ALCO RS-11

Specifications
Specifications
Configuration:;
• AAR	B-B
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Trucks	AAR type B
Wheel diameter	40 in (1,016 mm)
Minimum curve	21° (274.37 ft or 83.63 m)
Wheelbase	39 ft 4 in (11.99 m)
Length	56 ft 6 in (17.22 m)
Width	10 ft 1+5⁄8 in (3.089 m)
Height	14 ft 5+1⁄8 in (4.397 m)
Loco weight	257,300 lb (116,700 kg)
Fuel capacity	2,000 US gal (7,600 L; 1,700 imp gal)
Prime mover	ALCO 12-251B
RPM range	1,000 rpm max.
Engine type	V12 Four stroke diesel
Aspiration	Turbocharger
Generator	GE GT 581
Traction motors	(4) GE 752
Cylinders	12
Cylinder size	9 in × 10.5 in (229 mm × 267 mm)

Type and origin
Type and origin
Power type	Diesel-electric
Builder	ALCO, MLW
Model	RS-11
Build date	February 1956 to June 1961 (Alco) ; November 1957 to April 1964 (MLW)
Total produced	433

ALCO RS-11
ALCO RS-11
	TPW 400, an RS-11 on display at Illinois Railway Museum, July 16, 2005.
Power type
Type and origin
Power type	Diesel-electric
Builder	ALCO, MLW
Model	RS-11
Build date	February 1956 to June 1961 (Alco) ; November 1957 to April 1964 (MLW)
Total produced	433
Configuration:;
Specifications
Configuration:;
• AAR	B-B
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Trucks	AAR type B
Wheel diameter	40 in (1,016 mm)
Minimum curve	21° (274.37 ft or 83.63 m)
Wheelbase	39 ft 4 in (11.99 m)
Length	56 ft 6 in (17.22 m)
Width	10 ft 1+5⁄8 in (3.089 m)
Height	14 ft 5+1⁄8 in (4.397 m)
Loco weight	257,300 lb (116,700 kg)
Fuel capacity	2,000 US gal (7,600 L; 1,700 imp gal)
Prime mover	ALCO 12-251B
RPM range	1,000 rpm max.
Engine type	V12 Four stroke diesel
Aspiration	Turbocharger
Generator	GE GT 581
Traction motors	(4) GE 752
Cylinders	12
Cylinder size	9 in × 10.5 in (229 mm × 267 mm)
Maximum speed
Performance figures
Maximum speed	70–85 mph (113–137 km/h)
Power output	1,800 hp (1,300 kW)
Tractive effort	64,325 lb (29,177 kg)
Locale
Career
Locale	North America South America

The ALCO RS-11 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive rated at 1,800 hp (1.34 MW), 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.^[1]

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,^[1] intended to be a replacement for the very popular RS-3 road switcher. Featuring a V-12, 1,800 hp (1,300 kW) 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.^[2]

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^[3]	Quantity	Numbers	Notes
Alco	3	701, 701A, 701B
Carolina and Northwestern Railway	1	11	to Chicago and Northwestern Railway 4651, later renumbered to 4251^[4]
Chicago and Northwestern Railway	2	1613, 1624	RS-3s rebuilt by Alco in March 1960 as RS-11 with a 251-B engine but retained RS-3 high short hood.^[5]
Delaware and Hudson	12	5000-5011
Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific	15	3600-3614
Erie Mining	15	300-314
Ferrocarril del Pacifico	1	1501
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México	94	7200-7293
Green Bay and Western	1	309
Lehigh Valley Railroad	4	400-403
Maine Central	1	801
Ministry of Communication and Transportation (Mexico)	4	7123-1 - 7123-4
Missouri Pacific	12	4601-4612
Monongahela Connecting Railroad	1	700
New York, New Haven and Hartford	15	1400-1414
New York Central	9	8000-8008
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad	35	558-577, 850-864
Norfolk and Western	99	308-406
Northern Pacific	18	900-917
Pennsylvania	38	8617-8654
Portland Terminal	1	1082	to Maine Central 802
Seaboard Air Line	10	100-109	to Seaboard Coast Line 1202-1211, later transferred to Louisville and Nashville 950-959^[6]
Southern Peru Copper Corp.	5	3-6, 8
Southern Pacific Railroad	34	5723-5729, 5845-5871
Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway	3	400-402
Total	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^[7]
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^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b Foster, Gerald (1996). A Field Guide to Trains. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. pp. 26. ISBN 0395701120.
^ Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1978). The second diesel spotter's guide. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Books. p. 248. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.
^ "Alco RS-11 Roster & Data sheet". www.thedieselshop.us. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
^ https://utahrails.net/cnw/cnw07.php#rs11_4251
^ Dorin, Patrick C. (1972). Chicago and North Western power. Burbank, CA: Superior Publishing Company. p. 144. ISBN 0-87564-715-4.
^ https://www.thedieselshop.us/L&Nroster.HTML#:~:text=Alco%20RS11,SAL%20100%2D109
^ "Our Trains - York-Durham Heritage Railway". York-Durham Heritage Railway. Archived from the original on 2019-07-12. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
^ "IRM Roster - Toledo Peoria & Western 400". Illinois Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 2000-12-18. Retrieved June 16, 2021.

