ALCO RS-11

The ALCO RS-11 was a class of B-B diesel-electric road switchers rated at 1,800 horsepower, built by ALCO and by its Montreal Locomotive Works subsidiary, 433 units in all. The first three were produced in February 1956 as a demonstrator set and were the first high-horsepower road switcher ALCO built, meant to replace the very popular RS-3 and to answer the EMD GP9. A V12 251B diesel engine gave the turbocharged RS-11 faster acceleration, a higher tractive effort rating and typically lower fuel use than the competition, and it was built in high-nose and low-nose versions. Even so, market acceptance was disappointing against the reputation for reliability that EMD locomotives had made. Montreal Locomotive Works also built 351 nearly identical units as the RS-18 for the Canadian market, and examples survive in Ontario, Yucatan, Connecticut and Illinois.