ALCO RSD-4

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ALCO RSD-4
ALCO RSD-4
Kennecott Copper Corporation locomotive 201 on display at Snoqualmie Depot, Snoqualmie, Washington
Power type Diesel-electric
Builder ALCO
Model RSD-4 (Specification E1663)
Build date 1951–1952
Total production 36
AAR wheel arr. C-C
Gauge ft 8½ in (1,435 mm)
Prime mover Alco 244
Displacement 8,016 cu in (131.36 l)
Cylinders V12
Cylinder size 9 in × 10.5 in (229 mm × 267 mm)
Power output 1,600 hp (1.2 MW)
Kennecott Copper Corporation locomotive 201 on display at Snoqualmie Depot, Snoqualmie, Washington.
Kennecott Copper Corporation locomotive 201 on display at Snoqualmie Depot, Snoqualmie, Washington.

The ALCO RSD-4 was a diesel-electric locomotive of the road switcher type rated at 1,600 horsepower (1.2 MW), that rode on three-axle trucks, having an C-C wheel arrangement.

Used in much the same manner as its four-axle counterpart, the ALCO RS-3, though the six-motor design allowed better tractive effort at lower speeds. Due to the inadequate capacity of the main generator, this model was later superseded in production by the ALCO RSD-5

[edit] Original owners

Railroad Quantity Road Numbers Notes
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
10
2100–2109
Chicago and North Western Railway
5
1515–1517, 1619–1620
Central Railroad of New Jersey
14
1601–1614
Kennecott Copper Corporation
1
201 Preserved
Utah Railway
6
300–305
Total 36

[edit] Preserved units

The only ALCO RSD-4 that has escaped the scrapper's torch is Kennecott Copper Corporation #201. As of 2007, it resides in fully restored condition at the Northwest Railway Museum (formerly known as the Puget Sound & Snoqualmie Valley Railway) in Snoqualmie, Washington, wearing a coat of bright orange paint.