NYS&W Alco S-2 #206

Photos of the Restoration of Original NYS&W Alco S-2 #206

The Maywood Station Historical Committee has acquired original New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad Alco S-2 #206. The diesel-electric locomotive was built in March 1942 for the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad (NYS&W) by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York. The locomotive was multiple-unit equipped with a 1000 horsepower Seymour-McIntosh 539 engine producing a maximum tractive effort of 72,400 pounds while riding on B-B Blunt-style trucks. When built, #206 weighed 230,000 pounds and was built as ALCO serial number 69664.

NYS&W S-2 #206 is the sole survivor of a class of (6) original Alco S-2's that were owned by the NYS&W. All of the NYS&W S-2's were built between December 1941 and April 1942 and were numbered 202, 203, 204, 205, 206 and 208. As was NYS&W numbering practice for diesel-electric locomotives, those with even numbers (202, 204, 206 and 208) were multiple-unit equipped and could operate in tandem with other locomotives while those with odd numbers (203 and 205) did not have this feature and were restricted to operating alone as a single unit. All of the NYS&W S-2's were originally purchased for use in yard and local freight switching but the multiple-unit equipped ones could also be found occasionally in road freight service teamed with the NYS&W fleet of ALCO RS-1 road switchers.

NYS&W S-2 #206 had a long career on the NYS&W, which spanned 44 years from 1942 until it was retired in 1986. The locomotive was based out of the Little Ferry, New Jersey yard and earlier in its life, could often be found working locations between Jersey City, New Jersey and Paterson, New Jersey including the Lodi Branch, Passaic Branch and Edgewater yard. While on assignment, #206 was a frequent visitor passing Maywood Station as well as working the local industries in Maywood, New Jersey. However, by the late 1970's, #206 had been basically relegated to the role of Little Ferry shop switcher and very rarely strayed far from the yard limits.

In early 1985, the locomotive was rebuilt by the NYS&W, and through the efforts of the Bergen-Rockland Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, it was repainted into its original NYS&W maroon and gray paint scheme. In the spring of 1985, the NYS&W acquired a portion of former Lehigh & Hudson River Railway trackage between Sparta, New Jersey and Warwick, New York and #206 was moved there to handle local freight customers on the line. Later in the spring of 1985, #206 suffered an engine failure and was sidelined. In 1986, the NYS&W officially retired #206 and in 1988, it was used as a trade-in credit for the NYS&W's new order of (4) B40-8 locomotives placed with General Electric. In 1989, General Electric donated #206 to the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey (URHS) for eventual inclusion in a planned State of New Jersey Transportation Museum. In the early 1990's, the URHS occasionally moved #206 to several railroad related events and it was probably best known for its yearly appearances each September at the Hoboken Festival in Hoboken, New Jersey. In the late 1990's, the URHS placed #206 into storage in an unused yard at the Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) generating station in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey where it resided in anonymity out of public view in the hopes that a State of New Jersey Transportation Museum would materialize.

In the summer of 2006, the Maywood Station Historical Committee approached the URHS about the possibility of giving #206 a new life as part of the Maywood Station Museum, which the URHS embraced. In October 2006, MSHC members conducted their first work session at the PSE&G yard by performing brush cutting and securing #206. During 2007, work was also conducted on #206 as well other URHS equipment in the yard for an eventual equipment move to other URHS locations by the MSHC, URHS and other interested parties. It is anticipated that #206 will make its move to Maywood Station sometime in the near future. Once #206 arrives at Maywood Station, the MSHC plans to perform a full cosmetic restoration. As in the past, like our station restoration, museum and Caboose #24542, NYS&W S-2 #206 will have no taxpayer ramifications for residents of the Borough of Maywood. NYS&W #206 will be restored as a completely volunteer project without any Borough of Maywood funds. If you would like to get involved in the Restoration of NYS&W S-2 #206 or become a member of the MSHC, please Contact Us and send us an e-mail or stop by the station during an Open House for more information. Maywood residency is not a requirement for membership.