First Time Paired. As the Naugatuck Railroad began to provide freight service to a regular customer, it became apparent that there was a need for affordable and reliable power that could be be separate from the railroad’s passenger operation when necessary. The 2019 acquisition and subsequent overhaul of 2 GP9s, NUAG 686 (née-NW 686, GP9, 3/1959) and NAUG 859 (née-NW 859, GP9, 6/1959) allowed the railroad to pair the units for the first time on Friday, September 9, 2022, for the Heritage Rail Alliance Conference visit to the Railroad Museum of New England. The train is seen south of Reynolds Bridge (Waterbury Road) in Thomaston, Connecticut with the signature white flags that are customarily applied to excursion trains. During the tenure of Herman Pevler as president of the Norfolk and Western Railroad (NW), he departed from the railroad’s previous black paint scheme (seen on NAUG 686) and instead instituted a blue and yellow scheme. The Naugatuck elected to repaint this pair into one of each scheme.
