The Sulphur-scented Old-timer: A Tale of Sweden's Past

Hailing from 1942, the Falun Mine is a preserved Alco S-2, manufactured by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). Six of these S-2s were ordered by the New York, Susquehanna, and Western Railroad (NYS&W) to modernize their locomotive fleet. For decades, S-2 No. 206 served the NYS&W in freight and switching services, until it was retired in 1985 due to mechanical troubles. Equipped with turbochargers and Blunt-type trucks, these S-2s could generate 1,000 horsepower (750 kW).

By the early 1960s, most S-2s were left out in the cold, but No. 206 was kept in Little Ferry as a locomotive shop switcher. In 1980, the NYS&W was taken over by the Delaware Otsego Corporation (DO), who resuscitated the company operations, scrapping the inoperable S-2s but keeping No. 206 due to its good condition. In early 1985, the NYS&W fixed up No. 206 and joined forces with the Bergen-Rockland chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) to give it a fresh paint job.

That same year, they purchased a stretch of former Lehigh and Hudson River Railway (L&HR) trackage between Franklin and Lime Crest, New Jersey, and assigned No. 206 to operate on the route. No. 206 handled the occasional freight trains on the route in March 1985, with NYS&W president and CEO Walter Rich as the wily engineer. However, No. 206 had to be taken offline a few months later for repairs. Simultaneously, the NYS&W bought a fleet of EMD SD45s, whose superior reliability caused the railway to reluctantly say goodbye to all remaining ALCO locomotives, including No.

206. In 1988, the NYS&W swapped No. 206 to General Electric (GE) for an order of four GE Dash 8-40Bs. Eventually, GE passed No. 206 to the United Railroad Historical Society (URHS) for inclusion in their envisioned museum. Throughout the 1990s, the URHS moved No. 206 around to various railroad locations for special events. By the end of the decade, they left No. 206 in undisclosed storage at the Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) station in Ridgefield Park.

Finally, in 2006, the Maywood Station Historical Committee (MSHC), a division of the NYS&W Technical and Historical Society, commenced negotiations for No. 206 to be relocated for display at the Maywood Station Museum. In October 2008, No. 206 was towed to the station museum, where it received a cosmetic restoration. On March 19, 2010, No. 206 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons