ALCO RSD-12

ALCO RSD-12
Ferrocarril del Pacifico 504 in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, in March 1979
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderAmerican Locomotive Company
Montreal Locomotive Works
ModelRSD-12
Build dateApril 1956 – March 1963
Total produced171
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • AARC-C
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Prime moverAlco 251B
Engine typeV12 Four-stroke diesel
AspirationTurbocharged
Cylinders12
Performance figures
Power output1,800 hp (1,300 kW)

The ALCO RSD-12 was a C-C diesel-electric locomotive rated at 1,800 horsepower (1.34 MW). 171 locomotives were produced —Used in much the same manner as its four-axle counterpart, the ALCO RS-11, though the six-motor design allowed better tractive effort at lower speeds.

Original buyers

Railroad Quantity Road numbers Notes
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 10 6700–6709 Renumbered 2007–2016, 2014 and 2016 were sold to Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, then were purchased by Utah Railway on February 23, 1976.
Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad 4 1801–1804
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (“Nickel Plate Road”) 9 325–333 to Norfolk and Western Railway 2325-2333 in 1964
Pennsylvania Railroad 25 8655–8679 to Penn Central 6855–6879; then to Conrail 1101-1123 and rebuilt into Alco mt6. 14 went to Norfolk Southern and 9 to CSX 1006-1016 with two retired upon Conrail purchase. All retired in 2020.
Southern Pacific Company 21 7000–7020 Renumbered 2950–2970, rebuilt from RSD-5 locomotives with a new motor and carbody, retaining generators and bogeys[1][2]
Ferrocarril del Pacífico 19 1502–1508, 509–520
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México 73 7400–7472
Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (Brazil) 10 3501–3510 Built by MLW, 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in); to RFFSA pt:ALCo RSD-12
Total 171

Preservation

ALCO RSD-12 Lake Superior & Ishpeming RR No. 1804 resting in a shipyard in Escanaba Michigan in 2010.


• Nickel Plate Road #329 is preserved at a museum in Bellevue, Ohio.

• Southern Pacific #2954 and #2958 are preserved at the Southern California Railroad Museum in Perris, California. Both of these units are rebuilt from RSD-5s.

• Paperton Junction Southern (ex-SP #2962) is preserved at the Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

• Lake Superior & Ishpeming #1804 partially survives in a shipyard in Escanaba, Michigan. It has no prime mover.

See also

References

  1. ^ Percy, Richard. "Southern Pacific RSD-12 Info Page." Obtained 5/8/18.
  2. ^ "Southern Pacific RSD5 Info Page". espee.railfan.net. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
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