In his Alco book (p.97) John Kirkland complained bitterly about the use of the terms AAR Type A (switcher) and Type B (road) trucks by the railfan community. These have been in general circulation at least since the original Diesel Spotters Guide was published. Mr. Kirkland particularly objected to the reference to the AAR in the name, saying they had no involvement. This seems a bit ingenuous, since he admits it was an AAR subcommittee recommendation in 1949 that forced Alco to drop their own Blunt switcher truck in favor of the Type A. (Alco had of course long used the Type B road truck as standard.)
Mr. Kirkland proposed that instead of AAR a more appropriate name would be GSC since General Steel Castings originated the designs. He did permit the Type A and Type B identification as an acceptable convenience, but insisted that even that came from the fans, not from within the industry.
This leads into my question. Does anyone know the actual origin of the Type A and Type B descriptions? Was it at one time used by GSC, or perhaps internally by Alco? Did Mr. Pinkepank find them used somewhere, and possibly even in association with the AAR?
John
I have to admit that AAR type A and B are the only designations I know of, from the same source, the Diesel Spotters Guide. I wasn't aware General Steel Castings originated the designs, just that they manufactured them. I believe several different types of trucks have been made by them.
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