The Alco/MLW RS-18 and C424 were among the most reliable and highly regarded diesel locomotives ever built...yet the M630/636 engines were anything but reliable...what went wrong?
Ulrich,
What documentation do you have to make that claim? The RS18 was a 'Canada' only model(basically a RS11 without the 'notches') that resulted in 351 orders between 1956 and 1968. While it was a decent engine for 1956, sales of the RS11/RS18 were poor due to the fact that most railroads has already dieselized(except Canada). That was it marketing 'niche'. In the US, the RS11 failed to generate large orders as most US railroads had dieselized and many had a 'bad taste in their mouth' for Alco products due to the '244' engines issues. The RS11 addressed this issues, but sales lagged far behind EMD for a number of reasons:
The C424 production was 190 units built. MLW built another 92 units after Alco folded. There are no C424's operating on Class 1 railroads that I am aware of. There are still GP30/GP35's(remanufactured) in operation on BNSF, for example. Most mid-60's era locomotives with pure DC electricals were an 'electrical nightmare' with very complex electrical switch gear. Again the EMD GP30/GP35 and GE U25B/U28B sales buried the C424 & C425 in sales.
The M630/M636 and the Alco C630/C636 were very low production units with lots of electrical issues in the control cabinet, and even to things like the traction motor blowers, and the central air intake gear.
Jim Bernier
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Later high HP Alcos 3000hp and up had AC/DC rectifiers like their GE and EMD counterparts. Alco still relied on GE for electrical gear, even after the U-boats hit the rails. That being said, some high HP Alco/MLW centuries are still in freight service 35-40 years after they were built. The Delaware Lackawanna has several C636/M636s. Did any of the late model MLW/Bombardier Alcos built in the 70s/early 80s have any internal Dash-2/Dash-7 style improvements like modular electronics?
Lyon_Wonder Later high HP Alcos 3000hp and up had AC/DC rectifiers like their GE and EMD counterparts. Alco still relied on GE for electrical gear, even after the U-boats hit the rails. That being said, some high HP Alco/MLW centuries are still in freight service 35-40 years after they were built. The Delaware Lackawanna has several C636/M636s. Did any of the late model MLW/Bombardier Alcos built in the 70s/early 80s have any internal Dash-2/Dash-7 style improvements like modular electronics?
The Quebec Cartier Railway upgraded the electronics on some of their M636s in the 1990s. They also seemed to get reliable service out of the entire fleet, but then again, they had the radical idea of preventive maintenance. Most roads tended to wait until their locomotives broke and then do the bare minimum to get them out of the shop.
Someone else may be able to comment on what electronics CN's HR616s had when built.
When CP was retiring their M630 and M636 fleet, the alternators were apparently re-used to replace the main generators in the C-424s. Don't think there was much other electrical upgrade there though.
GE may have been reluctant to share the latest technology with a rival - again I have no details apart from a rumour I once heard.
John
Thanks everyone for the responses...Jim, I have no documentation to support my claim that RS-18s/C424s were among the most reliable engines although I recall reading that both CN and CP were happy with their orders of these units. The number od units ordered, although small, was greater than the number of EMD GP30s and GP35s purchased, and that may suggest that Alco/MLW had a more respected brand in the Canadian marketplace.
Furthermore, the first M630/636 locomotives produced were assigned to BC mountain regions..a further sign that great things were expected of these engines...perhaps based on the performance of the earlier units such as the C424.
A recent article in Trains said that the Alco version, the C636, was not very good. Among other things it rocked violently at certain speeds. Either way,I had read that the Century series was simply too little too late to save Alco.
UlrichThanks everyone for the responses...Jim, I have no documentation to support my claim that RS-18s/C424s were among the most reliable engines although I recall reading that both CN and CP were happy with their orders of these units. The number od units ordered, although small, was greater than the number of EMD GP30s and GP35s purchased, and that may suggest that Alco/MLW had a more respected brand in the Canadian marketplace. Furthermore, the first M630/636 locomotives produced were assigned to BC mountain regions..a further sign that great things were expected of these engines...perhaps based on the performance of the earlier units such as the C424.
While working for CP in Toronto in the mid-70s I was told that the RS-18s were the most reliable locomotives in the fleet. I don't know if that covered system-wide or just the experience in the east where the western GP9s and SD40s were rather uncommon visitors. I don't know how the C424 stacked up then but later, as the big MLWs were retired, the C424s were retrofitted with 2nd hand alternators in place of the original generators. That suggests they were also a pretty decent locomotive.
CP tested the C630M against the SD40, and the MLW proved a better puller. At the time there were also reliability issues with their SD40s, so in 1970 the M630 was chosen to power the unit coal trains. Eventually the problems with the SD40s were resolved, and of course the SD40-2s joined the fleet. Meanwhile the longer term experience with the MLWs was not quite so positive.
John.
A few of these units still serve on the Western New York and Pennsylvania. WNYP has two M630s and three M636s. One of each type is currently down for repairs but should return to service before too long. The railroad also has two six axle Alco units. Both are freeze damaged beyond repair, but are useful for parts. Their Alco fleet includes a number of four axle units as well. WNYP seems to want to be an all Alco/MLW line, although they do have a couple of EMD leasers on the property, last I knew.
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