The Restoration of New Haven Locomotive 529

The Restoration of New Haven Locomotive 529 Railroad Museum of New England is a non-profit dedicated to preserving and sharing railroading's rich history.

Restoring New Haven RS-3 529 to operation helps bring past eras of railroading to life as living, tangible history for the public to experience.

Today's the day! The Connecticut Community Foundation's 14th annual Give Local fundraising event is now happening. This ...
04/21/2026

Today's the day! The Connecticut Community Foundation's 14th annual Give Local fundraising event is now happening. This campaign will run for the next 36 hours, closing at 7:00PM on Wednesday. Thanks to generous sponsors as well as funds from the Foundation, nonprofits will earn bonus dollars for every donor they secure! 🌟

We’re asking for your help to bring New Haven RS-3 #529 back to life. 🔧

Built for the New Haven Railroad, this locomotive served generations of riders and remains the only surviving example of its class. Today, it requires significant restoration to ensure it can be preserved—and experienced—for years to come. 🏛️

Your donation will directly support:
• Mechanical and electrical restoration ⚙️
• Bodywork and repainting in authentic as-delivered New Haven livery 🎨
• Preservation of historic components and documentation 📜
• Full operational restoration for use on excursion trains 🚆

Every contribution—no matter the size—will help preserve this important piece of railroad history.

If you believe in preserving our shared heritage, please consider making a donation. 🙏 With your support, we’re hopeful this campaign will push the project over the finish line. 🏁

To donate visit 👉
https://www.givelocalccf.org/organizations/railroad-museum-of-new-england-inc

Thank you for helping us bring history back to life. 🚂

Help Us Restore New Haven Railroad RS-3 #529! 🚂Set your alarm clock! ⏰ Tomorrow beginning at 7:00 AM, the Connecticut C...
04/20/2026

Help Us Restore New Haven Railroad RS-3 #529! 🚂

Set your alarm clock! ⏰ Tomorrow beginning at 7:00 AM, the Connecticut Community Foundation kicks off its 14th annual Give Local fundraising event—an incredible opportunity to support community museums and nonprofits across the region. 🌟

This year, we’re asking for your help to bring New Haven RS-3 #529 back to life. 🔧

Built for the New Haven Railroad, this locomotive served generations of riders and remains the only surviving example of its class. Today, it requires significant restoration to ensure it can be preserved—and experienced—for years to come. 🏛️

Your donation will directly support:
• Mechanical and electrical restoration ⚙️
• Bodywork and repainting into as-delivered New Haven livery 🎨
• Preservation of historical components and documentation 📜
• Full operational restoration for use on excursion trains 🚆

Every contribution—no matter the size—helps bring life back to this important piece of New England railroad history. ❤️

If you believe in preserving our local railroad heritage, please consider donating! 🙏 With your support, we’re hopeful this campaign will push the project over the finish line. 🏁

Thank you for helping us keep history on the rails. 🚂

https://www.givelocalccf.org/organizations/railroad-museum-of-new-england-inc

Time for an update as to what we've been working on, specifically as related to the electrical work that has been ongoin...
04/19/2026

Time for an update as to what we've been working on, specifically as related to the electrical work that has been ongoing in the 529's main electrical cabinet. As mentioned in a previous post, this is a partial rewire of the 529's low voltage circuits, focused primarily on the 14 AWG wiring running to the simplified amplidyne excitation control panel, engine control panel and all of 17LV66 relays in the cabinet. The 14 AWG wiring was found to be in poor to severe condition running to these devices, so now is the optimum time to do this work to ensure reliable performance of the locomotive once it goes back into service. To date, with the exception of the ground relay, all 17LV66 relays have been either rebuilt and tested, or replaced in kind with reconditioned relays. Today, we focused on replacement of the wheel slip relays with reconditioned relays that were purchased from Mark David Canada. The ground relay will also get rebuilt once we begin the process of further disassembly of the main circuit breaker panel for painting and installation of replacement indicating plate tags. Installation of new wiring to the excitation control panel has begun. We've knocked down our spaghetti bowl considerably, and we're making good progress with approximately 30% - 40% complete with the current planned rewiring for this portion of the project.

This week, the Railroad Museum of New England working with the Connecticut Community Foundation will kick off another 36 hour Give Local campaign for raising money to support the restoration of New Haven 529. We have an ambitious goal of raising another $25,000 to support the project. Still left to do is to send out the locomotive's radiators for reconditioning which is expected to be an expensive endeavor. We have great momentum on the project right now and we sincerely appreciate everyone's continuing support for the project. Please watch for announcements on the CCF Give Local campaign, beginning on Tuesday April 21st.

More progress on NH 529 this week, with additional new steel going into the body, and rebuilt control relays in the cab ...
04/05/2026

More progress on NH 529 this week, with additional new steel going into the body, and rebuilt control relays in the cab electrical cabinet. Financial support will keep things moving forward, towards the day 529 is out on the line again!

