOTO BY STEVE BARRY
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