In August 1974, I was driving by the vast P&LE Gateway Receiving Yard in Youngstown, when I noticed something unusual over at “The Dock”, which was what the P&LE called their engine terminal. I decided to drive in and check it out. I discovered these two Baldwin Sharks, No, 1205 and 1216. A crude “DH” was painted on the sides of each unit. The next day they were moved to the Erie Lackawanna’s Brier Hill yard in Girard, Ohio.
The 1205 and 1216 were originally purchased by the New York Central Railroad. There had been rumors of these locomotives going to the D&H Railroad, and this seemed to confirm it. They did indeed go to the D&H in 1974, where they were used for a few years in freight service.
In late 2021 the 1216 was seen being moved at the Escanaba and Lake Superior railroad yard in Escanaba, Michigan. This short line railroad has not used them for many years. The movement of the 1216 has spawned rumors that the units might be donated to an organization with plans to preserve or restore them. That would be a wonderful thing, because these are truly very historic diesel locomotives.
