ALCO PA

Last updated
ALCO PA1/PB1 PA2/PB2
D&H 19 at Newtonville, April 1978 postcard.jpg
An ALCO/M-K PA-4 of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad in April 1978
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderPartnership of American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and General Electric (GE)
ModelPA1, PB1, PA2, PB2
Build dateJune 1946 December 1953
Total produced297
Specifications
Configuration:
   AAR A1A-A1A
Gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in), Brazil
Length65 ft 8 in (20.02 m)
Loco weight306,000 lb (138,799 kg; 139 t)
Prime mover Alco 244G V16
Engine type V16 Four-stroke diesel
Aspiration Turbocharger
Displacement10,688 cu in (175.14 L)
Generator DC
Traction motors 4x GE 746 or 752 DC traction motors
Cylinders 16
Cylinder size 9 in × 10+12 in (229 mm × 267 mm)
Transmission Diesel-electric
Loco brake Independent air.
Optional: Dynamic
Train brakes Air
Performance figures
Maximum speed117 mph (188 km/h)
Power output2,000 hp (1,490 kW) PA-1/PB-1
2,250 hp (1,680 kW) PA-2/PB-2
Tractive effort 51,000 lbf (226.86 kN)
Career
Class Erie- PA1- PA-20 PA2- PA-22 NH- PA1- DER-3a NYC- PA1- various PB1- various PA2- DPA-4a PRR- PA1- AP20 P&LE- PA1- DPA-2c PA2- DPA-14b WAB- PA1- D20
Locale North America, Brazil
DispositionThree preserved, two under restoration, one converted to steam generator car, remainder scrapped.

The ALCO PA was a family of A1A-A1A diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains. The locomotives were built in Schenectady, New York, in the United States, by a partnership of the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and General Electric (GE) between June, 1946 and December, 1953. Designed by General Electric's Ray Patten (along with their ALCO FA cousins), they were of a cab unit design; both cab-equipped lead A unit PA and cabless booster B unit PB models were built. While externally the PB models were slightly shorter than the PA model, [1] they shared many of the same characteristics, both aesthetically and mechanically. However, they were not as reliable as EMD E-units. [2]

Contents

ALCO's designation of P indicates that they were geared for higher speeds and passenger use, whereas the F designation marks these locomotives as being geared primarily for freight 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 PA and FA locomotives for both freight and passenger service.

Although the majority of the PAs and PBs have been scrapped, six examples have survived. Five PAs are now preserved in railroad museums, while a converted PB still remains in service as a power car.

Service history

A pair of ALCO PA-1s of the Santa Fe Railway in March 1968 ATSF 58 WB Port Chicago Mar68smcr - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg
A pair of ALCO PA-1s of the Santa Fe Railway in March 1968

There were two models of PAs: the 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW)PA-1/PB-1, which was built between September 1946 and June 1950, and the 2,250 horsepower (1,680 kW)PA-2/PB-2, which was built between April, 1950 and December, 1953.[ citation needed ]

The PAs, as well as their cousins, the ALCO FAs, 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 16-cylinder 244 engines were being tested, and, while a strike delayed work on the locomotives, the first two PA units were released for road tests in June, 1946 for testing for one month on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. After these first tests were completed, the locomotives returned to the factory for refurbishment and engine replacement.

In September, 1946, the first production units, an A-B-A set of PA1s in Santa Fe colors, numbered #51L, 51A and 51B, were released from the factory and sent to New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, which had a private railroad siding, for exhibition before being launched into road service. [3] This set was repowered in August, 1954 with EMD 16-567C engines rated at 1,750 hp (1,300 kW). This EMD repowering of the PAs was economically unfeasible, and the remaining Santa Fe PAs retained their 244 engines.

Four PA-1s previously operated by the Santa Fe were sold to Delaware and Hudson Railway in 1967. In 1974-1975, they were rebuilt for the D&H as PA-4s by Morrison Knudsen and equipped with ALCO's 251 V-12 engines. [4] Under D&H ownership, they were used by Amtrak for the Adirondack . [5] (Amtrak itself only purchased EMD E- and F-units from the railroads whose service it replaced for its diesel roster, and never owned any PAs. [5] [6] ) They were used by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority in the late 1970s, then by Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México in 1978–81.

