ALCO S-1 and S-3

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The ALCO S-1 and S-3 were 660 horsepower (490 kW) diesel-electric switcher locomotives produced by ALCO and their Canadian subsidiary Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). The two locomotives differed only in trucks, with the S-1 using ALCO's own Blunt trucks, and the S-3 using AAR type A switcher trucks. The S-1 was built between April 1940 and June 1950, with a total of 543 completed, while the S-3 was constructed between February 1950 and November 1953 (MLW until 1957) with total sales of 300. A modified version, the S-10, was built by MLW only; 13 were built between January and June 1958.

ALCO S-1 and S-3
Mid-Continent Railway No. 7, an S-1, rests between trains on October 10, 2004
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel
Builder
Build date
  • April 1940–June 1950 (S-1)
  • February 1950–November 1953 (S-3)
Total produced
  • 543 (S-1)
  • 300 (S-3)
Specifications
Configuration:
 • AARB-B
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Trucks
  • Blunt (S-1)
  • AAR type A (S-3)
Wheel diameter40 in (1,016 mm)
Minimum curve50° (118.31 ft or 36.06 m)
Wheelbase30 ft (9.14 m)
Length45 ft (13.72 m)
Width10 ft 2+12 in (3.112 m)
Height14 ft 4+38 in (4.378 m)
Loco weight199,000 lb (90,000 kg)
Fuel capacity635 US gal (2,400 L; 529 imp gal)
Prime moverAlco 539T
Engine typeFour-stroke diesel
AspirationNatural
Displacement9,572 cu in (156.86 L)
GeneratorGE GT 552-A
Traction motors4 × GE 731
CylindersStraight 6
Cylinder size12+12 in × 13 in (318 mm × 330 mm)
Performance figures
Power output660 hp (490 kW)
Tractive effort49,790 lb (22,580 kg)
Career
LocaleNorth America, Brazil, United Kingdom
[1][2]

Identification

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The S-1 and S-3 are distinguishable externally from the very similar S-2 and S-4 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) switchers in that they have a smaller exhaust stack with a round base and a smaller radiator shutter area on the nose sides. The S-1/S-3 radiator shutter area is taller than it is wide, while the S-2/S-4 radiator area is wider. The smaller stack is due to the lack of turbocharging.

The S-10 is not externally distinguishable from later Canadian-built S-3 locomotives; it differed mostly in electrical equipment.

Original owners

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The S-1 and S-3 models were sold to an extensive list of railroads and industrial operators, as detailed below. Major owners of the S-1 included the New York Central Railroad (NYC), with 71 locomotives; the New Haven with 65 locomotives; the L&N with 45 locomotives; the C&NW, with 29 locomotives; and the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) with 27 locomotives. Major customers for the S-3 included the CP, with 101; the CN, with 49; the NYC, with 43 locomotives; the B&M, with 16; and the PRR, with 13. The MLW S-10 was sold only to the CP.

The totals below include export orders and MLW-built locomotives.

ALCO constructed approximately 535 S-1s for the US market between 1940 and 1950.[1][3]

Railroad Quantity Road numbers
Alabama Great Southern Railroad 2 6501–6502
Alameda Belt Line 3 D-1–D-3
Alco (demonstrator) 1 660
Alco (plant switcher) 1 5
Alco/War Department 1 GT-1304
American Steel & Wire 1 2
Ann Arbor Railroad 2 2–3
ARMCO Steel 3 E106–E108
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 2 2303–2304
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 6 223–227, 250
Belt Railway of Chicago 3 304–306
Birmingham Southern Railroad 2 100, 101
Boston and Maine Railroad 10 1163–1172
Broward County Port Authority 1 410
Canadian Car and Munitions 1 5
Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil 5 3001–3005
Central of Georgia Railway 2 4, 6
Central Railroad of New Jersey 2 1024, 1025
Champlain Paper and Fibre 1 25
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad 3 103–105
Chicago and North Western Railway 29 1202–1205, 1213, 1223–1229, 1232–1236, 1247–1258
Chicago Great Western Railway 5 11–15
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway 3 56, 57, 69
Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway 2 6000–6001
City of Prineville Railway 1 101
Donner Hanna Coal Company 1 2
Day and Zimmerman (Iowa Army Ammunition Depot) 1 3-100
Defense Plant Corporation 2 DPC25.23, DPC25.24
Delray Connecting Railroad 4 66, 68, 70, 72
Des Moines Union Railway 4 1–4
Detroit and Mackinac Railway 1 646
East St. Louis Junction Railroad 1 100
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway 5 213–217
Erie Railroad 16 306–321
Ford Motor Company 4 6601–6604
Great Lakes Steel Corporation 1 32
Green Bay and Western Railroad 1 102
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad 4 661–664
Hunken Conkey Construction 2 1001–1002
Inland Steel 7 53, 56, 61, 62, 64–66
Inland Waterways Corporation 1 1
Iowa Transfer Railroad 1 2
John Morrell & Co. 1 7
Kansas City Terminal Railway 5 40–44
Kewaunee, Green Bay and Western Railroad 1 103
Lehigh Valley Railroad 1 117
Long Island Rail Road 14 404–408, 413–420, 421
Louisville and Nashville Railroad 45 16–29, 34–68
Maine Central Railroad 8 953–960
Massena Terminal Railroad 2 8, 9
Minnesota Transfer Railway 5 60–64
Missouri Pacific Railroad 2 9007, 9008
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway 4 1–4
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México 5 5000-5004
Newburgh and South Shore Railway 7 3–7, 9, 10
New Orleans and Lower Coast Railroad 3 9013-9015
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 65 0931–0995
New Jersey, Indiana and Illinois Railroad 1 1
New York Central Railroad 71 590, 685–744, 864–873
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad 1 85
Northern Pacific Railway 1 131
Northern Pacific Terminal 5 30–34
Pennsylvania Railroad 27 5661–5670, 5954–5956, 9100–9103, 9237–9246
Point Comfort and Northern Railway 1 5
Port Huron and Detroit Railroad 2 51, 52
Portland Terminal Company 4 1005-1008
Procter & Gamble 1 9
Pullman Railroad 2 20, 21
Reading Company 5 50-54
Red River Ordnance Depot 1 7372
Republic Steel 9 15–17, 312–314, D840, D841, D810
River Terminal Railway 1 52
St. Louis and O'Fallon Railway 1 51
Seaboard Air Line 1 1201
Sheffield Steel Corporation 3 11–13
Solvay Processing Division, Allied Chemical 3 1–3
South Buffalo Railway 4 51, 52, 60, 61
Southern Pacific Company 4 1017–1020
Southern Railway 3 2000, 2001, 2006
South Omaha Terminal Railway 5 1–5
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway 2 10, 11, 10 Sold to City of Prineville 102, 11 to Burlington Northern 11
Steel Company of Wales (UK) 5 801–805
Studebaker 2 2, 3
Tennessee Central Railway 1 51
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company 3 700–702
Tennessee Copper 2 104, 105
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis 4 521–524
Texas and New Orleans Railroad 1 10
Texaco 1 19
Texas City Terminal Railway 2 30, 31
Texas Pacific-Missouri Pacific Terminal Railroad of New Orleans 2 3, 4
Timken Rolling Bearing Company 2 5911, 5912
Toledo, Angola and Western Railway 1 101
Traux Truer Coal 1 10
Union Railroad 4 451–454
Upper Merion and Plymouth Railroad 1 54
U.S. Army 11 7132-7136, 7141-7142, 7374-7375, 7459-7460
Wabash Railroad 9 151–159
Weirton Steel 3 200, 203, 204
Western Maryland Railway 1 102
Western Pacific Railroad 8 504–511
Youngstown Sheet and Tube 5 661–665
Total 543

