The ALCO RS-11 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive rated at , that rode on two-axle trucks, having a B-B wheel arrangement. This model was built by both Alco (327 units) and Montreal Locomotive Works (99 units). Total production was 433 units. intended to be a replacement for the very popular RS-3 road switcher. Featuring a V-12, 251B diesel engine, the RS-11 was ALCO's answer to EMD's very successful GP9. The turbocharged RS-11 accelerated faster, had a higher tractive effort rating and typically used less fuel than the competition. It was also quite versatile and could be found in heavy haul freight as well as passenger service. It was produced in high-nose and low-nose versions. Montreal Locomotive Works also built 351 nearly identical units, known as the RS-18, for the Canadian market.
While the RS-11 benefited from the increased power and reliability offered with ALCO's new 251B engine, and was arguably a more advanced product than the GP9, its market acceptance was disappointing against the reputation EMD's locomotives had made for superior reliability.
Original purchasers
{| class="wikitable"
! Owner
! Quantity
! Numbers
! Notes
|- align = "center"
|Alco
|3
|701, 701A, 701B
|
|- align = "center"
|Carolina and Northwestern Railway
|1
|11
| to Chicago and Northwestern Railway 4651, later renumbered to 4251
|- align = "center"
|Chicago and Northwestern Railway
|2
|1613, 1624
| RS-3s rebuilt by Alco in March 1960 as RS-11 with a 251-B engine but retained RS-3 high short hood.
|- align = "center"
|Delaware and Hudson
|12
|5000-5011
|
|- align = "center"
|Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific
|15
|3600-3614
|
|- align = "center"
|Erie Mining
|15
|300-314
|
|- align = "center"
|Ferrocarril del Pacifico
|1
|1501
|Later renumbered to 501, wrecked and retired in 2006.
|- align = "center"
|Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México
|94
|7200-7293
|
|- align = "center"
|Green Bay and Western
|1
|309
|
|- align = "center"
|Lehigh Valley Railroad
|4
|400-403
|
|- align = "center"
|Maine Central
|1
|801
|
|- align = "center"
|Ministry of Communication and Transportation (Mexico)
|4
|7123-1 - 7123-4
|
|- align = "center"
|Missouri Pacific
|12
|4601-4612
|
|- align = "center"
|Monongahela Connecting Railroad
|1
|700
|
|- align = "center"
|New York, New Haven and Hartford
|15
|1400-1414
|
|- align = "center"
|New York Central
|9
|8000-8008
|
|- align = "center"
|New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
|35
|558-577, 850-864
|
|- align = "center"
|Norfolk and Western
|99
|308-406
|
|- align = "center"
|Northern Pacific
|18
|900-917
|
|- align = "center"
|Pennsylvania
|38
|8617-8654
|
|- align = "center"
|Portland Terminal
|1
|1082
|to Maine Central 802
|- align = "center"
|Seaboard Air Line
|10
|100-109
| to Seaboard Coast Line 1202-1211, later transferred to Louisville and Nashville 950-959
|- align = "center"
|Southern Peru Copper Corp.
|5
|3-6, 8
|
|- align = "center"
|Southern Pacific Railroad
|34
|5723-5729, 5845-5871
|
|- align = "center"
|Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway
|3
|400-402
|
|- align = "center"
!Total !! 433 !! !!
|}
Accidents and incidents
- On September 13, 1963, Southern Pacific 5857 struck a flatbed truck at a crossing northwest of Gonzales, California. The truck was being used as a makeshift bus and was carrying 58 migrant farmworkers on a return trip after a ten-hour work shift in Salinas. 32 were killed and 25 were injured. The National Safety Council ranked the crash as the deadliest automobile accident in the history of the United States.
Preservation
- Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific 3612 is preserved as York-Durham Heritage Railway 3612 at the York–Durham Heritage Railway in Ontario
- Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México 7282 is preserved at the Yucatán RR Museum in Mérida, Yucatán.
- New York, New Haven and Hartford 1402 is preserved at the Danbury Railway Museum in Danbury, Connecticut
- Toledo, Peoria and Western 400 is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois
See also
- List of ALCO diesel locomotives
- List of MLW diesel locomotives
References
- Roster from The Diesel Shop http://www.thedieselshop.us/Alco_RS11.HTML
- Waller, R. (1998). Locomotive Roster: 1976. Conrail Cyclopedia . Retrieved November 22, 2022, from <nowiki>http://crcyc.railfan.net/locos/misc/rosters/roster-76.html</nowiki>