Fans deemed the PA one of the most beautiful diesels and an "Honorary Steam Locomotive", as noted by Professor George W. Hilton in a book review in September, 1968 Trains Magazine . When accelerating, until the turbocharger came up to speed, thick clouds of black smoke would pour from the exhaust stacks due to turbo lag. Photographing a moving PA while smoking became a prime objective of railfans. [7] [8]

Original owners

RailroadPA1PB1PA2PB2PA1 road numbersPB1 road numbersPA2 road numbersPB2 road numbersNotes
ALCO-GE Demonstrators1183758375Bto New York Central Railroad 4212 and 4304
ALCO-GE Demonstrators29077-9078Demonstrated on Canadian National, painted in CN green and gold, later to Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad as PA-2s 59A,C. Last PA-1s built.
American Freedom Train (original)11776First production PA1. To Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad 292
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad 281651-62L,B, 70-73L51-62A, 70-73AFour PA1s sold to Delaware & Hudson in 1967; became last to operate in U.S.
Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad 426001, 6003, 6011, 60136002, 6012
Erie Railroad 122850-861862-863
Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad 2290-291
Lehigh Valley Railroad 14601-614
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad 4857-58A,C60-63A,C59A,C were Alco PA-1 demonstrators rebuilt as PA-2s
Missouri Pacific Railroad 8288001-80088009-80368011-8012 were originally owned by International & Great Northern
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 270760-0786Unit 0783 to D&H in 1967 for parts.
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road)11180-190
New York Central Railroad 4444200-42034300-43034208-4211
Pennsylvania Railroad 1055750-57595750B/5758B even #s
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie 424204-42074213-4214
St. Louis Southwestern Railway 2300-301To Southern Pacific Railroad 6067-6068
Southern Pacific Railroad (T&NO)12200-205A,BRenumbered to 200-211, then to Southern Pacific 6055-6066
Southern Pacific Railroad 1262776005-6010A,C6005-6010B6019-60455918-59246005-6010A,C renumbered to 6005-6016, 6005-6010B renumbered to 5910-5915
Southern Railway (CNO&TP)66900-6905Last PA's built by ALCO
Union Pacific Railroad 86600-607600B, 602B, 604B-607B607 converted for experimental coal-burning turbine in 1962
Wabash Railroad 41050-1053
Companhia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro 3600-6021,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) gauge
Totals16939818

Foreign sales

The PA-2 units sold to the 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge Companhia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro of São Paulo State in Brazil were equipped with a bar pilot and solid horizontal steel pilot beam. One of these locomotives survives.

Surviving examples

Nickel Plate Road 190 at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. This unit was later moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania in 2023 Nickel Plate Road 190 at Oregon Rail Heritage Ctr, Sep 2012.jpg
Nickel Plate Road 190 at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. This unit was later moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania in 2023

Five PA units and one converted PB unit survive.

Related Research Articles

The AAR wheel arrangement system is a method of classifying locomotive wheel arrangements that was developed by the Association of American Railroads. Essentially a simplification of the European UIC classification, it is widely used in North America to describe diesel and electric locomotives. It is not used for steam locomotives,, which use the Whyte notation instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMC E3</span> American diesel-passenger locomotive

The EMC E3 is a 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW), A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive that was manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois. The EMC demonstrator #822 was released from La Grange for test on September 12, 1938. The cab version, or E3A, was manufactured from September 1938 to June 1940, and 17 were produced. The booster version, or E3B, was manufactured in March 1939 and September 1939, and 2 were produced. The 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) was achieved by putting two 1,000 horsepower (750 kW), 12-cylinder, model 567 engines in the engine compartment. Each engine drove its own electrical generator to power the traction motors. The E3 was the fourth model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD GP30</span> Model of American 2250 hp diesel locomotive

The EMD GP30 is a 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between July 1961 and November 1963. A total of 948 units were built for railroads in the United States and Canada, including 40 cabless B units for the Union Pacific Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMC E2</span>

The EMC E2 was an American passenger-train diesel locomotive which as a single unit developed 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kW), from two (2) 900 horsepower (670 kW) prime movers. These locomotives were typically operated as a unit set or ; where the three unit lashup developed 5400 horsepower. This was almost the ideal horsepower required for the tonnage of a 15 - 18 car passenger train, operated over the ruling grades of virtually all of the mileage between major American cities. The units were of the A1A-A1A wheel arrangement, and manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC), later Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) of La Grange, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD E-unit</span> American diesel-passenger locomotive

