Delaware and Hudson 1205 and 1216 are two Baldwin RF-16 locomotives originally built for the New York Central Railroad in 1951 and 1952.
The locomotives were originally delivered to the New York Central Railroad, as units 3805 and 3816, later renumbered to 1205 and 1216 in 1966, shortly before being traded in to General Electric.
[3] The locomotives were acquired by the Delaware & Hudson as part of a preservation project enacted under the tenure of then CEO Carl B. Sterzing Jr., and so in addition to local freight service in New York, the locomotives also participated in public relations and railfan specials until their retirement and sale in April 1978, to Castolite Inc of Minneapolis, MN.
1216 was also damaged while operating on the Michigan Northern, with one of its traction motors suffering a short circuit due to snow accumulation.
1205 was later sent for repairs by owner Castolite Inc, but the mechanic would go out of business before repairs could be completed, and both units were sent to storage at the Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad, where John Larkin would eventually gain ownership of both units[4] 1216 would operate twice on the Escanaba & Lake Superior, once in the summer of 1979, and again in autumn 1982, before suffering a crankshaft failure and being relegated to storage alongside 1205.