by Allen Hazen
I remember the roster at the back of John Rehor's history of the Nickle Plate as describing most of the NYCStL's 4-axle notch-nosed 1800 hp Alco roadswitchers as Dl-701, but marking some of the last as Dl-701X. I had long assumed that the X-suffix meant that these were RS-36 (carbody revisions, type E throttle) and the earlier ones RS-11, but I'm not sure. The matter came up on the New York Central forum (string: New York Central RS-36?); one contributor thought X and XA suffixes on Alco spec numbers meant "built with parts from trade-ins".
Anybody know (the full, un-cut, un-censored story on) how some Dl-701 got their X rating?
Anybody know (the full, un-cut, un-censored story on) how some Dl-701 got their X rating?