EMD E-units were a line of passenger train streamliner diesel locomotives built by the General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and its predecessor the Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC). Final assembly for all E-units was in La Grange, Illinois. Production ran from May 1937, to December, 1963. The name E-units refers to the model numbers given to each successive type, which all began with E. The E originally stood for eighteen hundred horsepower, the power of the earliest model, but the letter was kept for later models of higher power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMC E1</span> Early American diesel-passenger locomotive

The EMC E1 was an early passenger-train diesel locomotive developing 1,800 hp, with an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement, and manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois. They were built during 1937 and 1938 for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway for a new generation of diesel-powered streamlined trains. 8 cab-equipped lead A units and three cabless booster B units were built. The initial three locomotives were AB pairs built to haul the Santa Fe's Super Chief diesel streamliners, while the others were built as single A units to haul shorter trains. The locomotives were diesel-electrics with two 900 hp (670 kW) Winton 201-A engines each, with each engine driving its own generator to power the traction motors. The E1 was the second model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units. All Winton 201A-engined Santa Fe passenger units, including the E1s, were extensively rebuilt into the 80-class E8M engines in 1952–53. These were similar to production E8 models, but derated to 2,000 hp so as not to burn out the early traction (axle) motors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMC EA/EB</span>

The EMC EA/EB is an early passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built from May 16, 1937, to 1938 by Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. They were the first model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units. Each locomotive unit developed 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kW) from two 900 hp (670 kW) Winton 201-A diesel engines, driving the wheels through an electric transmission—the generator driven by each engine provided current for traction motors. The locomotives were of A1A-A1A wheel arrangement—two three-axle trucks of which only the outer two axles were powered. Six two-unit 3,600 hp (2,700 kW) locomotives were produced, each consisting of a lead cab-equipped EA A unit and a cabless booster EB B unit. They were numbered 51 through 56; the A units bore the bare number and the B units the number followed by 'X'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD FT</span> American cab locomotive

The EMD FT is a 1,350-horsepower (1,010 kW) diesel-electric locomotive that was produced between March 1939 and November 1945, by General Motors' Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC), later known as GM Electro-Motive Division (EMD). The "F" stood for Fourteen Hundred (1400) horsepower and the "T" for Twin, as it came standard in a two-unit set. The design was developed from the TA model built for the C,RI&P in 1937, and was similar in cylinder count, axle count, length, and layout. All told 555 cab-equipped ”A” units were built, along with 541 cabless booster or ”B” units, for a grand total of 1,096 units. The locomotives were all sold to customers in the United States. It was the first model in EMD's very successful F-unit series of cab unit freight diesels and was the locomotive that convinced many U.S. railroads that the diesel-electric freight locomotive was the future. Many rail historians consider the FT one of the most important locomotive models of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD F-unit</span> Line of diesel-electric locomotives

EMD F-units are a line of diesel-electric locomotives produced between November 1939 and November 1960 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors-Diesel Division. Final assembly for all F-units was at the GM-EMD plant at La Grange, Illinois, and the GMDD plant in London, Ontario. They were sold to railroads throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, and a few were exported to Saudi Arabia. The term F-unit refers to the model numbers given to each successive type, all of which began with the letter F. The F originally meant "fourteen", as in 1,400 horsepower (1,000 kW), not "freight". Longer EMD E-units for passenger service had twin 900-horsepower (670 kW) diesel engines. The E meant "eighteen" as in 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kW). Similarly, for early model EMD switchers, S meant "six hundred" and N meant "nine hundred horsepower".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cab unit</span> Body styles of locomotive

In North American railroad terminology, a cab unit is a railroad locomotive with its own cab and controls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD F7</span> Model of 1500 hp North American cab diesel locomotive

The EMD F7 is a model of 1,500-horsepower (1,100 kW) diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1949 and December 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) and General Motors Diesel (GMD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALCO RSC-2</span> Diesel-electric locomotive of the road switcher type

The ALCO RSC-2 was a diesel-electric locomotive that rode on three-axle trucks, having an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALCO RS-2</span>

The ALCO RS-2 is a 1,500–1,600 horsepower (1,100–1,200 kW) B-B diesel-electric locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) from 1946 to 1950. ALCO introduced the model after World War II as an improvement on the ALCO RS-1. Between 1946 and 1950, 377 examples of the RS-2 were built, primarily for American and Canadian customers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALCO DL-109</span> Model of locomotive

The ALCO DL-109 was one of six models of A1A-A1A diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) between December, 1939 and April, 1945. They were of a cab unit design, and both cab-equipped lead A units DL-103b, DL-105, DL-107, DL-109 and cabless booster B units DL-108, DL-110 models were built. The units were styled by noted industrial designer Otto Kuhler, who incorporated into his characteristic cab the trademark three-piece windshield design. A total of 74 cab units and four cabless booster units were built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe CF7</span> EMD F-unit railroad locomotive converted for switching duty

