ALCO 251

The US Coast Guard uses 251s for main propulsion on two classes of cutters. The 210 foot cutters have a pair of 16-251s, I believe rated at 3200 HP each, while the 270s have a pair of 18-251s, rated at 3500 HP each. I've had the pleasure of standing between a pair of the 18 cylinder engines, running at about half speed. The Polar class icebreakers (Polar Star and Polar Sea) each have SIX 251s. I believe the US government and some of the utilities are the largest purchasers of new 251 engines and parts at this time.

The interesting thing about the 210ft RelianceClass WMEC cutters is that the 251s replaced Cooper-Bessemer FVBMs, which are a marine version of the FDL family in the late 1980s (Like a reverse version of the planned Century Super-7s?). The 251s are conservatively rated.

hello, not sure if any engineers in this group but am currently working on 251 cylinder heads looking for information on injector sleeve expanding tools. thanks