ALCO PA
Encyclopedia
ALCO PA refers to a family of A1A-A1A diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...

s built to haul passenger trains that were built in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 by a partnership of the American Locomotive Company
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...

 (ALCO) and General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 (GE) between June, 1946 and December, 1953. They were of a cab unit
Cab unit
A cab unit and a carbody unit are body styles of locomotives in railroad terminology. While closely related, they are not exactly the same....

 design, and both cab-equipped lead A unit
A unit
An A unit, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive equipped with a driving cab, or crew compartment, and the control system to control other locomotives in a multiple unit, and therefore able to be the lead unit in a consist of several locomotives controlled from a single position...

 PA and cabless booster B unit
B unit
A "B" unit, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive unit which does not have a driving cab, or crew compartment, and must therefore be controlled from another, coupled locomotive with a driving cab . The term booster unit is also used. The concept was largely confined to North America...

 PB models were built.

Background and development

The PAs, as well as their cousins, the ALCO FA
ALCO FA
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 GE in Schenectady, New York, between January 1946 and May 1959. They were of a cab unit design, and both cab-equipped lead FA and cabless booster FB models...

s, 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 early 1946, 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 of 1946, the first 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
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna 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
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...

 colors were released from the factory, and sent to New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...

, which had a private railroad siding, for exhibition before being launched into road service.

History

Two different models were offered: the 2000 hp PA-1/PB-1 (built between September, 1946 and June, 1950); the 2250 hp PA-2/PB-2 (built between April, 1950 and December, 1953)

Models popularly termed the PA-3/PB-3 were in fact only an upgrade of the PA-2/PB-2. The true PA-3/PB-3 model would have boasted 2400 hp, though none were ever built. Aside from the small power increase between the PA-1 and the PA-2, differences between the models were minor. Externally, PA-3s could be distinguished by the absence of the "eyebrow" trim piece on the grille behind the cab and the porthole window behind the radiator shutters. Internally, later PA-2 and PB-2 production featured a water-cooled turbocharger and other engine compartment changes, but these were frequently added to older models undergoing major repairs and/or overhauls.

Like its smaller cousin, the ALCO FA
ALCO FA
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 GE in Schenectady, New York, between January 1946 and May 1959. They were of a cab unit design, and both cab-equipped lead FA and cabless booster FB models...

, the PA had distinctive styling, with a long, straight flat-tipped nose with a headlight in a square, slitted grille, raked windshields, and trim pieces behind the cab windows that lengthened and sleekened the lines. The overall design owed something to the Fairbanks-Morse
Fairbanks-Morse
Fairbanks Morse and Company was a manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, locomotives and industrial supplies until it was merged in 1958...

 Erie-built
FM Erie-built
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 EMD E-unit...

 design, which had been constructed by ALCO's electrical equipment partner General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 at their Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...

 plant. The majority of PA components were compatible with the FA.

Fans deemed the PA one of the most beautiful diesels by design and an "Honorary Steam Locomotive", with the first being Professor George W. Hilton
George Hilton (historian)
George Woodman Hilton, born 1925, is a United States historian and economist, who specializes in social history, transportation economics, regulation by commission, the history of economic thought and labor history....

 in a book review in the September, 1968, Trains Magazine, because of a peculiarity of the ALCO 244 diesel prime mover 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

The ALCO 244 V16 diesel prime mover
Prime mover (locomotive)
In engineering, a prime mover is an engine that converts fuel to useful work. In locomotives, the prime mover is thus the source of power for its propulsion. The term is generally used when discussing any locomotive powered by an internal combustion engine...

 proved to be the undoing of the PA: The engine had been rushed into production, and proved to be unreliable in service. The PA locomotives failed to capture a marketplace dominated by General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 Electro-Motive Division and their E-units. The original Santa Fe three unit set #51L, 51A and 51B was repowered in August 1954 with EMD 16-567C engines rated at 1,750 hp (1,305 kW). This EMD repowering of the PAs was economically unfeasible and the remaining Santa Fe PAs retained their 244 engines. The later 251-series engine, a vastly improved prime mover, was not available in time for ALCO to recover the loss of reputation caused by the unreliability of the 244. By the time the ALCO 251 engine was accepted into widespread use, General Electric (which ended the partnership with ALCO in 1953) had fielded their entries into the diesel-electric locomotive market. General Electric eventually supplanted ALCO as a manufacturer of locomotives. ALCO's loss of market share led to its demise in 1969.

Original Buyers


Railroad PA1 PB1 PA2 PB2 Notes
ALCO-GE Demonstrators 1 1 to New York Central Railroad
ALCO-GE Demonstrators 2 Demonstrated on Canadian National, painted in CN green and gold, later to Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad as PA-2s. Last PA-1s built.
American Freedom Train
American Freedom Train
The United States has seen two national 'Freedom Trains'. The 1947–1949 Freedom Train was a special exhibit train that toured the United States in the later half of the 1940s. A similar train called the American Freedom Train toured the country for the United States Bicentennial celebration in...

 (original)
1 To Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad  28 16 Four PA1s sold to Delaware & Hudson in 1967; became last to operate in U.S.
Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad  4 2
Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...

 
12 2
Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad  2
Lehigh Valley Railroad
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...

 
14
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad
The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was incorporated May 23, 1870. In its earliest days the MKT was commonly referred to as "the K-T", which was its stock exchange symbol; this common designation soon evolved into "the Katy"....

 
4 8
Missouri Pacific Railroad
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...

 
8 29
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...

