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 Alco's "Black Maria" #1500A is shown during construction. (Image Courtesy of Alco Historic Photos : R. Craig collection) |
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Alco management authorized the development of a new V12-241, 1500-hp engine and three
four-axle freight cabs (A-B-A) in 1940. Due to several war-time delays, the project was
not completed until 1945. Annoyed at the slow progress of the 241-engine program, managers
decided the
Alco fielded a second A-B-A 4500-hp set of four-axle freight cabs (DL204 & DL205) early in
the same year. Dubbed the "Super 1500s" by Alco marketers, the new demonstrators carried
road numbers #1500-1501-1502. They donned the colors of Gulf Mobile & Ohio after their tour
of a few Eastern U.S. railroads and became GM&O #700-B1-701. The southern-based railroad
received twenty-seven additional DL204s (FAs) and four DL205 (FBs) during 1946.
The first FA1/FB1s (D208/DL209s) left the Schenectady, NY plant in November 1946; they also
went to the GM&O. A total of early seven-hundred 1500/1600-hp Alco freight motors were delivered
to owners during the following four years, which saw production close in August. From the very
beginning, the FA/B-1 had been designed as a single dimension locomotive--to haul freight; as a
consequence, it lacked the versatility that some railroads had found in EMD’s F-unit. It was this
issue of flexibility (or lack of it) that led to the introduction of the FA/FB-2 (or DL-212/213)
by Alco-GE in the latter part of 1950. By October of 1950, Alco was ready to release the initial
order for the new 1600-hp FA2/FB2s; the two-foot longer model were delivered to the Erie Railroad
as #736A-B-C-D. (Note: This was the first time that Alco used the term
It is generally believed that there was never a FA3 model, and that is accurate. However,
the Alco-GE team built in 1953 a two-unit DL212 order for Pakistan; Alco documents show them
as six-axle FCA3s. Additionally in 1955, FA/Bs Nos. 583 and 594 returned to Schenectady where
they underwent several major mechanical changes, chief among the many upgrades was the
installation of a new 1800-horsepower V-12 251 engine. For nearly a year the pair of prototype
"FA-3s" served as rolling test beds and enabled Alco product development engineers to assess
the new power plant's performance and readiness to replace the 244 engine. Alco re-installed
the V12 244 prime movers in the two carbodies, which remained on the roster for another seven
years.
An 1800-hp freight cab was offered by Alco in 1955, but there was no interest in new freight
cabs as railroads had opted for highly flexible road-switchers. Montreal Locomotive Work (an
Alco subsidiary) produced 46 FPA4/FPB4s (DL218/DL219s) during 1958 for the Canadian National
railroad; the 1800-hp passenger cab locomotives carried road numbers #6760 to 6793, with the
cabless boosters numbered #6860 to 6871.
It should be noted that a mere increase in horsepower did not generate a corresponding change
in model number. For example, when Alco raised the horsepower output of the 244 engine in 1949
from 1500 to 1600, the specification number for the model changed only slightly, going from
DL-208B/209B to DL-208C/209C. However, when Schenectady made a major switch in the electric
transmission late in 1950 by going from GE's GT564 main generator to the improved GT581, an
entirely new series, the FA-2 (DL-212/213) was created. Additionally, in 1958 when MLW began
construction of Alco-designed FPA/B-4s which employed the V-type-12 cylinder 251 engine,
another model series evolved, the DL-218/219.
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| Alco FA (DL204) & FB (DL205) | |
Image courtesy of Alco Historic Photos (R. Craig collection) |
GM&O #727 at xxxxx at Alco plant (xxxxxxxxxx) |
| Alco FA #1500 was one of two DL-204s that were built early in 1946 for the GM&O. Prior to being shipped to the new owner, the pair of four-axle freight cabs were mated to a cabless booster (DL-205) to form an A-B-A demonstrator set. The trio wore a solid dark gray with silver and red accent stripes. Delivered to the GM&O in early 1947, they were painted in the owner's standard corporate attire of maroon and red. Subsequent FA1s (DL208s) and FA2s (DL212s) lacked the curved rain-water gutters; the distinctive headlight grille was repositioned to the top of the nose. | |
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| Alco FA1 (DL208) & FB1 (DL209) | |
New Haven #0426 at Boston, MA (George Turnbull photo; R. Craig coll.) |
Tennessee Central #801A at Alco plant (Image courtesy of Bob's photos) |
| GM&O DR64-2000s #280 & 281 were rare beasts; only 29 of the ten-axle DR64-2000 passenger locomotives were produced by Baldwin. Delivered in 1947, the "Baby-faced" locomotives were built by the manufacturing center at Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Baldwin also produced a dual-cab version of the model DRX6-4-2000. | |
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| Alco FA2/FPA2 (DL212) & FB2/FPB2 (DL213) | |
Alco FA2 Demonstrators at Cajon,CA (Image courtesy of Bob's photo) |
Canadian Pacific #4095 at Toronto< Ont. (R. Craig photo) |
Many observers felt Alco's FA1 weakness was lack of flexibility, such as a steam-generator
for passenger service. Alco responded to this issue by elongating the FA2's car-body by two
feet and providing a 2750 lbs/hr boiler; a total of xx FPA2s were built. Alco #1602 above
leads a 6400-hp FA-2 demonstrator team; dubbed the Western Demonstratorsthe 1602A-B-B-A set was sold to the Great Northern railroad. Canadian Pacific, Baltimore & Ohio, Missouri Pacific and CN were the only railroads to own both FA-2 and FPA2 locomotives. | |
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| Alco FCA3 (DL212) & FA4 (DL212A) | |
Pakistan Railways #2093 (Photographer unknown; R. Craig collection) |
Alco 1800-hp FA4 freight cab brochure (R. Craig colletion) |
The six-axle Pakistan FCA3 was clearly one of the more unusal passenger locomotives built
by the Schenectady builder. In some respects, it was the forerunner of Alco's highly successful
low-profile World Locomotive(DL500) which also employed C-C trucks. Another unusual model was the builders 1800-hp FA4, whih was totally ignored by the railroad industry. | |
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| MLW FPA2 (ME1600FA) & FPA4 (DL218) | |
VIA Rail FPA2 #6758 at St. Thomas, Ont. (Jim Koglin photo; R. Craig coll.) |
Canadian National FPA4 #6762 at Windsor, Ont. (R. Craig photo) |
| Alco's MLW subsidiary built two for-axle passenger models during the 1950s: FPA2 (#675x-675x) and FPA4 (#6760-6793). Canadian National was the original purchaser of both passeger-cab types. CN had the FPA2s re-powered early in the 1960s with new 1800-hp Dominion-built V12-251 engines. An 1800-hp ex-CN #6758 is shown here; the lack of a second set of radiator shutters differentiates the unit from fellow stablemate FPA4 #6762. | |
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| * * * Notes & Credits * * * | |
Sources:
Original upload: 1 October 2020 Additional Contributors: | |