I always appreciate you doing all of the research so I don't have to. The RS units are an absolute favorite of mine, despite the real world flaws they may have had. They are just some of the best ascetically pleasing diesels ever produced. As I have said on many videos of this nature, the obvious control over the railroads by this government during and after WWll was the beginning of the end and the eventual monopolization that we see today, both in the internal personnel of manufactures and the unfortunate railroad companies who could not withstand constant failure and tax fraud instituted by the same government who relied on the same to during the war effort. Some see this as merely the natural order, whereas I see it as purely planned for the eventual outcome. Some call me a conspiracy theorist. An awesome video. Thanks for your efforts!
enjoyed. cost cutting as explained has been the end of many companies. if anyone is interested, alcos are still running in australia. the nswgr 48 class is the star of many australian youtube train videos.
Excellent documentary, Peter! Can't help but wonder what Alco would have been had they not cut basically ALL corners on the 244. I wonder if the limitations placed on them by the war department during WWII played part in that rush.
A few comments. I understand Alco went to mechanically-driven auxiliary systems in the later DL109’s to control costs. The New Haven used the DL109’s nighttime freight service and more of these units might have been purchases if available. John Kirkland wrote several books on early diesels and opined that the 241 engine’s shortcomings could have been corrected in a normal development program but Alco decided to go with the unproven 244 to allow a single diesel singing to compete with EMD’s twin-engine E units. I recall reading that some features of the 241’s found their way into the 251’s. The videos showing crankshaft forging are interesting and come from the Jam Handy film on 1936 Chevrolets called “Master Hands.”
Strikes me as I listen and cross reference to other research, that 244 while a problem child, hauled a LOT of freight all the way into the 1960's. Begs the question did they ever "stabilize" the design? Obviously the 251 was a relatively successful successor in terms of design, although didn't stop the bleeding. Strikes me the more than just the 244 design was the cause of ALCO's demise
Got any more information for the 539T inline 8 engine? That would have provided around 1350hp competing directly with the early 567 V16 versions. I've also heard alco could have pushed the 539T a bit harder by the early 50s and gotten closer to 1200HP out of the I6 or 1600hp out of the I8.
Stopped watching as soon as you said steam loks took a long time to steam up. Those that were in active service were kept at the ready, had a fire going but just below boiling. Steam loks fresh from repair took a while to steam up. And for that matter a lot of railroads let their diesels idle so that could be ready at a moments notice. And no, I’m not a steam bigot. Just want the facts to be correct.
Really interesting, love the classic footage! Thumbs up as always! ✔
I always appreciate you doing all of the research so I don't have to. The RS units are an absolute favorite of mine, despite the real world flaws they may have had. They are just some of the best ascetically pleasing diesels ever produced. As I have said on many videos of this nature, the obvious control over the railroads by this government during and after WWll was the beginning of the end and the eventual monopolization that we see today, both in the internal personnel of manufactures and the unfortunate railroad companies who could not withstand constant failure and tax fraud instituted by the same government who relied on the same to during the war effort. Some see this as merely the natural order, whereas I see it as purely planned for the eventual outcome. Some call me a conspiracy theorist. An awesome video. Thanks for your efforts!
You have a great series. Thanks for all the hard work.
enjoyed. cost cutting as explained has been the end of many companies. if anyone is interested, alcos are still running in australia. the nswgr 48 class is the star of many australian youtube train videos.
Wonderful video. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Dave
Great info.. keep it coming.
Excellent documentary, Peter! Can't help but wonder what Alco would have been had they not cut basically ALL corners on the 244. I wonder if the limitations placed on them by the war department during WWII played part in that rush.
A few comments. I understand Alco went to mechanically-driven auxiliary systems in the later DL109’s to control costs. The New Haven used the DL109’s nighttime freight service and more of these units might have been purchases if available. John Kirkland wrote several books on early diesels and opined that the 241 engine’s shortcomings could have been corrected in a normal development program but Alco decided to go with the unproven 244 to allow a single diesel singing to compete with EMD’s twin-engine E units. I recall reading that some features of the 241’s found their way into the 251’s. The videos showing crankshaft forging are interesting and come from the Jam Handy film on 1936 Chevrolets called “Master Hands.”
Strikes me as I listen and cross reference to other research, that 244 while a problem child, hauled a LOT of freight all the way into the 1960's. Begs the question did they ever "stabilize" the design? Obviously the 251 was a relatively successful successor in terms of design, although didn't stop the bleeding. Strikes me the more than just the 244 design was the cause of ALCO's demise
Got any more information for the 539T inline 8 engine? That would have provided around 1350hp competing directly with the early 567 V16 versions. I've also heard alco could have pushed the 539T a bit harder by the early 50s and gotten closer to 1200HP out of the I6 or 1600hp out of the I8.
probably could have fixed this from the beginning by adding more mount points to the block.
5:42 This is an SW10. While based off older EMD switchers, SW10 was built in the mid-1970s by Union Pacific for its own use, not by EMD
Rebuilt not built from scratch
52:08 that thing is CURSED
Happy new 2025 alco guy.doing mu favorite engine with the worst engines in history. Butt alot of them are still earning their keep.
Still mispronouncing Ingersoll Rand. Ing ur soll Rand.
Stopped watching as soon as you said steam loks took a long time to steam up. Those that were in active service were kept at the ready, had a fire going but just below boiling. Steam loks fresh from repair took a while to steam up. And for that matter a lot of railroads let their diesels idle so that could be ready at a moments notice. And no, I’m not a steam bigot. Just want the facts to be correct.