ALCO RS-11

ALCO RS-11

Company type	Diesel-electric locomotive
Industry	Locomotive manufacturing
Predecessor	ALCO RS-3
Founded	February 1956
Products	Diesel-electric locomotives
Parent	ALCO, Montreal Locomotive Works

The ALCO RS-11 is a diesel-electric locomotive delivering , equipped with a B-B wheel configuration mounted on two-axle trucks. Produced by ALCO (327 units) and Montreal Locomotive Works (99 units), the total number manufactured reached 433.

Development

ALCO launched the initial RS-11 models in February 1956 under the designation DL-701, marking its debut in the realm of high-powered road switchers. Created to succeed the popular ALCO RS-3, this model utilized a turbocharged V12 ALCO 251B engine. The RS-11 was ALCO's competitive answer to Electro-Motive Diesel's leading EMD GP9, offering enhanced acceleration, greater tractive effort, and generally improved fuel economy. It was designed for both freight and passenger service and came in both high-nose and low-nose styles. For Canadian customers, Montreal Locomotive Works produced a nearly identical variant known as the MLW RS-18.

Although the RS-11 featured technical improvements such as increased horsepower and enhanced reliability due to the ALCO 251B engine, it faced challenges in capturing market share against EMD’s established reputation for dependable performance.

Original purchasers

Owner	Quantity	Numbers	Notes
Alco	3	701, 701A, 701B
Carolina and Northwestern Railway	1	11	later became Chicago and Northwestern Railway 4651, subsequently renumbered 4251
Chicago and Northwestern Railway	2	1613, 1624	RS-3 units rebuilt by Alco in 1960 as RS-11s with 251-B engines but retained original RS-3 high short hood.
Delaware and Hudson	12	5000-5011
Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific	15	3600-3614
Erie Mining	15	300-314
Ferrocarril del Pacifico	1	1501	renumbered to 501; later wrecked and retired in 2006.
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México	94	7200-7293
Green Bay and Western	1	309
Lehigh Valley Railroad	4	400-403
Maine Central	1	801
Ministry of Communication and Transportation (Mexico)	4	7123-1 - 7123-4
Missouri Pacific	12	4601-4612
Monongahela Connecting Railroad	1	700
New York, New Haven and Hartford	15	1400-1414
New York Central	9	8000-8008
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad	35	558-577, 850-864
Norfolk and Western	99	308-406
Northern Pacific	18	900-917
Pennsylvania	38	8617-8654
Portland Terminal	1	1082	transferred to Maine Central as 802
Seaboard Air Line	10	100-109	required renumbering to Seaboard Coast Line 1202-1211; later moved to Louisville and Nashville as 950-959
Southern Peru Copper Corp.	5	3-6, 8
Southern Pacific Railroad	34	(5723-5729, 5845-5871)
Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway	3	(400-402)
Total	433

Accidents and incidents

• On September 13, 1963, Southern Pacific locomotive number 5857 collided with a flatbed truck that was being used as an improvised bus transporting 58 migrant farmworkers near Gonzales, California. This tragic accident caused 32 fatalities and 25 injuries, making it the deadliest motor vehicle collision in U.S. history as reported by the National Safety Council.

Preservation

• The Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific locomotive number 3612 is maintained as York-Durham Heritage Railway 3612 at the York–Durham Heritage Railway located in Ontario.
• Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México engine 7282 is conserved at the Yucatán Railroad Museum in Mérida, Yucatán.
• New York, New Haven and Hartford number 1402 is kept on display at the Danbury Railway Museum in Danbury, Connecticut.
• Toledo, Peoria and Western locomotive 400 is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum situated in Union, Illinois.

See also

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

References

• Steinbrenner, Richard T. (2003). The American Locomotive Company: A Centennial Remembrance. On Track Publishers, LLC. ISBN 0-911122-07-9.
• Roster from The Diesel Shop http://www.thedieselshop.us/Alco_RS11.HTML
• Waller, R. (1998). Locomotive Roster: 1976. Conrail Cyclopedia. Retrieved November 22, 2022.