ALCO RSD-15

The Alco RSD-15 was a diesel-electric locomotive of the road switcher type built by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York between August 1956 and June 1960, during which time 75 locomotives were produced. The RSD-15 was powered by an Alco 251 16-cylinder four-cycle V-type prime mover rated at 2,400 horsepower (1.79 MW); it superseded the almost identical Alco 244-engined RSD-7, and was catalogued alongside the similar but smaller 1,800 hp (1.34 MW) RSD-12, powered by a 12-cylinder 251-model V-type diesel engine.[2]

Alco RSD-15
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderAlco
ModelDL600B
Build dateAugust 1956 - June 1960
Total produced75
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • AARC-C
 • UICCo′Co′
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
TrucksAlco trimount
Wheel diameter40 in (1,016 mm)
Length66 ft 7 in (20.29 m)[1]
Width10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)
Height14 ft 11 in (4.55 m)
Loco weight335,000 lb (151,953.4 kg)
Fuel capacity3,350 US gallons (12,700 l; 2,790 imp gal)
Prime moverAlco 251B
Engine typeV16 Four-stroke diesel
GeneratorGE GT586
Traction motorsGE 752 (6x)
Cylinders16
Performance figures
Maximum speed65 mph (105 km/h)
Power output2,400 hp (1.79 MW)
Tractive effortStarting: 95,600 lbf (425.2 kN) at 25% adhesion;
Continuous: 79,500 lbf (353.6 kN) at 12 mph (19 km/h)

The locomotive rode on a pair of three-axle Trimount trucks with all axles powered by General Electric model 752 traction motors. These trucks have an asymmetrical axle spacing because of the positioning of the traction motors. The six-motor design allowed higher tractive effort at lower speeds than an otherwise similar four-motor design.

The RSD-15 could be ordered with either a high or low short hood; railfans dubbed the low short hood version "Alligators", due to their unusually long low noses.

RSD-17

A single example of the very similar model RSD-17 was built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1957. After demonstrating on the Canadian Pacific (as #7007), the Canadian National (as #3899), and the Pacific Great Eastern (as #624), the locomotive was purchased by the Canadian Pacific (as #8921). Nicknamed "The Empress of Agincourt", by Pete Fairfull, who was its primary operator for many years, (for its common presence around Toronto's Agincourt yard), the locomotive served the railway until 1995, when truck problems forced its retirement.[3]

Original owners
RailroadQuantityRoad numbersNotes
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway50800–849Low nose
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railroad650–55Later Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad 881-886 Cartier acquired the six units (91-96) 6/1972. All 6 units were converted to low hoods.
Pennsylvania Railroad68611–8616Later Penn Central 6811–6816. Conrail rebuilt four of them to MT6s 1125-1128. After the dividing of Conrail, 2 went to CSX as 1017 and 1018, and 2 went to Norfolk Southern as 1114 and 1115.
Southern Pacific Railroad3250–252Low nose
St. Louis Southwestern Railway105150–5159Low nose
Canadian Pacific Railway18921RSD-17[3]

[2][4]

Surviving examples
RSD-17 locomotive in Elgin County Railway Museum, St. Thomas, Ontario.

Six RSD-15s survive in preservation; all are ex-Santa Fe units.[5] Only two are in operating condition; the Austin and Texas Central #442, originally ATSF 842, painted in a modified Southern Pacific "Black Widow" scheme,[6] and Green Bay and Western Railroad RSD-15 #2407 (originally ATSF 841) at the Illinois Railway Museum.[7] Others that are preserved are Santa Fe 823, in second owner Utah Railway colors at the Utah Railroad Museum, the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento has one (Santa Fe #9820)[8] and the Arkansas Railroad Museum has Santa Fe #843.[9]

The RSD-17 demonstrator, Canadian Pacific 8921, is preserved at the Elgin County Railway Museum, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.[3]

Models

The RSD-15 has been produced in N scale by Mehano of Yugoslavia.

The RSD-15 has been produced in HO scale by Broadway Limited Imports and handmade brass. Alco Models (DL600b) high and Low hoods. Also (Overland Models).[10]

The RSD-15 has been produced in O scale by Atlas O in their Trainman line.[11]

The RSD-17 has not been mass-produced in any scale.

See also

References
  • Marre, Louis A. (1995). Diesel Locomotives: The First 50 Years. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI (USA). ISBN 0-89024-258-5.
  1. "ALCO RSD-15 Data Sheet". The Diesel Shop. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  2. Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
  3. "Elgin County Railway Museum...St. Thomas, Ontario...The Railway Capital of Canada". Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  4. "ALCO RSD-15 Roster". The Diesel Shop. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  5. "Preserved ALCO Road-Switchers". The Diesel Shop. Archived from the original on 30 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  6. "Alco Diesel 442". Austin Steam Train. Archived from the original on 2006-10-08. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  7. Glischinski, Steve (1997). Santa Fe Railway. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-7603-0380-1.
  8. News, HeritageRail. "Inside the California State Railroad Museum". HeritageRail Alliance. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  9. http://arkansasrailroadmuseum.org/largeimages/SF843.JPG
  10. "ALCO RSD-15". Broadway Limited Imports. Archived from the original on 2006-11-20. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  11. "ALCO RSD-15". Atlas O, LLC. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
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