Steinbrenner, Richard T. (2003). The American Locomotive Company: A Centennial Remembrance. On Track Publishers, LLC. ISBN 0-911122-07-9.
Roster from The Diesel Shop http://www.thedieselshop.us/Alco_RS11.HTML Archived 2011-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
Waller, R. (1998). Locomotive Roster: 1976. Conrail Cyclopedia . Retrieved November 22, 2022, from http://crcyc.railfan.net/locos/misc/rosters/roster-76.html

[:0-1] Foster, Gerald (1996). A Field Guide to Trains. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. pp. 26. ISBN 0395701120.

[2] Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1978). The second diesel spotter's guide. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Books. p. 248. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.

[3] "Alco RS-11 Roster & Data sheet". www.thedieselshop.us. Retrieved 2025-05-30.

[4] ttps://utahrails.net/cnw/cnw07.php#rs11_4251

[5] Dorin, Patrick C. (1972). Chicago and North Western power. Burbank, CA: Superior Publishing Company. p. 144. ISBN 0-87564-715-4.

[6] ttps://www.thedieselshop.us/L&Nroster.HTML#:~:text=Alco%20RS11,SAL%20100%2D109

[7] "Our Trains - York-Durham Heritage Railway". York-Durham Heritage Railway. Archived from the original on 2019-07-12. Retrieved June 16, 2021.

[8] "IRM Roster - Toledo Peoria & Western 400". Illinois Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 2000-12-18. Retrieved June 16, 2021.

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Diesel–electric locomotives built by ALCO
Switchers	ALCO 300 ALCO 600 HH600 HH660 HH900 HH1000 S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 DL420 S-5 S-6 T-6 SB-8/SSB-9
RS, RSC and RSD series	RS-1 RS-2 RS-3 (RS-3M) RS-27 RS-32 RS-36 RSC-1 RSC-2 RSC-3 RSD-1 MRS-1 RSD-4 RSD-5 RSD-7 RSD-12 RSD-15
Cab units	Rebel power car DL-103b DL-105 DL-107 DL-108 DL-109 DL-110 DL-202 DL-203 FA FB PA PB
Century series	C415 C420 C424 C425 C430 C628 C630 C636 C855
Diesel–hydraulics	DH643
Export locomotives	DL560C RSD-39
Unproduced locomotives	C428 C620 C624 C636F C636P C650DH
List of ALCO diesel Locomotives

Diesel and gas turbine locomotives built by MLW
Early switchers	S-2 S-3 S-4 S-7 S-10 S-11 S-12 S-13
Cab units	FA-1 FB-1 FA-2 FB-2 FPA-2 FPB-2 FPA-4 FPB-4
Roadswitchers	RS-1 RS-2 RS-3 RSC-3 RS-10 RSD-12 RS-13 RSC-13 RSC-14 RSD-17 RS-18 RS-23 RSC-24 RSD-35
Century series	C-415 C-424 C-630M
M series	M-420 M-420B M-420R M-420TR M-420TR-2 M-424 M-630 M-636 M-640
Other designs	DL500S DL535E M420 TURBO LRC-2 LRC-3 E-1800
Bombardier designs	HR-412 HR-616
(See also: List of MLW diesel locomotives)

Development

Original purchasers

Accidents and Incidents

Preservation

See also

References