A&M T6 12 in front of the yard office, Ft. Smith, AR June 29, 1987. This is former Frisco trackage. C420 52 on the point of the Ft. Smith Turn about to cross the UP (ex-MP) track in Van Buren, AR, then cross the Arkansas River on its way to the yard in Ft. Smith, AR 6-29-87. The combunation of waitint for permission to cross the UP line, as well as waiting for the lift bridge over the Arkansas to be lowered (by the BNSF dispatcher in Springfield, MO) has resulted in the Ft. Smith Turn swapping its cars at Copp, north of Van Buren. The cars for the northbound Turn are taken to Copp by the T6s in Ft. Smith. Family Lines 1324, ex-Louisville & Nashville, second diesel in Ft. Smith Turn, Van Buren, AR, 6-29-87. What Alcos are best known for.....
Did I read somewhere, a while back, that the A&M was getting a larger unit? Either a C630 or C636??? Boxcab E50
I will say this- thanks to the attention and care these beasts get, this shot is very rare- most likely it was either that second or third unit (an ex-D&H) showing the trademark turbo lag exhaust. I shot that pic the same day I got these others. I was on my way back to Hugo, OK after attending an FMIG convention in Eureka Springs, AR, and Charlie Dischinger and I paced the A&M back from Springdale, AR to Ft. SMith. South of where I was standing were several passenger coaches used for the filming of the movie "Biloxi Blues, shot in Van Buren and out at Ft. Chaffee, AR and starring Matthew Broderick. Those cars were pulled by A&WP number 290, a steam locomotive (and I MISSED IT! ). At any rate, it was fun driving through the Boston Mt. range from Fayetteville south, pacing along the former Frisco's Central Division as the southbound Ft. Smith Turn made its way to Arkansas' second-largest city. And it was more fun doing this pacing with such a knowledgeable Frisco fan as Charlie Dischinger, who is now a BNSF engineer but started out on the Frisco. However, I have some steam shots off the ESNA I'll post here later (down in my Steam forum)
Yes- A&M got a C630 from CP, and rebuilt & renumbered it to the 70. It was to be used on the Springdale-Monett trains. I'll have to contact the Railspot group at Yahoo to see if it's still in action, as I've heard rumors it didn't work out.
Hello every body, new guy here. I could not help becoming a member when I saw the A&M Alco shots. I went down there one day when they were just starting up. I got some nice shots of the c-420, most of which were still in the "original" paint. I live in Minnesota and we have a short line around the cities here that has lots of Alcos, some that are very rare. The Minnesota Commercial has two M-630, one might be a M-636, and two ex-CNW ex-GBW RS-27 locomotives. Then they have quite a few C-424s and some kind of Canadian Alco switcher and a RS-11 with a low nose. I don't know much about the Canadian Alco types, sorry. I just got a new scanner so I might post a picture or two if anyone would like to see them.
ALCos are a great change from the hordes of now common GE and EMD! Would love to see the MCRR stuff. They'd be a nice new topic! Boxcab E50
Hi Coaltrain, a very warm welcome to Trainboard Yes, PLEEEEEEZ show us some Alco shots! I especially like the big ones (well......and the middle sized ones.......and the small ones)
Hi Alan here are some sites for you: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Alco+locomotives+ http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/alco/alco.html http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=Alco+locomotives+&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop http://mysearch.myway.com/jsp/AVimg.jsp?st=bar&searchfor=Alco+locomotives+
I have been a Alco fan for a long time. I have gone out of my way to visit railroads that have them. I'll get to work and get some pic to post. I was just testing my scanner last night. I bought one that will scan slides. So I put in some of that I took of the GBW in the early 90s. What is the best size and type to make the images for posting. And now that I think about it, how do I go about posting them.
Coaltrain- Post your scans at: www.railimages.com Instructions, including scan size limits are there. Then link to photos at that site in your next posting. They'll show right up for all to see and enjoy. Boxcab E50
Will do, thanks. I was just thinking, the last time I went out to chase the "Commerical" was about ten years ago when they just started to get Alcos. So on my lunch break today I drove over to the engine house to take a peek. They have more locomotives in there than they have tracks for them. The now have around eight older GE locomotives, some B-B and some C-C trucks. there are lots of Alcos. From what I heard they have a rotating pool of locomotives. All of the engines have covers over the exaust stack that they close up when they shut off the engine. I think what they do is use a group of locomotives for a month or what ever, and then swap them out for a set that was taking a break. I saw both of the big Alcos, one is an M-630 and the other is an M-636. The 636 was hiding behind a building and i could not get a good shot. I did get a shot of the 630. there was a C-424 working the yard and a road set of GEs was ready to go out. When I went back to work a RS-27 was working the siding across the street form my office. I went to take a picture but it ditched me. I thought it was going one way but he backed down another track and he was gone, leaving nothing but a cloud of black smoke hanging in the air. When I get my Rail Images account info back I will post some pictures. Thanks all
Does anyone know what the most northwestern bastion of the ALCos is? THe only up close and personal expierience with one I've had was in Scranton PA (Yes, it was a diesel ). I live in Washington state, and would like to see some more, but another back east trip isin't in the offing. Doesn't one of the southwestern mine to power plant roads still running ALCos? Anything closer?
That's a good question. I can't think of anything left in WA, OR, IDA, MT. Except the two in Snoqualmie. (RSD4, and I believe an HH660?) After BN scrapped it's predecessor fleet, the BCR was a holdout. But I believe theirs are all long, long gone. There used to be a couple of odds and ends ALCos switching in Vancouver, BC. Vancouver Wharves was one. Maybe there is a stray unit still in California?Apache RR in AZ? Boxcab E50
The Apache Railway is all-Alco, mostly C420s. Our friend Paul from Belgium (goes by the handle of Rappanahock Terminal) posted some Apache Ry. shots here recently. The Nevada Northern RR Museum in Ely, NV uses Alcos for motive power- number 93 (a steamer, but built by Alco nonetheless) and RS3 109. And I haven't mentioned the RS2 and two MRS1s iin storage (oops, I just did.... ) [ 27. April 2003, 20:00: Message edited by: friscobob ]
The A&M C630 arrived in Jamestown NY on 4/25 for service on the WNY&P. For photos & info go to: www.jamestownrailfan.net Don
Nice shot! Looked thru the rest of the photos, and I love that road power. I wondered at furst how the track was going to hold up under the weight of a six-axle diesel, but after doing some reading, it souds like there's been quite a bit of rehabbing going on. It's good to see once-derelict lines look so good. Question: are the WNYP and LA&L separated, or do they directly interchange?
