The ALCO RS-2 is a 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.

ALCO discontinued the RS-2 in 1950 in favor of the very similar RS-3, which was more popular. Several examples have been preserved.

Design and development The RS-2 was a further development of the road switcher concept inaugurated with the RS-1. Externally, the RS-2 bodywork was more rounded. A more significant change was the switch from the RS-1's ALCO 539T engine to the ALCO 244, adding horsepower to better handle heavy road service. The new engine was a turbocharged four-stroke V12 diesel engine with a bore and stroke developing 1,500 (later 1,600) hp at 1,000 rpm. Compared to the 539, it had a smaller cylinder and higher cylinder speed. Production of the RS-2 was delayed several months while ALCO worked out the new four-pipe divided low-rise manifold for the GE constant-pressure RD-1 turbocharger. The 244 engine was not a reliable design, however, and was replaced in less than ten years by the ALCO 251 engine.

History A total of 377 RS-2s were produced: 368 by the American Locomotive Company and nine by ALCO subsidiary Montreal Locomotive Works in Canada. Eight of the ALCO RS-2s were exported to Canada.

The RS-2 has a single, 12-cylinder, model 244B engine, developing .

Thirty-one locomotives built by Alco between February and May 1950 were powered by a 12-cylinder 244C engine.

ALCO built the RS-2 to compete with EMD, Fairbanks-Morse, and Baldwin Locomotive Works. In 1947, Fairbanks-Morse introduced the H-15-44. Also in that year, Baldwin introduced the DRS-4-4-1500. In the case of ALCO, Fairbanks-Morse, and Baldwin, each company increased the power of an existing locomotive line from , and added more improvements to create new locomotive lines.

EMD, however, kept its competing GP7 at . In 1954, EMD introduced the GP9. It was rated at .

EMD produced 2,734 GP-7s. ALCO/MLW produced 377 RS-2s, and 1,418 RS-3s. Fairbanks-Morse produced 30 H-15-44s, and 296 H-16-44s. Baldwin produced 32 DRS-4-4-1500s, and 127 AS-16s.

The Delaware and Hudson Railway rebuilt 13 of its RS-2s for passenger service, including on the Laurentian. The D&H added a steam generator and water tank.

Original owners ALCO and Montreal Locomotive Works in Canada built 377 locomotives. Cited and mirrored roster

Railroad Quantity Road numbers Manufactured by ALCO American Locomotive Company (demonstrators) 4 1500, 1500:2, 1501, 1600 Alton and Southern Railway 15 28–42 Atlantic and Danville Railway 6 101–106 Belt Railway of Chicago 9 450–458 Birmingham Southern Railroad 1 150 Boston and Maine Railroad 9 1501–1504, 1530–1534 Canadian Pacific Railway 5 8400–8404 Carolina & North-Western Railway 4 1–4 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 2 5500–5501 Chicago and North Western Railway 1 1503 Chicago Great Western Railway 8 50–57 Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad 7 21–27 Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 5 450–454 Danville and Western Railway 2 1–2 Delaware and Hudson Railway 26 4000–4025 Detroit and Mackinac Railway 6 466–469, 4610, 481 Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway 10 800–809 Erie Railroad 19 900–913, 1000–1004 Great Northern Railway 20 200–219 Green Bay and Western Railroad 4 301–304 Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad 14 1501–1514 Kennecott Copper Corporation 9 100–102, 104–107, 902–903 Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad 3 1501–1503 Lehigh and New England Railroad 13 651–663 Lehigh Valley Railroad 5 210–214 Macon, Dublin and Savannah Railroad 3 1700–1702 Maine Central Railroad 5 551–555 Missouri-Illinois Railroad 1 61 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 17 0500–0516 New York Central Railroad 23 8200–8222 Oliver Iron Mining Company 8 1100–1107 Ontario Northland Railway 2 1300–1301 Roberval and Saguenay Railway 1 19 St. Louis and Belleville Electric Railway 1 700 St. Louis-San Francisco Railway 5 550–554 Seaboard Air Line Railroad 29 1600–1628 Southern Railway 30 2101–2130 Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway 3 60–62 Texas and Pacific 1 23 Texas Pacific-Missouri Pacific Terminal Railroad of New Orleans 2 21–22 Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway 7 200–206 Union Pacific Railroad 5 1191–1195 Union Railroad 12 601–612 Western Maryland Railway 5 180–184 Youngstown and Northern Railroad 1 231 Total 368 Manufactured by Montreal Locomotive Works Canadian Pacific Railway 4 8405–8408 Napierville Junction Railway 2 4050–4051 Ontario Northland Railway 2 1302–1303 Roberval and Saguenay Railway 1 20 Total 9

Survivors

Very few RS-2s survive today. Three former Kennecott Copper locomotives are preserved, including Kennecott Copper 908 (former number 104) at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California. KCC 908 once served the mines out of Ely, Nevada along the Nevada Northern Railway. Nevada Northern 105 is at Ely, Nevada, it was formerly the Kennecott Copper 105. Kennecott Copper 103 is at the San Diego Railroad Museum in Campo, California. It is painted as Santa Fe 2098. Another RS-2 is in active service on the Texas State Railroad (rebuilt as an RS-2-CAT). It is the former Union Railroad 608. The first production RS-2, originally sold to the Detroit & Mackinac RR as their number 466, was fully operable in freight service on the Michigan Southern Railroad (1989) until a few years ago. As of September 2005, the 466 was stored out of service near the Michigan Southern's office in White Pigeon, Michigan, it was finally scrapped in December 2011. The former Detroit & Mackinac 469 was sold to Waymore Power and may be restored. The former Elgin Joliet and Eastern 801 is preserved in Jala, Mexico as a Las Encinas SA de CV 801. And MLW built Roberval and Saguenay 20 is at the Canadian Railway Museum.

See also List of ALCO diesel locomotives List of MLW diesel locomotives Baldwin DRS-4-4-1500 - contemporary design by Baldwin EMD GP7 - contemporary design by EMD FM H-15-44 - contemporary design by Fairbanks-Morse

Notes

Footnotes

References

Steinbrenner, Richard T. (2003). The American Locomotive Company: A Centennial Remembrance. On Track Publishers LLC, New Brunswick, NJ. . Chapters IX, X, and XI.