 
27 Unit 0783 to D&H in 1967 for parts.
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...

 (“Nickel Plate Road”)
11
New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...

 
8 4 6
Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 
10 5
St. Louis Southwestern Railway
St. Louis Southwestern Railway
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply Cotton Belt, was organized on January 15, 1891, although it had its origins in a series of short lines founded in Tyler, Texas, in 1870 that connected northeastern Texas to Arkansas and southeastern...

 (“Cotton Belt”)
2 To Southern Pacific Railroad.
Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

 
24 6 27 7
Southern Railway
Southern Railway (US)
The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...

 
6
Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

 
8 6
Wabash Railroad
Wabash Railroad
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit,...

 
4
São Paulo Railway
São Paulo Railway
São Paulo Railway was a privately owned British railway company in Brazil, which operated the gauge railway from the seaport at Santos via São Paulo to Jundiaí...

, Brazil
3 gauge
Totals 169 39 81 8

Foreign sales

The PA-2 units sold to the 5'–3" (1600 mm) broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...

 Companhia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro of São Paulo State in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 were equipped with a bar pilot
Pilot (locomotive)
In railroading, the pilot is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles from the track that might otherwise derail the train. In some countries it is also called cowcatcher or cattle catcher....

 and solid horizontal steel pilot beam. One of these locomotives survives.

Surviving examples

Five PA units survive.

One is from the order of three broad gauge units sold to Companhia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro in Brazil.

Four (#16-#19) are of the ex-Santa Fe group of locomotives purchased by the Delaware & Hudson
Delaware and Hudson Railway
The Delaware and Hudson Railway is a railroad that operates in the northeastern United States. Since 1991 it has been a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, although CPR has assumed all operations and the D&H does not maintain any locomotives or rolling stock.It was formerly an important...

 in 1967. In 1974-1975, these four units were rebuilt for the D&H by Morrison-Knudsen
Washington Group International
Washington Group International was an American corporation which provided integrated engineering, construction and management services to businesses and governments around the world. Based in Boise, Idaho, it had approximately 25,000 employees working in over 40 states and more than 30 countries...

 and equipped with ALCO 251V12 engines. During this rebuilding the units were given the designation PA-4 by MK. These locomotives were later sold to Mexico.

Of the D&H units, two are in the United States, #16 and #18. These units returned to the U.S. in 2000 after years of storage at Empalme
Empalme
Founded in 1905, Empalme is a city surrounded by a municipality located on the south-central coast of the Mexican state of Sonora. According to the 2005 census the population of the city was 40,630 inhabitants, while the municipality, which has an area of 708.53 km² , reported 50,663...

, Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. The #16, which was heavily damaged in a derailment while in Mexico, was planned to be cosmetically restored into its AT&SF "Warbonnet
Warbonnet
Warbonnet may refer to:* War bonnet, a military decoration developed by the Plains Indians* Warbonnet , a locomotive paint scheme...

" colors for the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

. This unit was acquired by the Museum of the American Railroad
Museum of the American Railroad
The Museum of the American Railroad, formerly known as the Age of Steam Railroad Museum, is located at 1105 Washington Street in Fair Park, Dallas, Texas. The museum has a large collection of steam, diesel and passenger railroad equipment...

 and transported to the museum's new site in Frisco, Texas in April, 2011.

The #18 is privately owned by Doyle McCormack
Doyle McCormack
Doyle L. McCormack is a railroad preservationist, and is well-known among the railfan community.McCormack is a retired Union Pacific locomotive engineer who is now the president of the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, an organization working to build a permanent home for the steam locomotives...

 and is being restored to operating condition as Nickel Plate Road
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...

 #190
Nickel Plate Road 190
Nickel Plate Road #190 is a Morrison-Knudsen PA4 rebuilt from an ALCO PA in 1975. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway #62L was a PA1, sold to the Delaware and Hudson Railway in December 1967. The D&H renumbered it 18 and sent it to Morrison-Knudsen for rebuilding in 1975.In 1978, this locomotive...

. The restored locomotive recreates the first locomotive in which McCormack, whose father worked for the Nickel Plate Road, got to ride. It is fitted with a more modern Montreal Locomotive Works
Montreal Locomotive Works
Montreal Locomotive Works was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883–1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company...

 251V12 diesel prime mover removed from a wrecked former BC Rail M420B.

The #18/#190 is part of an eclectic roster of locomotives and rolling stock owned by the city of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 and by several private individuals and organizations. It is currently undergoing restoration in the roundhouse
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...

 annex at the former Southern Pacific rail yard in the Brooklyn neighborhood in southeast Portland. It is due to relocate in January 2012 to a new restoration facility and interpretive center planned in southeast Portland adjacent to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is a museum located in Portland, Oregon, United States. It contains two auditoriums, including an IMAX Dome theatre, and a variety of hands-on permanent exhibits focused on natural sciences, industry, and technology...

 (OMSI).

The other two survivors, #17 and #19, rest side by side at the National Museum of Mexican Railroads (Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos) in Puebla, Puebla
Puebla, Puebla
The city and municipality of Puebla is the capital of the state of Puebla, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico. Being a planned city, it is located to the east of Mexico City and west of Mexico's main port, Veracruz, on the main route between the two.The city was founded...

. At least one Mexican unit is intact, but hasn't run in years. Unit DH-17 (former D&H #17) was painted in the classic Southern Pacific Daylight
Coast Daylight (SP)
Coast Daylight was a passenger train originally run by the Southern Pacific Railroad between the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line...

colors, but as of February 2010 had been painted over in primer.

External links

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