Update on 9321, The abandoned locomotive

4 years ago we posted about an abandoned locomotive, a 1950s era neglected engine buried deep behind rows of freight cars at a local bustling yard. This locomotive still exists, and is looking worse than ever.

Pushed off the end, leaning slightly

At some point this abandoned locomotive was pulled from behind the rows of freight cars and hauled up to a different spot, high on a hill overlooking the yard below (rail nerds will know the yard well – I leave it unnamed for anyone that doesn’t know to sort out… I’m not doing your homework for you cheater 🙂 ). Again, it was pushed off the very end of the track, and is now leaning slightly towards a drop down the hill. This locomotive weights many many tons, so a strong gust of wind isn’t going to topple it, but soil erosion over time might do the trick.

Cab interior, rusty and peeling

Well graffitied

Cab door kicked out, components looted

Regardless – this once relatively intact abandoned locomotive is now nothing but a beat up shell. Workers (or looters) have stripped all of the copper wiring. Every piece of glass is broken or gone. 3 out of 4 numberboards are gone, and parts in the engine are removed. Even one of the cab doors was kicked out by vile petulant youth. (damn you kids get outta my yard! 🙂 ). The only positive change is the graffiti adding paint to it and helping to prevent more rust damage.

Overlooking the yard, where well maintained in-use locomotives are laid up

Green paint is fading fast from the roof

The railroad has been leasing larger engines, and seems content to pay that premium over rebuilding this abandoned locomotive. One can only assume it still might have future reuse (being completely rebuilt at great expense), why would it still be lingering around here after 4 years? In the past, derelict locomotives haven’t lingered around NYC more than a year. This one is definitely going for the record – a record being matched by the LIRR M3 cars at Arch Street, and well surpassed by the rail bogies on the nearly abandoned freight track into the old ‘Yard A’.

As of 2017-ish, this abandoned locomotive was pushed down the line near the Gershow recycling yard in East New York, where it is believed to have been scrapped.