ALCO RSD-12

ALCO RSD-12
Ferrocarril del Pacifico 504 in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, in March 1979
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder American Locomotive Company Montreal Locomotive Works Model RSD-12 Build date April 1956 – March 1963 Total produced 171
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR C-C Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Prime mover Alco 251B Engine type V12 Four-stroke diesel Aspiration Turbocharged Cylinders 12
Performance figures Power output 1,800 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
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

• List of ALCO diesel locomotives
• List of MLW diesel locomotives

References

• Komanesky, John et al. The Diesel Shop Archived 2008-06-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 3, 2008
• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 257–258. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.

External links

• Media related to ALCO RSD-12 locomotives at Wikimedia Commons