The winner of the first Amherst Railway Society Founders Award for preservation was announced on Sunday, January 29, 2012 at the Society's Springfield Show. Shown receiving the $10,000 award from ARS President Sudro Brown on behalf of RMNE was Howard Pincus holding the check, Celeste Echlin and Sam Walker.

The RMNE won the award for restoration work in progress in our shop building on a diesel engine for Boston & Maine GP9 Locomotive #1732. This 1,750 hp road switcher locomotive was built by GM's Electro-Motive Division in May 1957. It was used in road and local freight service by B&M for decades and eventually purchased by RMNE in 1997 for use on our historic railway, the Naugatuck Railroad. The 1732 was used until late in 2001 when its diesel engine suffered a broken crankshaft. The painstaking and expensive process of removing power assemblies, heads, connecting rods and pistons and replacing with new and rebuilt pistons, rings and cylinder liners will be greatly enhanced with the proceeds of the ARS Founders Award supplementing a previous $10,000 grant received in 2005 and additional funding from RMNE. Working with our volunteers on this project, in particular RMNE's lead machinist Scott Lent, is well-known EMD expert Preston Cook.

Once the engine rebuild work is completed and installed back into 1732, there will be additional body restoration and painting back to proper B&M colors in the final stages of the project, hopefully in early 2013. The goal is to place the 1732 back into active service on RMNE's historic railway, operating for the public.