I read where the ALCO RS1 was the diesel locomotive with the longest production run, from 1940 to 1961. Why would that be, that the RS! was kept in production, when some more advanced models were certainly being produced? Any guess which diesel locomotive had the second longest production run? GP? SD40? S2? F9?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
If the customers want to buy it....you will build it.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Methinks the WWII "War Production Board" had something to do with it.
The RS1 was a longer S2 switcher with road trucks under it. The short hood could house a S/G. These were built at the request of the Rock Island. The 539 power plant was rock solid, but really not good for a road unit((the hp/weight ratio was not good for a road unit, as Alco found out with the DL109)). Alco did not really change the power plant of their switchers until the late 50's, and the last RS1's went to GTW, IIRC. None of the EMD's really lasted in long production runs(EMD was selling fast and new models were produced(The GP7 production was from 1949-53) Maybe the SD40-2(1972-1980??) was a good choice. The E9 lasted from 1954 to about 1963 when the last one was built). I think the RS1 may well hold the longest production run total. Why Alco did not replace the power plant with a 251, it something that no one has ever explained. The EMD F9 was rather short lived - F's were too expensive for freight service and by 1957, the orders were for GP9's. The SD40 was a 1966-1971 locomotive. The Alco S2 has a good production run(10 years) and the follow-on mondel(S4) was produced another11 years) So, the S2/S4 and the RS1 were almost identical in terms of productionrun length(the S4 model was due to as change in trucks from the S2). EMD's SW1 switcher was produced from 1938 to 1953(with no production during WWII).
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Second longest would probably be the SD40-2, 1972 - 1986 if you limit it to straight SD40-2s, if you allow the CP SD40-2Fs to count then it would run 1972 - 1988.
In the last six years of the RS1 production run, they were produced in only two years, with only two orders, six for NdeM (Nacional de Mexico) and the pair for GTW in 1961 to end production. The GTW pair were bought as passenger station switchers and so it was desired that they have steam generators to heat the passenger cars. GTW was happy with their Alco switchers, so the RS1s were the result.
Me, the Electro-Motive Division hater (General Motors killed the trolley cars, and that's the truth! I have never forgiven them!), thinks the SD40-2, and the GP38-2, will be around for a long time. With Electro-Motive Diesel (Canada) coming out with a Tier III emissions upgrade kit, those rigs will go on for quite a while. They are ubiquitous in BNSF yard service and some of the SD40-2s still haul manifest trains. Many roads used RS-1s, and some still do. Myself, I liked the RS-3s that NYC had. It's tough to get old!
Hays
BNSFwatcher Me, the Electro-Motive Division hater (General Motors killed the trolley cars, and that's the truth! I have never forgiven them!), thinks the SD40-2, and the GP38-2, will be around for a long time. With Electro-Motive Diesel (Canada) coming out with a Tier III emissions upgrade kit, those rigs will go on for quite a while. They are ubiquitous in BNSF yard service and some of the SD40-2s still haul manifest trains. Many roads used RS-1s, and some still do. Myself, I liked the RS-3s that NYC had. It's tough to get old! Hays
....GM is far from my favorite large American Corporation these days but the fact is they fired the Coup de Grace into the head of an interurban system that was already twitching in it's death throws...and that's the truth........
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
Me, I didn't mention the 'Interurbans'. They kind'a faded away with the advent of the automobile. The 'trolleys/street-cars' were murdered by GM, and their cohorts (Firestone, Standard Oil of California, etc.) and were even convicted of that in court, with a slap-on-the-wrist fine ($1,000?). Yar! There were lots of "deniers" out there, but maybe not as many when they once owned high-valued GM stock, all of which was given to the UAW. Now, the trolleys/street-cars are experiencing a resurgence. I love it! Here's a "Shovel Ready" project: dig up the old trolley tracks, from under 8" of asphalt, in your city. They are probably still servicable! Clean up the Belgian blocks the streets were paved with. Very labor-intensive, even if you have to import labor - not the kind of work unemployed "Americans" want! Sell your stinky GM (and foreign) buses to a third-world country. Keep your trolley buses, if you got 'em. Life can be good!!!
The alleged streetcar conspiracy has long been proven to be so much organic fertilizer since it only involved properties operated by National City Lines. It does nothing to explain the demise of streetcars on operations that were not NCL properties, such as Chicago, or the situation in New York City where Mayor La Guardia was openly hostile to continued streetcar operations.
Modern light rail operations are closer in nature to rapid transit than streetcar. Most of them operate primarily on private rights of way with designated stations with little to no street operation with stops at every intersection.
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