The ALCO RS-11 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive rated at , that rode on two-axle trucks, having a B-B wheel arrangement. This model was built by both Alco (327 units) and Montreal Locomotive Works (99 units). Total production was 433 units.
Development The first three RS-11s were produced by ALCO in February 1956 as a demonstrator set. This locomotive, classified by ALCO as model DL-701, was their first high-horsepower road switcher, intended to be a replacement for the very popular RS-3 road switcher. Featuring a V-12, 251B diesel engine, the RS-11 was ALCO's answer to EMD's very successful GP9. The turbocharged RS-11 accelerated faster, had a higher tractive effort rating and typically used less fuel than the competition. It was also quite versatile and could be found in heavy haul freight as well as passenger service. It was produced in high-nose and low-nose versions. Montreal Locomotive Works also built 351 nearly identical units, known as the RS-18, for the Canadian market.
While the RS-11 benefited from the increased power and reliability offered with ALCO's new 251B engine, and was arguably a more advanced product than the GP9, its market acceptance was disappointing against the reputation EMD's locomotives had made for superior reliability.
Original purchasers Owner Quantity Numbers NotesAlco3701, 701A, 701BCarolina and Northwestern Railway111 to Chicago and Northwestern Railway 4651, later renumbered to 4251https://utahrails.net/cnw/cnw07.php#rs11_4251Chicago and Northwestern Railway21613, 1624 RS-3s rebuilt by Alco in March 1960 as RS-11 with a 251-B engine but retained RS-3 high short hood.Delaware and Hudson125000-5011Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific153600-3614Erie Mining15300-314Ferrocarril del Pacifico11501 Later renumbered to 501, wrecked and retired in 2006.Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México94 7200-7293 Green Bay and Western1309Lehigh Valley Railroad4400-403Maine Central1801Ministry of Communication and Transportation (Mexico)47123-1 - 7123-4Missouri Pacific124601-4612Monongahela Connecting Railroad 1700New York, New Haven and Hartford151400-1414 New York Central98000-8008 New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad35558-577, 850-864 Norfolk and Western99308-406 Northern Pacific18900-917 Pennsylvania388617-8654 Portland Terminal 11082to Maine Central 802Seaboard Air Line 10100-109 to Seaboard Coast Line 1202-1211, later transferred to Louisville and Nashville 950-959https://www.thedieselshop.us/L&Nroster.HTML#:~:text=Alco%20RS11,SAL%20100%2D109Southern Peru Copper Corp.53-6, 8Southern Pacific Railroad345723-5729, 5845-5871Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway3400-402Total 433
Accidents and incidents On September 13, 1963, Southern Pacific 5857 struck a flatbed truck at a crossing northwest of Gonzales, California. The truck was being used as a makeshift bus and was carrying 58 migrant farmworkers on a return trip after a ten-hour work shift in Salinas. 32 were killed and 25 were injured. The National Safety Council ranked the crash as the deadliest automobile accident in the history of the United States.
Preservation Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific 3612 is preserved as York-Durham Heritage Railway 3612 at the York–Durham Heritage Railway in Ontario Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México 7282 is preserved at the Yucatán RR Museum in Mérida, Yucatán. New York, New Haven and Hartford 1402 is preserved at the Danbury Railway Museum in Danbury, Connecticut Toledo, Peoria and Western 400 is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois
See also List of ALCO diesel locomotives List of MLW diesel locomotives
References
Roster from The Diesel Shop http://www.thedieselshop.us/Alco_RS11.HTML Waller, R. (1998). Locomotive Roster: 1976. Conrail Cyclopedia . Retrieved November 22, 2022, from http://crcyc.railfan.net/locos/misc/rosters/roster-76.html