ALCo PA1

The PA series of A1A-A1A passenger locomitves are considered among railfans to be among the best looking diesel electrics of all time; it's long trucks and extended flat nose setting it apart from the shorter, rounder styling of the GM e's and f's.

During World War II, the US war production board restricted locomotive construction and permitted certain types of locomotives to be built only by certain builders. Alco (American Locomotive Company) was forced to concentrate on shunters. This partially explains why it took so many years to release a competitor for the GM e-units. Unfortunately for ALCo the market was already well and truly dominated by the EMD.

Popular with crews, the PA-1 was the first locomotive to be fitted with ciruit breakers rather than fuses. ALCo's first diesel prime mover, the 244, takes it's name from the year in which it first ran, 1944, and the locomotive developed equivalent horsepower from a single V16 engine to GM-EMD's 1937 E series which ran a pair of 567s.

A total of 170 A units and 40 B units were delivered to various railroads between 1946 and 1949. In 1950, an upgrated 2,250 hp model was introduced, designated PA2 & PB2; followed by a final revision with a number of detail changes, which was supplied until 1953. A 2,400 hp version was planned, though demand for carbody locomotives and long haul passenger services was very much in decline, and no units were ordered.

The PAs ended their days operating freight services, to which their large, nose suspended General Electric traction motors were quite suitable; being capable of withstanding high overloads. Some units were re-engined with 1750 hp EMD power units, surprisingly none were fitted with ALCo's later 251 engine.

Resources

General Data
Images

PA Gallery - Northeast Railfan.Net - ALCo diesel trains