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  • PLAY IT LOUD! PSRM MRS-1 2104 starting up...

  • Discussion of products from the American Locomotive Company. A web site with current Alco 251 information can be found here: Fairbanks-Morse/Alco 251.
Discussion of products from the American Locomotive Company. A web site with current Alco 251 information can be found here: Fairbanks-Morse/Alco 251.

Moderator: Alcoman

 #219738  by trainwayne1
 
Didn't MRS-1's have 539 prime movers in them?

 #219850  by Paul
 
Nope.

 #219889  by tgibson
 
Hi,

Yes, you're right MRS-1's did have the 539 (since they were RS-1's on CC trucks). Sorry. But I thought the RSX-4 was the later locomotive made by Alco for the military, so now I'm confused...

Take care,

 #220030  by Paul
 
OK...Here goes. The "MRS-1 you are thinking of is not an MRS-1 but an RS-1 hyjacked by the military (initially) for service on the Trans-Iranian Rwy during WW-2 and reffited with a fabricated three axle truck to reduce axle loading. They were not nor have they ever been "MRS-1"s.
The 1,600Hp Alcos built for the Military Railway Service were built to spec MRS-1 (the -1 seperates it from the MRS1 EMD). Alco built these to the same basic specfication as the RSD-4 but used "X-1" to distinguish the military spec from the commercial spec locomotive.
The MRS-1 have 12-244 engines. What you hear is a 12-344.

 #220073  by Alcoman
 
tgibson wrote:Hi,

Yes, you're right MRS-1's did have the 539 (since they were RS-1's on CC trucks). Sorry. But I thought the RSX-4 was the later locomotive made by Alco for the military, so now I'm confused...

Take care,
You are thinking of the RSD-1 which has the 539 engine

The RSX-4 or MRS-1 is powered by the 244 engine.

 #220096  by trainwayne1
 
Every description I've read about the first two NYS&W RS-1's, numbers 231 and 233, that were sent back to Alco to be re-equipped for overseas shipment were MRS-1's that had 539's. Perhaps you can tell me what the correct model nimber of those were?

 #220210  by Paul
 
Ok.
The initial group of locomotives that were built unders specifiction E-1640, were confiscated by the War Board and rebuilt with fabricated three axle trucks. They still retained the E-1640 designation. There were about 40 1000 hp units built for the military during WW-2 by Alco, equiped with the three axle trucks, designated E-1643, and 140 built after that to spec E-1645.
At that time, Alco designated locomotives by specification numbers (DL-109 for example) and the designations of PA and FA and RS, etc didnt happen until the 1950s, and well after RS1 production ended.
During the war, Alco was authorized to build the replacement units for NYSW and etc under specification E-1641, sometime in 1943.

 #220235  by GOLDEN-ARM
 
Paul Said "The MRS-1 have 12-244 engines. What you hear is a 12-344."

Now I am confused........ :-D A 12-344 :P Regards, Paul, from the Golden-One........
_________________

 #220241  by tgibson
 
Hi,

OK, thanks for the clarification.

RSD1 = 539

MRS-1 = 244

 #220527  by N. Todd
 
At that time, Alco designated locomotives by specification numbers (DL-109 for example) and the designations of PA and FA and RS, etc didnt happen until the 1950s...
So why wasn't anything applied for the DL103/5/7/9/10 locos?

 #220669  by tgibson
 
Hi,

I assume because they weren't selling anything in that series by then. If you are going to sell an S-4, it's logical to name the earlier versions too (if they had already gone out of production by then; don't really know). But the DL-109 series had ended long ago.

Another example - I don't think they named the HH series - that was done by railfans. Alco may have even used the term in occasional documents, but I don't think they came up with the name (correct me if I'm wrong).

Hope this helps,

 #221351  by Paul
 
According to John Kirkland, Diesel Builders Vol II, page 92, Alco retroactivly assigned the RS, FA, S, PA to current locomotives sometime around 1952. The "HH" and the "DL" 100 series locomotives were not in production and therefore, not retroactivly designated.
 #258695  by Owen S. Paulsen
 
The Specification # E1670 Model RSX4 was erroneosly called MRS1 by railfan source. (The MRS1 was the EMD for 13 of the same idea but they lost the contract and was in the draw a MRS1) The unit was made at ALCo-Schenectady under a production subcontract. They do NOT ALCo or ALCo-GE builder's plates; ALCo construstion number were assigned for internal identification and accounting purposes only. Not warranted or serviced by ALCo. <http://alcoworld.railfan.net>
In the TM 55-2210-216-20 on page 2 the scope for the manual is published
for the use of the personnel responsible for the organizational maintenance of the 120 Ton General Electric Locomotive (In the time of 1952 era GE had none 120 Ton with GE on it) Models GE19B238G1 (Steam) and GE19B238G2 (No steam)

Stan