QUICK FACTS

Model: SH-2135 (25-ton) locomotive
Built: February 1955
Builder: Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, Eddystone, PA
Past Railroad Owners: Orange & Rockland Power, Jones Chemicals
Current Owner: TOYX, Inc.

This diminutive 25-ton diesel-hydraulic locomotive was built by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton of Eddystone, Pennsylvania in February of 1955 (serial No. 76094) to a design originally developed by Baldwin’s subsidiary, Whitcomb. It was originally owned and operated by Orange & Rockland Power Company, switching coal hoppers at the company’s Lovett Power Plant in Tompkins Cove, New York (just south of Bear Mountain). The locomotive features a non-original Cummins 855 Big Cam diesel engine and a hydraulic torque converter on the rear axle with a chain drive connecting it to the front axle. The locomotive’s model designation “SH-2135” stands for Switcher, Hydraulic, 2-axle, 135 horsepower.

In the mid-1980s, this locomotive was sold and became the facility switcher for the Jones Chemicals plant in Warwick, New York, located in the former Lehigh & Hudson River Railway enginehouse. It operated for several years in its original Orange & Rockland Power lettering before it was repainted with a simple Jones Chemicals logo on the side of the cab.

When the locomotive was deemed surplus by Jones in the early 2000s, it was resold to a local area resident that wished to display it. The display plans did not materialize, and the operational locomotive was donated on October 7, 2021 for use as a Port Jervis yard switcher. Its small size means that it will fit on the 115-foot-long Port Jervis turntable with any other piece of rail equipment in our collection, allowing volunteers to move railcars around the yard as needed.

This locomotive, which is close to operable, was moved from the Jones Chemicals facility in Warwick to Port Jervis, New York on December 22, 2021. The engine represents the presence of a significant Port Jervis industry, and it is currently undergoing some needed repairs to return it to operation.