Thank you! Great info. I have to say I enjoyed the segment where the engine hit the crossing bar. I very recently fell in love with the Alcos. Thanks again!
This was a good watch. Onward to part 2! I'm picking up an Atlas RS1 for my HO scale shortline so I wanted to immerse myself in knowledge. Also my town's railroad, the Arcade & Attica, uses an Alco 2-8-0 steam locomotive for tourist excursion trains!
The BL2, like the E & F covered wagons, does have an internal passageway for getting between the cab and end platforms. And, like those other units, it's zero fun walking through that confined space with the engine idling, nevermind at notch 8! Interestingly, EMD built the NW5 around the same time as they were designing the BL2. I have to wonder if the BL2 therefore wasn't because EMD couldn't do a proper road switcher, but because the NW5 frame couldn't support a 1500hp engine. The NW5 was an NW2 switcher with a stretched frame, road trucks, and a short hood behind the cab for a steam generator.
I really like your alco series of videos I especially like how you put the technical development in the context of a continuously evolving competitive and socio-economic background, The only suggestion I have is that you learn how to correctly pronounce ‘violá.’
Excellent video. I wish I had seen this first up, since this is, the first one in the series. I didn't know EMD made a turkey with its attempt at a switcher. 😆 You're right, it is something they would rather forget. But ALCO itself was going to run into trouble as shown in the rest of this series. What a shame, it certainly had a terrible impact on ALCO's future. As one OP said in the comment section of one video, the S3 with the 244 prime mover, killed the company. He was right.
The steam railroad companies would build locomotives to order. EMD would build a standard engine and you got what they made you and that was it. Just like with a lot of vehicles at that time you could order them with variations that you wanted. Like with motorcycles you could get different Transmissions other than standard and as it came down the line your bike got the parts that you requested and not the standard parts. When you just make one version of one engine and you crank them out like potato chips then you get economy of scale. Any of the railroads that went to the so-called minority Builders went there with cash in hand because the builders could not Finance their locomotive purchases the way General Electric and General Motors could.
Thealco Road switchers were all requisition by the military and the Mrs one was sent to Iran and became the diesel that saved Russia pulling trains over the mountains to supply the Russians in their fight against the Nazis.
Charles Wilson never said "What's good for GM is good for America." He actually said "I always thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors, and vice versa" when Senator Robert Hendrickson of New Jersey asked why he hadn't sold his GM stock when President Eisenhower nominated him to be Secretary of Defense in 1953. Wilson was answering a question about his own potential conflicts of interest, it had nothing to do with supposed GM arrogance. The reality is Alco was willing to build what Rock Island wanted and EMC was not. You don't have to gin up a fake good-guy/bad-guy narrative to tell that story.
good s***! Quite the reasearch and compilation job to do this. Send me a message through here and we'll connect to work something out RE my 211/Hammerhead video
I loved the analysis of diesel engine development. The model railroad layout also shows the maxim that you can never have enough HO trains.
This is an absolute Fabulous Video- still watching and just have too say THANKS GREAT JOB 👍👍🤗😎
Thanks!
Very informative 👍 Thank You . . . Brian
Thank you! Great info. I have to say I enjoyed the segment where the engine hit the crossing bar. I very recently fell in love with the Alcos. Thanks again!
The nearest tourist railroad to my home, which is the North Alabama Railroad museum has an RSD-1
Speaking of Alcos, I have created my LEGO ALCO MRS-1 Diesel Locomotive.
Great video
great video. looking forward to your take on the RS3 and GP7.
Thanks!
This was a good watch. Onward to part 2! I'm picking up an Atlas RS1 for my HO scale shortline so I wanted to immerse myself in knowledge. Also my town's railroad, the Arcade & Attica, uses an Alco 2-8-0 steam locomotive for tourist excursion trains!
Southern Railroad love the RS 1, RS 2, RS 3, and RS 11. They love FT, F3, F7, FP7and E, PA, DL units too.
I'm an EMD guy but the BL1. it's real bad.Although I was looking to buy a Monon one. Great content👍
Great video. I love you documentary series. Can you do a video track plan of your layout?
The BL2, like the E & F covered wagons, does have an internal passageway for getting between the cab and end platforms. And, like those other units, it's zero fun walking through that confined space with the engine idling, nevermind at notch 8!
Interestingly, EMD built the NW5 around the same time as they were designing the BL2. I have to wonder if the BL2 therefore wasn't because EMD couldn't do a proper road switcher, but because the NW5 frame couldn't support a 1500hp engine. The NW5 was an NW2 switcher with a stretched frame, road trucks, and a short hood behind the cab for a steam generator.
Good video. Strange looking BL2. I remember when Life Like starting advertising them. As a kid I knew they were not very useful as switchers.
You can walk through the engine compartment and the nose section of the BL2 to get from the front to the back without getting off.
Cool!
From one "ALCO-holic" to another.
I really like your alco series of videos I especially like how you put the technical development in the context of a continuously evolving competitive and socio-economic background,
The only suggestion I have is that you learn how to correctly pronounce ‘violá.’
11:54 let my guess, that said journalist is Jeremy Clarkson
Excellent video. I wish I had seen this first up, since this is, the first one in the series. I didn't know EMD made a turkey with its attempt at a switcher. 😆 You're right, it is something they would rather forget. But ALCO itself was going to run into trouble as shown in the rest of this series. What a shame, it certainly had a terrible impact on ALCO's future. As one OP said in the comment section of one video, the S3 with the 244 prime mover, killed the company. He was right.
The steam railroad companies would build locomotives to order. EMD would build a standard engine and you got what they made you and that was it. Just like with a lot of vehicles at that time you could order them with variations that you wanted. Like with motorcycles you could get different Transmissions other than standard and as it came down the line your bike got the parts that you requested and not the standard parts. When you just make one version of one engine and you crank them out like potato chips then you get economy of scale. Any of the railroads that went to the so-called minority Builders went there with cash in hand because the builders could not Finance their locomotive purchases the way General Electric and General Motors could.
I’m actually going to make a model of an 8600 series ALCo rsd-1 out of an Ho Atlas RS-1. Does anyone have any recommendations or pointers?
Does the ALCO have soot?
*Of course. It’s an ALCO!*
My talk show
Thealco Road switchers were all requisition by the military and the Mrs one was sent to Iran and became the diesel that saved Russia pulling trains over the mountains to supply the Russians in their fight against the Nazis.
5:26 "And Viola"
Charles Wilson never said "What's good for GM is good for America." He actually said "I always thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors, and vice versa" when Senator Robert Hendrickson of New Jersey asked why he hadn't sold his GM stock when President Eisenhower nominated him to be Secretary of Defense in 1953. Wilson was answering a question about his own potential conflicts of interest, it had nothing to do with supposed GM arrogance. The reality is Alco was willing to build what Rock Island wanted and EMC was not. You don't have to gin up a fake good-guy/bad-guy narrative to tell that story.
good s***! Quite the reasearch and compilation job to do this. Send me a message through here and we'll connect to work something out RE my 211/Hammerhead video
Great video