More new steel has been going into 529 this week, with new diamond tread walkways and some new steel around door frames....
03/29/2026

More new steel has been going into 529 this week, with new diamond tread walkways and some new steel around door frames. Replacement of old low-voltage control wiring continued as well.

03/22/2026

Why did we rip open the electrical panel? 🤔

Why is there a spaghetti bowl of wires? 🍝

How many electrons can one engine possibly hold? ⚡️

Check out this unsolicited interview with Andy (who clearly has his hands full) to find out!

529 Update 3/22/2026Despite last weekend's return of our excursion trains, we were still busy plucking away on the 529! ...
03/22/2026

529 Update 3/22/2026

Despite last weekend's return of our excursion trains, we were still busy plucking away on the 529! Here's what the crew knocked out over the last couple of weeks:

✅ New diamond tread welded and contoured to the frame

✅ Radiator room floor fully cleaned and needle-scaled

✅ Low-voltage rewiring project continued

✅ New stainless steel junction boxes fabricated and installed for the MU wiring

✅ Reconditioned traction motors were moved inside for build-up

Every week we get a little closer to bringing this historic engine back to life. Keep your eye on this page for more updates!

👐 Want to volunteer? We'd love to have you → rmne.org/volunteer

❤️ Want to donate? Every dollar helps → paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=mgt9mm7vll2xu

Thank you for your continued support! 🙏

529 Update 3/8/2026This week we made some serious progress toward bringing this beast back to life. Naugatuck Railroad s...
03/08/2026

529 Update 3/8/2026

This week we made some serious progress toward bringing this beast back to life. Naugatuck Railroad shop staff and Railroad Museum of New England volunteers devoted many hours this week and it shows!

Here's what we accomplished since last week:
✅ Both radiator shutters and radiator panels removed for reconditioning
✅ New water pump installed, along with all associated cooling system piping
✅ Needle scaling continued on the engine decks and inside the radiator room
✅ First piece of new diamond tread deck plate installed on the front of the engine

We're all extremely proud of the progress being made on this engine. We absolutely cannot wait to have her back on the rails, and hear her burbling up and down the Naugatuck River Valley again.

💪 Want to get involved? We'd love to have you! Visit rmne.org/volunteer to learn more about volunteering.

❤️ Want to support the restoration? Donations make all of this possible. You can give at:
👉 paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=mgt9mm7vll2xu

Thank you for your continued support and please stay tuned for more updates!

Help Us Restore New Haven Railroad RS‑3 #529We’re asking for your support to help bring a remarkable piece of New Engla...
03/04/2026

Help Us Restore New Haven Railroad RS‑3 #529

We’re asking for your support to help bring a remarkable piece of New England railroad history back to life. New Haven Railroad RS‑3 #529—an iconic Alco-built diesel locomotive—has served generations of riders and is only surviving example from the New Haven Railroad. Today, it needs significant restoration work to ensure it can be preserved for future generations to learn from and enjoy. We're committed to completing this work for our "Celebrate 30" event, September 25-27th 2026, however we can only do so with your help.

Your donation will directly support:
• Mechanical and electrical restoration
• Body and paint work in authentic as-delivered New Haven livery
• Preservation of historical components and documentation
• Restoration to full operation for use on Railroad Museum of New England's Naugatuck Railroad

Every contribution, large or small, helps keep this important chapter of New England railroad history alive. If you believe in preserving our shared heritage, please consider supporting the restoration of RS‑3 #529.

To learn more about #529 please visit https://www.rmne.org/locomotive529

To donate directly, please visit
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MGT9MM7VLL2XU

Or contact us via email at [email protected]

Thank you for helping us preserve history—one locomotive at a time.

529 Update 3/1/2026The volunteer coalition and the Naugatuck Railroad staff have continued making steady progress on the...
03/01/2026

529 Update 3/1/2026

The volunteer coalition and the Naugatuck Railroad staff have continued making steady progress on the 529 this week!

1. Replacement wheelsets have been carefully measured in preparation to being sent out for refinishing.
2. The old water pump has been removed, and the replacement water pump housing is being prepared for installation.
3. Electrical work has been happening in the belly of the beast, where the older low-voltage wiring has been systematically replaced.
4. The old rotten decking on the long hood as been completed removed. The frame has been needle scaled, old welds ground down, and paint applied to the top of the frame to protect against rust in the future.
5. New deck plate has been cut, and the underside primed.
6. With the MU receptacle cabling temporarily removed, the junction boxes at each end have been scraped and needle scaled.

We're full... uh... 12 cylinder 244 ahead... on this project, but we can't do it without your continued help. Please consider donating to the 529 fund at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MGT9MM7VLL2XU

More updates coming soon!

Test fitting the proper NYNH&H script monogram on 529’s cab side. A copy of the original drawing was obtained from the ...
02/18/2026

Test fitting the proper NYNH&H script monogram on 529’s cab side. A copy of the original drawing was obtained from the New Haven Railroad Archive Collection at University of Connecticut. It will be used to produce the paint mask for the final painting of the locomotive later this year.

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Thomaston, CT
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