Conrail 4022 EMD E8A

Conrail 4022Conrail E8AConrail OCS
Written By Wes Reminder

Conrail OCS 4022 E8A - Conrail Business Train Power

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Many railroad enthusiasts would consider Conrail E8A 4022 to be the original OCS engine and they wouldn’t be wrong. This famous E8A played an incredibly important role on Conrail pulling business trains across the Conrail system from its inception in 1976 until the split in 1999. While it wasn’t the only E8A to pull business cars in the early days of Conrail (Conrail E8A 4256 and 4014 also occasionally played that role too), it was the only E8A to wear Conrail blue with white can opener logos.

The E8A 4022 was built by Electro-Motive Division for the Erie Railroad as 833 in March of 1951. After the merger of the Erie and Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroads on October 17, 1960, the unit became Erie Lackawanna 833. On April 1, 1976, the engine became Conrail’s in the merger and was initially used in various passenger trains. where it pulled commuter trains between Youngstown and Cleveland, Ohio. By December of 1976, the former 833 was sporting its new 4022 number with “CR” initials on top of the Erie-Lackawanna paint scheme.

During the late 1970s, Conrail 4022 could be seen in all types of passenger service, including commuter service in New York and New Jersey, on Amtrak trains like the National Limited and Broadway Limited, plus of course, pulling the Conrail business cars around the system.

A brief history of Conrail 4022:

Engine for sale as of 2024

NYGL 833 - (2007)

Juniata Terminal 4022 - (2001)

CSX 4022 - (1999)

Conrail 4022 - (1976)

Erie Lackawanna 833 - (1960)

Erie 833 - (1951)

Conrail 4022 was initially assigned to the Harrisburg Diesel Shop in 1977 until the shop closed in 1982. After that it was assigned to Enola for maintenance and could be seen in both Enola and Reading awaiting its next assignment.

Twice in 1977, the top of the roof was painted black, but it came off quickly. This left an almost entirely blue, but dirty looking roof by late 1979 or early 1980. In early 1982, Conrail 4022 received black paint on the top of the nose, around the windows, and on the roof (again). With its new paint scheme, the E8A blended in with the black roofs and underbodies of the business cars, while providing sun glare relief for the crew in the cab. The black nose treatment was carried over to Conrail’s freight diesels.

On March 23, 1983, Conrail 4022 and business cars 1, 2, 12, and 10 made their first public appearance in Conrail Pullman Green paint, arriving at the Pittsburgh Amtrak station in the morning. Notably, the “CONRAIL” lettering on the nose of 4022 was missing, and the gold logos on both sides of the locomotive were facing forward. The locomotive received the missing nose lettering fairly quickly, but the forward-facing logos lasted into mid-1984.

With all of the new cars in the fleet, Conrail needed new motive power to supplement the steam generator-equipped E8A 4022. A trade was reached with Amtrak to acquire HEP-equipped E8As 498 and 499. In 1983, the two ex-Amtrak E8As arrived at the Juniata Locomotive Shop for a complete rebuild and emerged as Conrail 4020 and 4021. After their completion, the 4020 and #4021 were kept at Enola Diesel Terminal, bumping the 4022 to the Reading Shops to be used as backup power. The 4022 had HEP pass-through installed (so that it could be placed in a consist between the 4020/4021 and the passenger cars), but kept its steam generators.

In 1991, after the Reading Shops closed down, the special equipment fleet was moved to its new home at Miscellaneous Shop 2 located on the grounds of the Juniata Locomotive Shop complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The move allowed all of the OCS equipment to be housed under a single roof, including all three E8A locomotives.

The 1990s saw very few changes for the 4022, but did see the installation of ditch lights in 1994. The unit, with its steam generators still in place, took the back seat to 4020 and 4021, being used only occasionally when another unit was unavailable or when the power of all three E8As was required.

After the Conrail takeover in 1999, Conrail 4021 and 4022 briefly joined the CSX locomotive fleet. According to the CSX roster, CR 4022 became CSX 9999. However, the unit was never renumbered or used, and sat at the locomotive shop in Huntington, West Virginia until being auctioned off. In January of 2001, Bennett and Eric Levin won both the 4021 and 4022 at the online auction, briefly reuniting all three ex-Conrail E8As. By March, both of the units were at Pavonia Yard in Camden, New Jersey on their way to the Juniata Terminal Company. Conrail #4022 stayed at the Juniata Terminal Company in full Conrail Pullman Green paint until 2007, when it was sold to the New York & Greenwood Lake Railway.

In March of 2007, the former CR 4022 had its Leslie air horn removed and Conrail markings painted over in preparation for its new owner. An Erie Railroad-style diamond with the letters NYGL was placed on the nose, and the numberboards were once again sporting 833. The unit was sent to the Black River & Western in Ringoes, New Jersey, where Star Trak, Inc. began the locomotive’s restoration back to its original Erie appearance. The Conrail Pullman Green paint was stripped off in April of 2007, and new porthole windows were back in place by June. Mechanical work also began immediately, and on the afternoon of May 3, 2007, both prime movers were awakened from a seven-year slumber with little trouble, except for a few water leaks here and there. In July of 2007, the engine was fully repainted into Erie paint. The 833 has been mostly dormant since its restoration, sitting quietly on the turntable in Port Jervis, New York. The engine did get a chance to stretch its legs when it pulled a few excursion trains in 2007 and 2008. The 833 also made appearances at Scranton’s 2007 Lackawanna Railfest and the 2014 Streamliners at Spencer event in North Carolina. During the Spencer event, 833 operated briefly, but Eric Levin reported the engine to be in poor mechanical shape and operating only on one of its two diesel engines. It was again fired up briefly in Port Jervis in October of 2020, but only moved about 15 feet under its own power.

On April 29, 2021, the locomotive was removed from Port Jervis (along with most of the other NYGL equipment stored there) and moved to the SMS Rail Lines property in Bridgeport, New Jersey. The Erie paint is fading, the rust is beginning to show, and the locomotive faces an uncertain future. It is for sale at the time of this writing.

*Portions of this articles are excerpts from my book “Conrail Business & Research Trains: The Special Equipment Fleet”. Additional details about Conrail 4022 are provided in the book.

Conrail 4022 Mug

Conrail featured the business train equipment on many company promotional items. Featured here is a Conrail Philadelphia Division Family Day Safety Picnic mug with E8A 4022 pictured on it.

Collection of Wes Reminder

If you are interested in Conrail passenger operations, read about how Conrail operated their OCS train, including stories from those with first hand knowledge. Check back soon for other Conrail Office Car articles by Wes Reminder.

- sources: Conrail trip booklets, Conrail Diagrams of Office and Research Cars. Special thanks to Charlie Murphy, Jr., Steve Sullivan, and Rich Frey for allowing me to use their photos.

All images are © copyright 1983-2022 Wes Reminder, Charlie Murphy, Jr., Steve Sullivan, and Rich Frey and may not be used in print, web or any other use without permission.

Wes Reminder

https://www.the-boring-the-adoring.com/
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