ALCO RS-2

The ALCO RS-2 was a B-B diesel-electric road switcher of 1,500 to 1,600 horsepower, built by the American Locomotive Company from 1946 to 1950 as an improvement on the RS-1. The main change was a new turbocharged four-stroke V12 ALCO 244 engine in place of the RS-1 engine, together with more rounded bodywork. The 244 proved unreliable and was replaced in less than ten years by the ALCO 251. Of the 377 built, 368 came from ALCO and nine from its Montreal Locomotive Works subsidiary, primarily for American and Canadian customers. ALCO discontinued the model in 1950 in favour of the very similar and more popular RS-3. The Delaware and Hudson rebuilt thirteen of its RS-2s for passenger service with a steam generator and water tank, and a few survive, among them Kennecott Copper 908 at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California.