ILLINOIS CENTRAL #704

Builder: ALCO
Build Date: September 1955
Type: RS3
Status: Inoperable; awaiting repairs

In 1986, the need arose for a larger diesel locomotive to pull trains at the Monticello Railway Museum due to increased ridership and the subsequent need for longer trains. Volunteers travelled to the Maryland Midland Railroad in Union Bridge, Maryland, in search of a locomotive. They picked No. 301.

Built in September of 1955 by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York, this RS3 type diesel locomotive started life as Long Island Railroad No. 1559, pulling commuter trains in the New York City area.

In 1977, the 1559 was sold to the Gettysburg Railroad in Pennsylvania, who used it in freight service. A few years later, it was sold again to the Maryland Midland, where Monticello Railway Museum volunteers discovered and purchased it. It arrived at the museum in 1987, and after receiving a new paint job, it was placed into service.

The year 2002 marked the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Illinois Central Railroad. To celebrate the occasion, No. 301 was repainted into a black and white Illinois Central paint scheme, and received the new number of 704, one digit higher than the last RS3 that the Illinois Central owned. The locomotive is still painted as Illinois Central No. 704 today.

In 2005, due to mechanical issues, No. 704 was taken out of service. Today, it is usually in storage at the back of the museum’s Camp Creek Yard while it awaits the necessary repairs to get it running again.

Scroll down to view more photos of No. 704.