Northern Pacific Railway Alco RS11 915 at Duluth, Minnesota July 1968
The Northern Pacific Railway was a loyal customer of the American Locomotive Works, better known as "Alco", a locomotive manufacturer located in Schenectady, New York. The last locomotives that Alco delivered to NP was a group of 1,800 hp RS11 engines numbered 912-917 that were built in June 1960. These modern RS11s differed from many others built earlier. Compare and contrast the two engines that we see here, NP 915 and NP 909, the latter of which was built in July 1958. The newer 915 had different handrail posts, a larger fuel tank, different car body filters for the dynamic brakes.
But this wasn't the last order for locomotives that Alco received from NP. After NP received its third order of SD45s from EMD it changed its mind about high-horsepower road engines and placed a large order for the Alco C636 with high-adhesion trucks—nearly identical to the units Alco had delivered to SP&S in November 1968. While the majority of the NP's Alco fleet had been limited to operating in and out of Duluth, the future of NP motive power was about to take a big turn with many more high horsepower Alcos plying the NP's mainlines between St. Paul and the west coast.
But sometimes, big plans don't work out. Alco delivered its last locomotives during January 1969, then returned NP's order for C636s unfulfilled, and went out of business shortly thereafter. Right after the BN merger all of the former NP Alco switchers and road switchers were either retired or transferred west to work out of Vancouver, Washington. What could have been, simply never materialized, but it almost happened.
Northern Pacific Railway Alco RS11 915 at Duluth, Minnesota July 1968
The Northern Pacific Railway was a loyal customer of the American Locomotive Works, better known as "Alco", a locomotive manufacturer located in Schenectady, New York. The last locomotives that Alco delivered to NP was a group of 1,800 hp RS11 engines numbered 912-917 that were built in June 1960. These modern RS11s differed from many others built earlier. Compare and contrast the two engines that we see here, NP 915 and NP 909, the latter of which was built in July 1958. The newer 915 had different handrail posts, a larger fuel tank, different car body filters for the dynamic brakes.
But this wasn't the last order for locomotives that Alco received from NP. After NP received its third order of SD45s from EMD it changed its mind about high-horsepower road engines and placed a large order for the Alco C636 with high-adhesion trucks—nearly identical to the units Alco had delivered to SP&S in November 1968. While the majority of the NP's Alco fleet had been limited to operating in and out of Duluth, the future of NP motive power was about to take a big turn with many more high horsepower Alcos plying the NP's mainlines between St. Paul and the west coast.
But sometimes, big plans don't work out. Alco delivered its last locomotives during January 1969, then returned NP's order for C636s unfulfilled, and went out of business shortly thereafter. Right after the BN merger all of the former NP Alco switchers and road switchers were either retired or transferred west to work out of Vancouver, Washington. What could have been, simply never materialized, but it almost happened.