ALCO and the Montreal Locomotive Works constructed approximately 300 S-3s for the North American market between 1950 and 1957.[1][3]

Railroad Quantity Road numbers
Manufactured by ALCO
Aluminum Company of America 1 8
Ann Arbor Railroad 4 4–7
Boston and Maine Railroad 16 1173–1188
Brooks and Scanlon 2 101, 102
Champion Paper 1 2104
Chicago and North Western Railway 6 1262–1267
Davenport, Rock Island and North Western Railway 7 1–7
Davidson Chemical Division, W.R. Grace and Company 1 101
El Dorado and Wesson Railway 1 18
Ford Motor Company 7 6605–6611
Frederick Snare Corporation 1 7
General Portland Cement 1 1
Graysonia, Nashville and Ashdown Railroad 1 51
Greater Portland Public Development Corporation 1 661
Humble Oil 1 997
Louisville and Nashville Railroad 7 69–75
Maine Central Railroad 2 961, 962
Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad 1 1
Mount Hood Railroad 1 50
New York Central Railroad 43 874–916
Pennsylvania Railroad 13 8873–8885
Solvay Processing Division, Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation 1 2
Southern Pacific Company 10 1023–1032
Swift and Company 1 664
Texas and Northern Railway 2 3, 4
Texas City Terminal Railway 1 32
Texaco 2 21, 22
Washington, Idaho and Montana Railway 1 30
West Pittston and Exeter Railway 1 6
ALCO total 137
Manufactured by MLW
Bathhurst Power and Paper 1 3
Canadian Arsenals 1 1
Canadian National Railway 49 8450–8498
Canadian Pacific Railway 101 6500–6600
Essex Terminal Railway 1 103
LaSalle Coke 1 4
National Harbours Board 8 D2–D9
Price Brothers 1 106
MLW subtotal 163
Total 300

S-10

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MLW constructed 13 S-10s in 1958, all for the Canadian Pacific Railway, numbered 6601–6613.[3] These units were essentially similar to late-built S3s, though with minor updates to the electrical gear.

S-11

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In 1959, MLW built a final order of 660 horsepower switchers for the Canadian Pacific, as model S-11, numbered 6614–6623. The internal machinery of these units was essentially the same as that of the S-10, but the car body was radically redesigned, with the radiator on the front end of the hood instead of on the sides.[4]

Preservation

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Ex-Canadian Pacific MLW S-3 No. 6568 on display at the Saskatchewan Railway Museum

Numerous S-1 and S-3 locomotives remain in use, and several are preserved:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Foster, Gerald L. (1996). A Field Guide to Trains of North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 6. ISBN 0-3957-0112-0.
  2. ^ Dorin, Patrick C. (1972). Chicago and North Western Power. Burbank, California: Superior Publishing. pp. 134–135. ISBN 0-87564-715-4.
  3. ^ a b c Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 221–222. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
  4. ^ Kirkland, John, "The Diesel Builders, volume 2: Also" Interurban Press, 1989
  5. ^ "Western Pacific 512". Western Pacific Railroad Museum. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  6. ^ "Locomotives". Saskatchewan Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Locomotive Lawn". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  8. ^ "BEDT #25 - Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal - American Locomotive 74962 - built: October 1946". members.trainweb.com. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
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