The Santa Fe CF7 is an EMD F-unit railroad locomotive that has had its streamlined carbody removed and replaced with a custom-made, "general purpose" body in order to adapt the unit for switching duty. All of the conversions were performed by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway's Cleburne, Texas, workshops between February 1970 and 1978. This was Santa Fe's most notable remanufacturing project, with 233 completed between 1970 - March 1978. The program was initiated in response to a system-wide need for more than 200 additional four-axle diesel road switchers to meet projected motive power demands on branch lines and secondary main lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baldwin VO-1000</span>

The Baldwin VO-1000 is a diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works between January 1939 and December 1946. These units were powered by a naturally aspirated eight-cylinder diesel engine rated at 1,000 horsepower (746 kW), and rode on a pair of two-axle trucks in a B-B wheel arrangement. These were either the AAR Type-A switcher trucks, or the Batz truck originally developed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway as a leading truck for steam locomotives. 548 examples of this model were built for American railroads, including examples for the Army and Navy.

The Erie-built was the first streamlined, cab-equipped dual service diesel locomotive built by Fairbanks-Morse, introduced as direct competition to such models as the ALCO PA and FA and EMD FT. F-M lacked the space and staff to design and manufacture large road locomotives in their own plant at Beloit, Wisconsin, and was concerned that waiting to develop the necessary infrastructure would cause them to miss out on the market opportunity for large road locomotives. Engineering and assembly work was subcontracted out to General Electric, which produced the locomotives at its Erie, Pennsylvania, facility, thereby giving rise to the name "Erie-built."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALCO FA</span> American locomotive class

The ALCO FA was a family of B-B diesel locomotives designed to haul freight trains. The locomotives were built by a partnership of ALCO and General Electric in Schenectady, New York, between January 1946 and May 1959. Designed by General Electric's Ray Patten, they were of a cab unit design; both cab-equipped lead FA and cabless booster FB models were built. A dual passenger-freight version, the FPA/FPB, was also offered. It was equipped with a steam generator for heating passenger cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GE U28CG</span> US Diesel-electric locomotive

The GE U28CG was a dual-service diesel-electric locomotive produced in 1966 by GE Transportation Systems and derived from their freight-hauling U28C design. The sole customer was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which ordered ten early that year for delivery in July and August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of the American Railroad</span> Railroad museum in Frisco, Texas, U.S.

The Museum of the American Railroad, formerly known as the Age of Steam Railroad Museum, is a railroad museum in Frisco, Texas. The museum has more than 70 pieces of steam, diesel, passenger, and freight railroad equipment sitting on 15 acres making it one of the largest historic rail collections in the US. Guests may walk through some of the equipment on guided tours.

References

  1. Solomon, Brian. (2009). "p.113". Alco Locomotives. Laguna Hills: Quayside Publishing Group. p. 113. ISBN   978-1-61673-136-6. OCLC   1024276965.
  2. Solomon, Brian. Santa Fe Railway. Voyageur Press. ISBN   978-1-61060-672-1.
  3. Steinbrenner, Richard T (2003). The American Locomotive Company: A Centennial Remembrance. On Track Publishers. ISBN   0-911122-07-9.
  4. See Anderson, Norman E. and MacDermott, C. G., "PA4 Locomotive." (Burlingame, Chatham Publishing Co.)(1978). ISBN   0896850358.
  5. 1 2 Ingles, J. David (December 1975). "The power behind the pointless arrow". Trains. Vol. 36, no. 2. pp. 22–29.
  6. D.P.M. (July 1974). "What we lost with the PA's". Trains. Vol. 34, no. 9. p. 18.
  7. Ingles, J. David, Passenger Diesel Turned Legend, Trains Magazine January, 1997, p.54.
  8. “Honorary steam locomotive” at Trains Magazine
  9. "ATSF 59 - Americas PA". Archived from the original on 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  10. "McCormack retires as Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation president". Trains Magazine .
  11. "Genesee Valley Transportation Acquires Historic Alco PA". 2 March 2023.
  12. "Famed Alco PA will move to Genesse Valley Transportation". Trains . Kalmbach Media. June 2023. p. 44.
  13. "News photo: A PA arrives in Pa". Trains. May 19, 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-20.

Additional Reading