ALCO's designation of F marks these locomotives as being geared primarily for freight use, whereas the P designation of the PA sets indicates that they were geared for higher speeds and passenger use. However, beyond this their design was largely similar - aside from the PA/PB's both being larger A1A-A1A types with an even more striking nose - and many railroads used FA and PA locomotives for both freight and passenger service.
A MLW FPA-4 of the Canadian National Railway in September 1965
Three different models were offered. The FA-1/FB-1, which featured a 1,500 horsepower (1,100kW) rating, was built from January 1946 to October 1950, with a 1,600hp (1,200kW) version produced between March and August 1950 (many early models were subsequently upgraded to 1,600hp). The 1,600hp (1,200kW)FA-2/FB-2 (along with the FPA-2/FPB-2 variants) was built between October 1950 and June 1956. Finally, the 1,800hp (1,300kW)FPA-4/FPB-4, powered by the 251V-12 engine, was built between October 1958 and May 1959 by ALCO's Canadian subsidiary, Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW).[citation needed]
The FAs, as well as their cousins, the ALCO PAs, were born as a result of ALCO's development of a new diesel engine design, the Model 244. In early 1944, development started on the new design, and by November 1945, the first engines were beginning to undergo tests. This unusually short testing sequence was brought about by the decision of ALCO's senior management that the engine and an associated line of road locomotives had to be introduced no later than the end of 1946.
In preparation for this deadline, by January 1946, the first four locomotives with the 244 engines had been built. Two FA-1s and an FB-1 were painted in ALCO Demonstrator colors and were released for road tests for a month and a half on the Delaware and Hudson Railway.
A strike at ALCO delayed production beyond the first four units and the three demonstrator units began working on the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Railroad in mid February 1946. The demonstrators were returned to Schenectady when the remainder of the order began delivery in May 1946.
The GM&O order was completed in April 1947 for a total of 80 units. Before the end of this production run, ALCO upgraded the generators and traction motors in the locomotives, with the first of these models entering service in February 1947 for the New York Central.
In 1950, the Montreal Locomotive Works, an affiliate of ALCO, began production of FAs as well. In the fall of 1950, an upgraded model, the FA-2, was launched. This model featured an uprated Model 244 engine, with an output of 1,600 horsepower. Additionally, the carbody was lengthened, making possible the addition of a steam generator in the A unit to allow for use in passenger service. Models equipped as such were designated the FPA-2/FPB-2.[1]
The first FA-2s were delivered in October 1950 to the Baltimore and Ohio and the Erie.[2] By this time, however, the cab unit had fallen out of favor due to the greater versatility of road switchers, and US production of the FA line ended in 1956, with Canadian production ending in 1959.[1]
From the 1970s until 1999, the Long Island Rail Road used 20 FA units converted into "power packs". The traction motors were removed, and original prime movers replaced with 600 horsepower (450kW) engines/generators solely for supplying Head-end power (HEP). The engineer's control stand was left intact, allowing the engines to be used in push-pull service with other locomotives, which usually lacked HEP. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the railroad began retiring the ALCOs in favor of new bi-level cab cars and locomotives with HEP installed.
Original production
Units produced by ALCO and the Montreal Locomotive Works (1946–1956)
2 A and 2 B units rebuilt to 2 FPA4M and 2 FPB4M in 1955, Built by MLW. Two FPA-2 rebuilt as FPB-2U were 6758 and 6759. 6758 previously numbered as 6755 and delivered new as FPA-2 6711. 6759 previously 6751 and delivered new as FPA-2 6707. FPB-2U transferred to VIA Rail. Retired by VIA in 1987, 6758 is still used by New York and Lake Erie Railroad.
Built by MLW. All transferred to VIA Rail. Few MLW FPA-4 units sold privately to US.
Surviving examples
MLW FPA-4 No. 6777 on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
Some 20 units of various designations exist today in a preserved state.[4] Several excursion railways own operating examples which are in regular service, including MLW units received from Via Rail Canada.
The Grand Canyon Railway owns two FPA-4s, and one FB-1, of which two (one FPA-4 and one FB-1) currently remain in service.[5]
The Napa Valley Wine Train owns 4 FPA-4s. However all are expected to be withdrawn from service in favor of new locomotives.[6]
The Danbury Railway Museum owns an FPA-4 and FPB-4. They have been restored as Canadian National FPA-4 6786 and FPB-4 #6867. Also at the Danbury Railway Museum is ex-New Haven FA-1 0428.
The Monticello Railway Museum houses privately owned CN 6789, an MLW FPA-4, and CN 6862, an MLW FPB-4. The A-B set was restored into operating condition and CN 6789 is used on museum trains. Both have been repainted into the green/yellow scheme that CN used early on.
Western Maryland FA-2 #303 is stored in Barton, MD on the Georges Creek Railway. It was recently sold to a railroad shop in Kansas City.[7]
Canadian National 6854 is owned by a private owner in Bridgeton, NJ.
Canadian National 6783 has recently moved to Tennessee.
ALCO "World Locomotive"
Pakistan
Alco built 23 A1A-A1A trucked FCA-3s for Pakistan Railways in 1951 and 1953. These were the equivalent of an FPA-2 riding on A1A trucks. ALCO's "World Locomotive", the DL500 (introduced in 1953), originated as a newly designed demonstrator based on the FA-2. The first 25 DL500s used the model 244 engine rated at 1,600 horsepower (1,200kW). Later DL500s were like the FPA-4 and utilize the ALCO model 251B diesel engine as the prime mover and are rated at 1,800 horsepower (1,300kW). All DL500s were built with C-C trucks, but B-B or paired A-1-A trucks were offered as an option.
Americas
The only locale within the Americas where ALCO-built cab units, such as All America Latina Logistica (ALL), still see daily usage in freight duty is Argentina. A total of 369 DL500 locomotives were built by ALCO, AE Goodwin, and MLW between May 1953 and December 1967.
Australia
Variants of the ALCO "World Locomotive" saw service in Australia, where it was built under license by AE Goodwin, Sydney. Six single-cab locomotives were delivered to the South Australian Railways (SAR) in 1955 as the 930 class.[8] In 1957, the SAR received the first of an eventual 31 built to a two-cab design, the end with the second cab being flat-fronted. A few months later, the first of an up-rated version of the two-cab design arrived on the Department of Railways New South Wales as the 44 class, of which 100 were in service by 1968.[9][10]
Steinbrenner, Richard T. (2003). The American Locomotive Company: a centennial remembrance. New Brunswick, NJ: On Track Publishers, LLC. ISBN9780911122077.
Claflin, Jim; Douglas, Ken L. (March–April 1972). "Alco FA-FB tally". Extra 2200 South. No.33. pp.26–27. ISSN2207-9114.
Specific
1 2 Steinbrenner, Richard T (2003). The American Locomotive Company: A Centennial Remembrance. On Track Publishers. ISBN0-911122-07-9.
↑ "Erie Railroad". The Diesel Shop. December 10, 2006. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
12. Craig, R. (2010, December 29). Alco DL500 World Locomotives. www.the diesel shop.us. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from http://thedieselshop.us/Alco_DL500.HTML
Project 302 — documents the restoration efforts of the Western Maryland Railway Historical Society regarding Western Maryland Railway No. 302, an ALCO Model FA-2.
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