Back when Alco had many plants, when a customer placed an order, did they do so with headquarters, who then decided which plant it was to be produced at? And how did they decide which one? Did each plant bid on a project, or maybe orders were given to which ever needed the work most, or maybe which ever shop was physically closest to the customer? Or maybe orders were given to who ever had the best expertise for the type of locomotive being made (IE. Cooke building most of Alco's small industrial engines).
Or did a customer go directly to their satellite plant of choice to place the order, bypassing headquarters?
Wow! That's a tough question! I know that the Southern Railway bought a lot of locomotives from ALCO's Richmond, Virginia works, probably for a variety of reasons. Ease of delivery, outstanding quality, (the PS-4 locomotives came from the Richmond works), and probably a desire to give the "home folks" the business as opposed to those "day-um Yankees". Memories of the "War for Southern Independance" were still pretty strong in the early years of the 20th Century, and how!
The old Richmond shop buildings are still there, I've seen them a number of times, although converted to other industrial use. Don't bother making a "pilgrimage" to see them though, if you didn't know they were the old Richmond Locomotive Works you'd never tell just by looking at them.
Alcos? I just saw an old movie called "Human Desire" where Glen Ford drives an FA ( I think) Also with Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford and Edgar Buchanan. Directed by Fritz Lang, it's a film noir with trains! Is that "Trenton Makes, the World Takes" sign still there? It was seen in the film
Yes, as of 2011 the "Trenton Makes, the World Takes" was still there.
ChrisBIGDoer Or maybe orders were given to who ever had the best expertise for the type of locomotive being made (IE. Cooke building most of Alco's small industrial engines).
Or maybe orders were given to who ever had the best expertise for the type of locomotive being made (IE. Cooke building most of Alco's small industrial engines).
It seems to me I read recently that that was the case - different plants specialized in different types of engines, so Alco would assign it to the one best suited to fill the order. However, right now I can't remember where I read it...."Classic Trains" special issue on the 4-8-4s perhaps??
That's the downside of subscribing to several train magazines, and belonging to several railroad historical societies; it can be hard to keep everything categorized in my head!!
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