• Conrail RSD-12's

  • Discussion related to the operations and equipment of Consolidated Rail Corp. (Conrail) from 1976 to its present operations as Conrail Shared Assets. Official web site can be found here: CONRAIL.COM.
Discussion related to the operations and equipment of Consolidated Rail Corp. (Conrail) from 1976 to its present operations as Conrail Shared Assets. Official web site can be found here: CONRAIL.COM.

Moderators: TAMR213, keeper1616

  by onrr_1726
 
I'm not sure if this is where to post this but I was wondering if anyone can provide me with some info about the ALCO RSD-12's that Conrail had at start up? I'm looking to model one and want to do it right. Where did Conrail use them, when were they retired?? did any of them get blue paint? Are there any photos of them on line?

  by scottychaos
 
Conrail had 24 RSD12's, 6855-6879
all originally PRR then PC.

Same road numbers from PRR to PC to CR.

some pics here:

http://pc.smellycat.com/pics/equip/diesel-alco.html

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/prr/prr-diesel.html

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc-l60.html

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/cr/cr-6000.html

Dont know if any received CR blue, but it seems very unlikely.

Scot

  by LCJ
 
The RSD12s, to my knowledge, didn't get any blue paint until they were converted to MT-6 slugs.

We used them as hump and pullout units at Selkirk after the PC merger. For the hump, they had them lashed up with former PRR GP9Bs (one RSD12 with two GP9Bs) that were in very bad shape by them. Let's just say it was difficult to keep the B units running much of the time. On the east end of the yard, single RSD12s worked as a "pullers" (usually 3 to a shift) to yank cars out of the bowl and make up trains on the departure tracks.

The RSD12s (along with a couple of PRR short-hood-lead RSD15s) were mostly supplanted in 1970 by the PC-ordered U23Cs. I seem to recall using the RSD12s, though, on the job that switched the local yard, right up until April 1976. A day or two after 4/1/76, we got EL U33Cs (with composition shoes!) to switch the locals. What a disaster that was!

It was an "interesting" time, what with cabooses heated with coal stoves showing up, along with the mostly worn out EL power that came around.

I didn't see much of the RSDs again until they had been cut down to slugs in the early CR era. I never saw a blue RSD12 or 15, that I can recall.

By the way, the PRR RSD12 units were originally equipped with steam generators for PRR passenger service.

  by onrr_1726
 
Humm Thanks guys for the help! and the short history! it looks like I'll have to letter one up for Penn Central!

  by scharnhorst
 
Try the Penn Central historical group they have a few black and white pics of some Penn Central RSD12's

http://pc.smellycat.com/index.html
  by lvrr325
 
A minor derailment at Dewitt? Some things change, some stay very much the same...