It was built in August, 1951 using an early six-cylinder 251 engine rated at 800 horsepower (600 kW) and RS-3 subassemblies in its construction. It rode on two-axle trucks with a B-B wheel arrangement, and was the first ALCO switcher with a front radiator opening. This one-of-a-kind unit spent its time at the Niskayuna test facility, then at Schenectady as a shop switcher (#6). It was scrapped in the late 1950s.
